A common plan of attack to treat milk fever, or hypocalcaemia, in freshening dairy cows has been to administer several calcium boluses to increase the total amount of calcium available during this crucial period. But, according to Herbonis, this might not be the most efficient and effective way to tackle the problem.
At Eurotier 2022 in November the Swiss maker of natural feed additive solutions for animal nutrition introduced Panbovine®, a natural micro-encapsulated product for bolus applications that focuses on increasing calcium absorption in the diet through the supply of the source of the bioactive form of vitamin D rather than calcium supplementation to reduce the risk of hypocalcaemia in dairy cows. And it is also more convenient to use, according to the company, with a bolus containing Panbovine® needing only one application per calving to reduce milk fever risk.
In today’s Industry Perspectives, Feedinfo chats to the company’s Head of Global R&D and Technical Services, Jan Dirk van der Klis and Regional Commercial Lead for Europe, Laurent Peron to find out more about Panbovine® and the special plant powering it. They also share their research findings on the product’s efficacy with us and how it can support dairy cow performance beyond the peripartum period.
[Feedinfo] Let’s kick off first with what Panbovine® is. Please talk us through the technology and the product’s application.
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Laurent Peron |
[Laurent Peron] Panbovine® is a solution developed recently by Herbonis to reduce the risk of milk fever and subclinical hypocalcaemia in dairy cows (EU Commission regulation (EU) 2020/354). It is a micro-encapsulated product, free flowing, for bolus applications. It is based on Solanum glaucophyllum leaves, a source of the bioactive form of vitamin D3. Thanks to its unique mode of action, a bolus containing Panbovine® needs only one application per calving to reduce the risk of milk fever in dairy cows, unlike other solutions currently on the market. |
[Feedinfo] How long was it in development at Herbonis and how did it come about? What led to its creation?
[Jan Dirk van der Klis] After calving, when milk production starts, the excretion of calcium is suddenly and greatly increased, whereas the cow’s vitamin D metabolism still has to adapt to this physiological change. During this adaptation period, the cow is at high risk of developing (sub)clinical milk fever. Considering that our plant Solanum glaucophyllum is a source of the bioactive form of vitamin D, the connection was simple to make and in combination with published data the idea for Panbovine® was born to help prevent subclinical milk fever. However, published data also showed that when the supply of Solanum glaucophyllum via feed was stopped abruptly, hypocalcaemia in treated cows still occurred, albeit a bit later. We were able to demonstrate that when the release in the rumen is gradually reduced over time, Solanum glaucophyllum can prevent hypocalcaemia. That’s where the idea of a bolus using this plant came in.
Total development of the product took us more than five years, this is including trials to show pharmacokinetics, and efficacy in small scale university trials and field trials.
[Feedinfo] How common is subclinical milk fever and why are multiparous cows at higher risk of developing it? How common is it in these cows compared to primiparous cows?
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[Jan Dirk van der Klis] The prevalence of subclinical milk fever is difficult to measure as it often goes undetected. Estimates have been as high as 50% of all multiparous cows. Although clinical milk fever occurs in 5 to 10% of the multiparous cows, it might be as high as 60% at herd level. Multiparous cows are more sensitive to subclinical milk fever as their milk production increases much faster after calving compared to primiparous cows. However, even in primiparous cows problems related to hypocalcaemia, like retention of the placenta, are well-recognised. |
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Jan Dirk van der Klis
[Feedinfo] What is the economic impact of subclinical milk fever? How much are dairy producers risking by leaving it untreated?
[Laurent Peron] The economic impact of milk fever varies. This can take the form of a cow’s death, the premature culling of cows, veterinary treatments, and loss of milk production to secondary diseases like retention of the placenta, ketosis, displaced abomasum, and coliform mastitis. Costs of hypocalcaemia have been estimated to be around 300 EUR/case for clinical milk fever and 100 EUR/case for subclinical milk fever, not including the cost of potential secondary diseases.
[Feedinfo] Why do you think it’s more important to focus on increasing calcium absorption rather than calcium nutrition in the prevention of milk fever? What makes this approach better?
