Assessment of systemic inflammation following oral calcium supplementation in postpartum dairy cows – a pilot-scale randomized controlled trial

Abstract

A new line of thinking is emerging to link inflammation with calcium metabolism. Around parturition, dairy cows inevitably and perhaps necessarily experience some degree of systemic inflammation, but excessive or dysregulated inflammation likely contributes to inflammatory disease. Immune activa­tion decreases blood Ca, so greater extracellular Ca availability may potentiate or sustain inflammation. Hypocalcemia may be an adaptive response to inflammation. The objective of this study was to investigate a possible role of supplemental calcium (Ca) in postpartum systemic inflammation in dairy cows. We hypothesized that in clinically healthy multiparous cows, post­partum administration of supplemental Ca may increase serum concentrations of markers of inflammation.