Abstract #W183

# W183
Effects of soy lecithin on circulating choline metabolite concentrations and phosphatidylcholine profile in Holstein cows.
J. E. Rico*1, A. B. P. Fontoura1, B. N. Tate1, J. W. McFadden1, 1Cornell University, Ithaca, NY.

Soy lecithin is a source of polyunsaturated fatty acid-enriched phosphatidylcholine (PC) that is known to increase choline supply in non-ruminants. Our objectives were to evaluate the effects of lecithin feeding on circulating choline metabolites including the PC profile in dairy cows fed palmitic acid (PA). Using a split-plot Latin Square design, 16 Holstein cows (160 ± 7 DIM) were randomly allocated to a main plot receiving a corn silage and alfalfa haylage-based diet with palm fat containing either moderate or high PA content at 1.75% of ration DM (MPA and HPA, respectively; BergaFat F-100 or F-100 HP containing 87 or 98% PA, respectively; Berg + Schmidt, Hamburg, Germany; n = 8/group). On each palm fat diet, lecithin (BergaPur, Berg + Schmidt) was top-dressed at 0, 0.12, 0.24, or 0.36% of ration DM in a replicated 4 × 4 Latin Square design. Following a 14-d covariate period, lecithin treatment spanned 14 d with milk and plasma collected during the final 3 d. Choline metabolites were measured using liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. Untargeted lipidomics was employed for lipid profiling. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted that included the fixed effects of palm fat type and lecithin level. While no effects of treatments were detected for plasma choline or methionine, lecithin feeding increased the plasma choline metabolites trimethylamine N-oxide and dimethyl-glycine (24 and 11%, respectively; P < 0.05). Plasma PC and sphingomyelin levels increased with lecithin feeding (e.g., PC 35:1 and SM 42:0; P < 0.05). Lecithin also increased plasma lysophosphatidylcholine levels (e.g., LPC 20:0; P < 0.05) while reducing plasma phosphatidylethanolamine and triacylglycerol levels (e.g., PE 38:6 and TAG 15:0/16:1/18:1; P < 0.05). Ceramides increased with lecithin levels being higher in cows fed HPA, relative to MPA (e.g., Cer 16:0; P < 0.05). Although increases in microbial-derived trimethylamine N-oxide suggest gastrointestinal lecithin degradation, elevations in plasma dimethyl-glycine, PC, LPC, and SM support choline absorption with high lecithin feeding.

Key Words: dairy cow, soy lecithin, phosphatidylcholine