Use of Butyrate to Promote Gastrointestinal Tract Development in Calves

Promotion of microbial butyrate production in the reticulorumen is a widely used method for enhancing forestomach development in calves. Additional acceleration of gastrointestinal tract (GIT) development,

both the forestomach and lower parts of the GIT (e.g., abomasum, intestine, and also pancreas), can be obtained by dietary butyrate supplementation. For this purpose, different sources (e.g., butyrate salts or butyrins), forms (e.g., protected or unprotected), methods (e.g., in liquid feed or solid feed), and periods (e.g., before or after weaning) of butyrate administration can be used. The aim of the review of Gorka and co-workers (2018) was to summarize the knowledge in the field of butyrate supplementation in feeds for newborn. It has been repeatedly shown that supplementation of unprotected salts of butyrate (primarily sodium salt) in milk replacer (MR) stimulates the rumen, small intestine, and pancreas development in calves, with a supplementation level equating to 0.3% of dry matter being sufficient to exert the desired effect on both GIT development and growth performance. On the other hand, the effect of unprotected butyrins and protected forms of butyrate supplementation in MR has not been extensively investigated, and few studies have documented the effect of butyrate addition into whole milk (WM). Protected butyrate supplementation at a low level (0.3% of protected product in DM) in solid feed was shown to have a potential to enhance GIT development and performance of calves fed MR during the pre-weaning period