All fatty acids are not the same, according to the reproductive system of cows.
And that’s why adding flax oil to dairy cow diets can increase their fertility and health, according to a Quebec researcher.
“Flax can act directly on reproductive tissues,” said Helene Petit in a presentation to feed industry experts at the Western Nutrition Conference in Winnipeg Sept. 24.
Petit said including flax oil in cow diets can help dairy cows conceive better and recover better after giving birth.
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He added that flax oil could also:
* Decrease embryo mortality.
* Increase conception rates.
* Improve liver health in the cow.
The reason flax has such a profound effect, Petit said, is probably because modern cattle diets change the fatty acid composition of the feed. Cattle in a traditional or natural environment, in which they mainly consume grasses, are mostly eating omega 3 fatty acids.
But modern diets, which contain feed grains, contain a higher proportion of omega 6 fatty acids.
While both types produce prostaglandins, they produce different types. Omega 6 fatty acids produce series one and two prostaglandins, while omega 3 produce series three.
Series two prostaglandins go on to become series four leukotrienes, while series three become series five leukotrienes.
Various effects
In many ways the effects of these leukotrienes are different, with the series one and two prostaglandins producing leukotrienes that are detrimental to cow fertility, Petit said.
For instance, in one part of the cow’s reproductive system, series four leukotrienes increase the inflammatory response, which is bad, while the series five leukotrienes decrease it.
Adding flax oil to the diet has been shown in experiments to boost reproductive efficiency.
Fewer embryo deaths result from changes in gene expression in both the embryo and lining of the uterus, Petit said.
Embryo health is also improved, possibly by a change in the composition of the uterine fluid.
Conception is increased by increasing the size of the ovulatory follicle.
“The positive effects of feeding omega 3 fatty acids from flaxseed on reproduction may also be through modulation in the production of mediators involved in the production of cytokines with positive effects on immunity at the time of embryo implantation,” Petit said in the paper she presented at the conference.
And the fatty liver syndrome, which hurts many cows following pregnancy, is reduced by the inclusion of flax oil in the diet.
Since poor conception rates and high embryo death rates cause dairy farmers in Canada to involuntarily cull 34 percent of cows, reducing the problems could save farmers significant costs.
Petit also said some fats added to cow diets post-calving may increase fertility and improve the animal’s energy balance, but the wrong types can cause other health problems.
“Dietary lipids, such as supplemental fat, oilseeds and distiller grains, if not stabilized, can be significant contributors to the load of free radicals in the animal,” said Petit in her paper.
“Decreased performance, increased gut turnover and compromised immune response have been reported in animals fed oxidized fat.”
Omega 3 oils from flax and fish are the best sources, Petit said.
