Supporting gut health, productivity and profitability

Gut health is a crucial factor affecting the health and performance of dairy cows, and is therefore key to farm profitability.

Leaky gut and inflammation

The gut wall is composed of cells held together by tight junction proteins. In a healthy gut, these junctions allow small metabolites of digestion to pass into the blood stream for use by the animal, yet are tight enough to prevent the passage of larger, toxic substances and harmful pathogens into the blood.

During stress periods, the tight junction proteins retract, and the gut wall becomes more permeable, or ‘leaky’. When the gut wall becomes leaky, undesirable bacteria and toxic substances can pass into the blood stream, initiating an inflammatory response.

Milk yield and reproduction are very easily influenced by stress due to the high energy and protein demands of lactation, and the complexity of the reproductive processes and organs involved.

Inflammatory responses require energy. As this energy will be taken from the available measure the cow would use for production, we can see negative impacts on productivity, fertility and overall health.

Acidosis and Endotoxins

Acidosis occurs when there is an imbalance of rapidly fermentable carbohydrates in the diet, causing a decrease in ruminal pH to a level below 5.6.

When the rumen environment becomes more acidic, the balance of digestive microbes changes, with increased starch digesters and less fibre digesters. Continually increased starch digestion further decreases pH.

This results in a significant imbalance in nutrient utilisation and has also been associated with reduced milk yield and butterfat, alongside health issues. The financial impact is substantial due to decreased production, and costs of treatment.

The reduction in ruminal pH stimulates the gram-negative bacteria present in rumen fluid to die and release endotoxins or lipopolysaccharide (LPS). These gram-negative bacteria can also be present further along the digestive tract.

It has also been well proven that subacute ruminal acidosis (SARA) and stress have been associated with increased permeability of the gut wall, and increased inflammation markers in the blood, likely due to the transfer of LPS from the gut into the blood .

Circulating LPS and increased permeability of the gut wall results in an activated immune system, which reprioritises the channel of energy to immunity and away from production, growth, and fertility.

TMN Solutions

Trident MicroNutri has solutions to support animals during stress periods, with the aim of reducing the risk of leaky gut and minimising the release of endotoxins in the digestive tract. This is a two-step approach.

1. Support the stability of rumen pH with AcidBuf

AcidBuf is a unique, marine source buffer with highly available mineral sources. It has ten times greater surface area than calcium carbonate, and twice the buffering capacity of sodium bicarbonate.

By stabilising rumen pH, the risk of acidosis and leaky gut is reduced, and proliferation and lysis of gram-negative bacteria are minimised, hence reducing endotoxin load. Additionally, providing a source of highly available calcium supports the immune system through increased neutrophil function.

2. Bind LPS in the rumen with Ultrasorb-R 

The recent reformulation of Ultrasorb-R has considered both existing and newly available raw materials for both binding and detoxification.

The upgrade of the yeast extract and the addition of a new live yeast has improved fusarium toxin binding, while the addition of new clays has increased the endotoxin binding capacity from 40% in the old formulation to 70% in the new Ultrasorb-R.

By providing endotoxin binding and detoxification, we support the cow through reducing the endotoxin load and likelihood and severity of an immune response.