A Penn State study discovered that supplementing high-producing dairy cows with the botanical extract capsicum oleoresin, derived from chili peppers, or a combination of that extract and clove oil resulted in the animals using feed energy more efficiently and emitting less methane from their largest stomach. The cow would use the available energy on body weight increase rather than milk production or milk components.
The data imply that supplementing with this botanical combination may have a good physiological and environmental impact. The researchers understood that botanicals had the ability to alter fermentation in the dairy cow’s biggest stomach, known as the rumen. In a nearly two-decade-long attempt to boost milk output and minimize environmental emissions from dairy farms, they have experimented with supplementing the diet of high-performing dairy cows with anything from seaweed to garlic and oregano oils to synthetic chemicals.
Methane, a strong greenhouse gas produced by cows’ belching, is the product of fermentation in the cow’s rumen. This technique enables the animal to eat and use fibrous meals and waste that are indigestible to humans or other agricultural animals with simple stomachs. The combination of capsicum oleoresin and clove oil reduced methane output and intensity in the study’s cows by 11%, with the effect being most noticeable in first-lactation cows.
Botanicals, also known as phytonutrients, are plant-derived bioactive chemicals that have antimicrobial activities against bacteria, protozoa, and fungus. Studies on non-ruminant species have demonstrated that phytonutrients may cause particular gastrointestinal and immune responses in animals. Various botanicals containing active compounds such as eugenol, cinnamaldehyde, allicin, and capsaicin may stimulate immunological responses, decrease oxidative stress, and impact insulin secretion and function.
In a 10-week study at the Penn State Dairy Barns, 48 Holstein cows were randomly allocated to one of three food regimens. The research discovered that cows supplied with capsicum oleoresin or a mixture of capsicum oleoresin and clove oil used energy more efficiently.
