Weight gain and serum lipidic changes in citrus pulp supplemented wintering cows in Argentina

Abstract

IN ORDER TO CORROBORATE THE EFFECT OF A CITRUS BY-PRODUCT ON WEIGHT AND SERUM LIPIDS, 80 WINTERING HALF-BRED ZEBU COWS MAINTAINED ON NATIVE GRASSLAND WERE USED. FOR TWO CONSECUTIVE YEARS, 20 ANIMALS OPERATED AS CONTROLS (C) AND ANOTHER 20 WERE SUPPLEMENTED (S) WITH FRESH CITRUS PULP (15 ± 3 KG/ANIMAL, DURING 4 MONTHS). PERIODIC CONTROLS WERE CARRIED OUT AT 0, 30, 60, 90 AND 120 DAYS. THE OBTAINED VALUES WERE STATISTICALLY PROCESSED USING A REPEATED MEASURES DESIGN WITH MEAN COMPARISONS BY ORTHOGONAL CONTRASTS. WHEN COMPARING WITH C, FINAL STATISTICS FOR EVERY YEAR INDICATED THAT S REGISTERED HIGHER LEVELS (P < 0.05) OF TOTAL CHOLESTEROL (3.46 VS 2.70 AND 3.32 VS 2.15 MMOL/L), LIPOPROTEIN a (89.2 VS 82.7 AND  90.0 VS 85.1%), HDL-C (2.31 VS 1.79 AND 2.41 VS 1.58 MMOL/L), AND TRIGLYCERIDES (0.55 VS 0.42 AND 0.45 VS 0.35 MMOL/L), AS WELL AS MAJOR WEIGHT GAINS (492 VS 304 AND 352 VS LOSS OF 73 G/ANIMAL/DAY). DIFFERENCES BETWEEN C AND S BEGAN TO BE SIGNIFICANT BY DAYS 60-90 OF THE STUDY. CITRUS PULP ENERGETIC SUPPLY DID NOT CAUSE UNDESIRABLE SECONDARY EFFECTS, BUT THE PHYSIOLOGICAL LIPID PROFILE WAS MODIFIED IN SUPPLEMENTED COWS.