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A controlled trial on the effect of feeding dietary chestnut extract and glycerol monolaurate on liver function in newborn calves
Author(s) -
Wieland M.,
Weber B. K.,
HafnerMarx A.,
SauterLouis C.,
Bauer J.,
KnubbenSchweizer G.,
Metzner M.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
journal of animal physiology and animal nutrition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.651
H-Index - 56
eISSN - 1439-0396
pISSN - 0931-2439
DOI - 10.1111/jpn.12179
Subject(s) - glycerol , lactate dehydrogenase , liver function , bilirubin , biology , zoology , biochemistry , medicine , endocrinology , enzyme
Summary Beginning in the fall of 2010, an increasing and alarming number of cases of calves suffering from liver dystrophy were reported in the south of G ermany. An epidemiological investigation was carried out by the authors between N ovember 2010 and J uly 2011, leading to the implication of a commercial dietary supplement as the potential cause for this outbreak. The components of this product were first tested in a cell culture model and two of them (dietary chestnut extract and glycerol monolaurate) showed a cytotoxic effect. The objective of this study was therefore to evaluate the effect of supplemental feeding of both components alone or in combination on liver function in newborn calves on a commercial dairy farm. Ten calves were enrolled in each of the three treatment groups and the control group (group O ) following a blocked design. Treatment consisted of supplementation with chestnut extract at 0.02% of birth body mass ( BM ) (group C ), supplementation with glycerol monolaurate at 0.006% of BM (group G ) or a combined treatment (group CG ) for five consecutive days. The effect of treatments on liver function was evaluated clinically and by measurement of glutamate dehydrogenase ( GLDH ) and aspartate aminotransferase ( AST ) activities as well as the determination of the concentrations of glucose, L ‐lactate and total bilirubin in serum. There was a significant increase in GLDH and AST activities and a significant decrease in glucose concentration in treatment groups C and CG compared with the control group (p ≤ 0.035), whereas no difference was shown for group G . Survival was significantly decreased in groups C (p = 0.029) and CG (p = 0.001) compared with both group G and the control group. These results suggest that dietary chestnut extract in an amount of 0.02% of BM alone or in combination has a toxic effect on liver function in newborn calves.