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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Animal Nutrition and Metabolism
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2024.1492747
This article is part of the Research Topic Natural Compounds/Products and Livestock Productivity: Enhancing Antioxidant Levels, Gut Health, Mitigating Greenhouse Gas Emissions, and Disease Control View all 12 articles

Effects of dietary rumen-protected glucose level and taurine supplementation on weight change and oxidative stress state of yaks after transport

Provisionally accepted
Xiaolin Wang Xiaolin Wang 1*Kaiqiang Zhao Kaiqiang Zhao 1*Shoupei Zhao Shoupei Zhao 1Jia Zhou Jia Zhou 2Mingyu Cao Mingyu Cao 1*Lianghao Lu Lianghao Lu 1*Yuanyuan Chen Yuanyuan Chen 1*Huaming Yang Huaming Yang 1*Bao Zhang Bao Zhang 1*Chong Shao Chong Shao 1*Yanfei Zhao Yanfei Zhao 1*Rui Tang Rui Tang 1*Bai Xue Bai Xue 1*
  • 1 Sichuan Agricultural University, Ya'an, China
  • 2 Chongqing Academy of Animal Science, Chongqing, Chongqing, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Rumen-protected glucose (RPG) and taurine (TAU) are crucial for the nutrition and physiology of ruminants, enhancing production performance and mitigating negative energy balance. This study aimed to assess the impact of RPG levels and TAU supplementation on the body weight, antioxidant capacity, immune function and stress responses in yaks before and after transport. Thirty-two healthy male yaks, aged 3 years and weighing 172.5±10.2 kg, were randomly assigned to one of four dietary treatments: (1) low RPG and low TAU (LRLT), with 1% RPG and 5 g/d TAU; (2) low RPG and high TAU (LRHT), with 1% RPG and 15 g/d TAU; (3) high RPG and low TAU (HRLT), with 3% RPG and 5 g/d TAU; and (4) high RPG and high TAU (HRHT), with 3% RPG and 15 g/d TAU. The weight was measured before and on days 0 and 30 after transport, and the plasma was collected before and on day 0,10 and 30 after transport for analysis of biochemical, antioxidant, immune, and stress response indicators. We observed that transport increased plasma concentrations of total cholesterol, total protein, lactate dehydrogenase, creatine kinase, malondialdehyde, cortisol and lipopolysaccharides of yaks among treatments, while decreased their BW and plasma IL-10 concentration. Increasing TAU supplementation reduced weight loss (8.42 VS 11.9 kg) and weight loss percent (4.83% VS 6.87%) in yaks after transport. The concentration of MDA in plasma was lower in HRHT than in LRLT at day 0 after transport (P = 0.03). TNF-α at day 0 after transport (P = 0.02), COR at day 10 (P = 0.03) and 30 (P = 0.05) after transport as well as LPS at day 0 after transport (P = 0.04) decreased. In addition, concentrations of COR at day 0 after transport was lower in LRHT and HRHT than in LRLT (P = 0.03). Based on all the results, we demonstrated that increasing TAU supplementation levels reduced post-transport weight loss in yaks, improved their antioxidant capacity and immune function, and alleviated stress responses.

    Keywords: Rumen-protected glucose, Taurine, Yak, transport, stress response

    Received: 07 Sep 2024; Accepted: 08 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Wang, Zhao, Zhao, Zhou, Cao, Lu, Chen, Yang, Zhang, Shao, Zhao, Tang and Xue. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Xiaolin Wang, Sichuan Agricultural University, Ya'an, China
    Kaiqiang Zhao, Sichuan Agricultural University, Ya'an, China
    Mingyu Cao, Sichuan Agricultural University, Ya'an, China
    Lianghao Lu, Sichuan Agricultural University, Ya'an, China
    Yuanyuan Chen, Sichuan Agricultural University, Ya'an, China
    Huaming Yang, Sichuan Agricultural University, Ya'an, China
    Bao Zhang, Sichuan Agricultural University, Ya'an, China
    Chong Shao, Sichuan Agricultural University, Ya'an, China
    Yanfei Zhao, Sichuan Agricultural University, Ya'an, China
    Rui Tang, Sichuan Agricultural University, Ya'an, China
    Bai Xue, Sichuan Agricultural University, Ya'an, China

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