Highly fermentable diets are commonly fed to meet the nutritional demands of high-producing dairy cows. However, when ruminal volatile fatty acid (VFA) production exceeds absorption and buffering capacity, the risk of ruminal acidosis and associated inflammatory responses may increase. This presentation examines the effects of butyrate supplementation on ruminal epithelial development and inflammation-related responses in nonlactating dairy cows, with consideration of ruminal and hindgut responses to an acidosis challenge. Before the acidosis challenge, ruminal papillary height increased from baseline after 21 days of supplementation in the butyrate group, and higher plasma glucagon-like peptide-2 (GLP-2) and insulin concentrations were observed. Ruminal epithelial expression of TNF-α and TLR2 was significantly lower than in the control group, whereas IL-1β expression tended to decrease. Following the acidosis challenge induced by intraruminal corn starch administration, however, supplementation did not attenuate the increase in serum lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (LBP). The ruminal and hindgut indicators also showed contrasting responses: the butyrate group had a lower minimum ruminal pH and higher ruminal endotoxin concentrations, whereas higher fecal pH and lower fecal starch content were observed at 24 hours after the challenge, suggesting a potential attenuation of hindgut acidification. Whether these fecal responses resulted from reduced delivery of fermentable carbohydrates to the hindgut remains to be confirmed. Overall, butyrate supplementation can influence ruminal epithelial morphology, selected inflammation-related gene expression, and plasma hormone concentrations in nonlactating dairy cows before the acidosis challenge happened, and following the acidosis challenge, it may help attenuate hindgut acidification.
- Fukumori, R., K. Doi, T. Mochizuki, S. Oikawa, S. Gondaira, T. Iwasaki, and K. Izumi. 2022. Sodium butyrate administration modulates the ruminal villus height, inflammation-related gene expression, and plasma hormones concentration in dry cows fed a high-fiber diet. Anim. Sci. J. 93. doi:10.1111/asj.13791.
- Fukumori, R., R. Ikeno, K. Izumi, K. Doi, M. Otsuka, K. Suzuki, and S. Oikawa. 2021. The effect of sodium butyrate supplementation on ruminal and fecal pH and serum lipopolysaccharide-binding protein after ruminal acidosis challenge in nonlactating cows. Anim. Sci. J. 92. doi:10.1111/asj.13673.
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