[Jan Dirk van der Klis] Indeed, there are different options to reduce the incidence of hypocalcaemia. One that is widely used is the supply of several calcium boluses (generally three or four) to increase total calcium available for absorption. It should be noted that this method is not very efficient due to the lack of the bioactive form of vitamin D around calving. Simply supplying extra calcium is therefore not an effective solution to prevent milk fever. In addition, bolus administration is generally uncomfortable for the cow. We have shown that a single bolus which releases 1,25(OH)2D3-glycosides – which is found in Solanum glaucophyllum – over a period of 10 days prevented low calcium levels in the blood without additional calcium supply via feed. 1,25(OH)2D3-glycosides stimulate the calcium absorption and homeostasis in the cow. So far in our trials so far, we have not yet encountered cows with hypocalcaemia after supplying a bolus with 1,25(OH)2D3-glycosides from Solanum glaucophyllum.
[Feedinfo] What findings do you have to support 1,25(OH)2D3-glycosides’ efficacy in reducing the risk of milk fever in dairy cows? What research can you share with us?
[Jan Dirk van der Klis] We have done several trials, where we looked at the release characteristics of 1,25(OH)2D3-glycosides from a bolus, in combination with the change in calcium content in blood serum around calving, as well as the increase in performance after calving. Especially in the latter trials, we noted the minimum serum calcium in non-treated cows was at 1.3 mmol/l, whereas the minimum in the cows receiving the bolus, approximately 4 days before the expected calving date, was at 2 mmol/l. We also saw that at any point after calving, significantly less treated cows showed a blood calcium level below 2 mmol/l, which is considered the threshold for hypocalcaemia. We have shared the results of these trials in scientific journals.
[Feedinfo] Looking at dairy cow productivity beyond the peripartum period, what can you tell us about the impact that a Panbovine®-containing bolus can have down the line?
[Jan Dirk van der Klis] When using a bolus containing 1,25(OH)2D3-glycosides, we also noted that daily milk production in the initial 14 days post calving was significantly improved by 9%. We know from published data that hypocalcaemia increases the risk of culling in early lactation and reduces reproductive performance. Therefore, we believe that these issues can be addressed with a bolus containing Panbovine®.
[Feedinfo] Which markets are Panbovine® available in currently? What has been the roll-out strategy for the product?
[Laurent Peron] After the product launched at EuroTier in November last year, we have kept our focus on the European and UK markets for the time being. These regions are the ones where you find a large concentration of bolus manufacturers and we have already seen high interest for Panbovine® from key players in these markets.
However, this product has also garnered significant interest from markets outside Europe that we study seriously. In order to develop this specific solution and bring it to market it was important for us take onboard the various specifications that bolus manufacturers had, which included a fine product with a regular particle size, high concentration of the active ingredient for low inclusion per bolus, dust free, free flowing and good homogeneity with the other ingredients during the manufacturing process. For us the microencapsulation technology was the right solution. We also decided to not use a vegetable fat source for the microencapsulation (like palm oil) to ensure that the product was more environmentally friendly. It is also for this reason that we opted to use a vegetable starch source as not only does this technologically work perfectly with Panbovine’s natural source of the bioactive form of vitamin D3, it also fits in with Herbonis’s ethos of working in harmony with nature to power our science.
[Feedinfo] What does Herbonis have in place to support bolus manufacturers in the correct application of Panbovine®?
[Laurent Peron] Thanks to our trials and research, the inclusion rate of Panbovine® per bolus has been proven to help reduce the risk of milk fever. We have developed a concentrated form of 1,25(OH)2D3-glycosides via plant breeding that enables the application of an effective dose in a single bolus. This active ingredient also does not need a lot of space in the bolus recipe, providing for maximum flexibility in the bolus production process.
In addition to this, supporting our customers in the development of their own solutions is also an integral part of the Herbonis offer. We have conducted numerous in vitro tests of 1,25(OH)2D3 release using analytical techniques developed in-house and we employ these learnings and data in our recommendations to customers so they can service the market with the best possible solution.
Published in association with Herbonis
