Concentration of mineral components, β-carotene, vitamins A and E in cow colostrum and milk when using mineral-vitamin supplements

Supplementing the winter feed of Holstein-Friesian cows (10-14 days before and 120 days after calving) with Mg, Mn, Cu, Zn and Se in order to form an organic mineral complex and vitamins (E, PP, beta-carotene), applied with or without Saccharomyces cerevisiae(1026) yeast resulted in 32-60% higher Cu,P-carotene, vitamin E and A concentrations and 3-10% higher Na, Fe, Zn and Mg levels in colostrum compared with the control group. The supplements caused increased concentrations of mineral constituents and vitamins in milk. Enhanced levels of Ca, P, Mg, Na, K, and particularly Cu, were observed in the milk of cows receiving the metal amino acid chelate and vitamins, while the yeast supplement mainly stimulated the increase of Fe and Zn levels in milk. On day 120 of lactation the milk of the supplemented cows contained 38-51% more vitamin E and beta-carotene and 28-30% more vitamin A relative to the control cows' milk. Compared with the control group, enriching the cows' feeding ration (10-14 days prior to parturition) with the organic mineral supplements, vitamins and yeast led to a 2-19% increase in the Ca, Fe, Cu, beta-carotene and vitamin E levels and an,18% (group 2) and 33% (group 3) increase in the vitamin A concentration in the blood of the calves that were born.