The product studied is a prescription-only veterinary medicine. Consult the label approved in your market for indications, dose, route and withdrawal period. Important safety information.
Background
- Trace minerals play an important role in cattle immunity, health and performance.
- Copper, selenium, zinc and manganese deficiencies are known to negatively influence beef cattle reproduction.
- Delivery of supplemental trace minerals using an injectable solution has been demonstrated to be a reliable means of achieving adequate trace-mineral status.
The aim of the study was to summarise fertility results obtained in Brazilian beef cattle injected with a combination trace mineral solution before fixed-time artificial insemination (FTAI), compared with non-treated control animals.
Materials and methods
- 7 farms in Brazil: 6 in Goiás and 1 in Mato Grosso do Sul.
- 1,643 Nelore cattle: 350 nulliparous, 206 primiparous and 1,087 multiparous cows.
- Randomised treatment: MM (n = 816) versus control (CON, n = 827).
- Period: December 2022 to April 2023.
- Parity and body condition score (BCS) did not differ among treatment groups.
- Treatment: an injectable trace mineral (Axiota Animal Health), a solution containing Zn 60 mg/ml, Mn 10 mg/ml, Cu 15 mg/ml and Se 5 mg/ml. These are the concentrations of the solution, not the dose administered: the poster does not report the dose rate or the route of administration. Follow the dose and route of the label approved in your market.
- Protocol: treatment on day 0, synchronisation using estradiol and a progesterone-releasing intravaginal device, FTAI on day 11, pregnancy diagnosis on day 41.
Results
Pregnancy at day 41 was 51% in the MM group versus 44% in controls.
| Farm | MM | Control |
|---|---|---|
| Farm 1 | 48% | 42% |
| Farm 2 | 43% | 30% |
| Farm 3 | 47% | 40% |
| Farm 4 | 54% | 48% |
| Farm 5 | 54% | 47% |
| Farm 6 | 64% | 60% |
| Farm 7 | 39% | 34% |
Accounting for farm, parity and BCS, MM animals had 1.29 times higher odds of pregnancy than controls (odds ratio 1.29; 95% CI 1.05–1.59). Treatment-by-parity and treatment-by-farm interactions were not significant.
| Subgroup | Odds ratio | 95% CI |
|---|---|---|
| BCS < 3 | 1.19† — did not reach statistical significance | 0.93–1.53 |
| BCS ≥ 3 | 1.49 | 1.02–2.17 |
Confidence interval crosses 1: a difference cannot be established for this subgroup.
The subgroup effect reached significance only in animals with BCS ≥ 3 (OR 1.49; 95% CI 1.02–2.17); in the BCS < 3 subgroup the interval crosses 1 (OR 1.19; 0.93–1.53), so no difference is established for those animals. The poster reports no treatment-by-BCS interaction test, and the two intervals overlap widely, so a real difference between the two subgroups is not established either.
Conclusions
A combination trace mineral injection applied at the beginning of the synchronisation protocol can be beneficial for fertility in beef cows. The effect was statistically significant in cows with adequate BCS and not in cows below BCS 3, but the study does not establish that the two groups respond differently.
How to cite this poster
Guadagnini M, Teodoro JV, Prado J, O'Leary E, Franco G. Injectable trace minerals, strategic administration before fixed-time artificial insemination in beef cattle in Brazil. Poster presented at: 32nd World Buiatrics Congress; 2024; Cancún, Mexico.
Abbreviations
- FTAI
- Fixed-time artificial insemination — insemination at a scheduled hour after a synchronisation protocol, without heat detection.
- BCS
- Body condition score, a visual assessment of an animal's fat reserves. The poster does not state which scale was used; it reports the results split at BCS 3.
- MM
- Treated group: animals injected with the combination trace mineral solution.
- CON
- Control group: animals that received no injection.
- OR
- Odds ratio — how many times higher the odds of pregnancy were in the treated group.
- 95% CI
- 95% confidence interval. If it crosses 1, a difference cannot be established.
- D0 / D11 / D41
- Days of the protocol: treatment, insemination and pregnancy diagnosis.
Important safety information
The product studied is a prescription-only veterinary medicine. It must be prescribed and used under the direction of a licensed veterinarian. This page reports the results of one study; it is not a substitute for the approved label and does not constitute a recommendation for any individual animal or herd.
Before use, read the summary of product characteristics or package insert approved in your market for the complete indications, contraindications, warnings, dose, route of administration and pre-slaughter withdrawal period. Trace minerals administered in excess can be toxic; the margin between an effective and an excessive dose is narrow for copper and selenium in particular.
Product presentations, authorised indications and dosage differ between countries. This study was conducted in Brazil with the presentation described above, and its results may not transfer to a differently formulated presentation.
To report a suspected adverse event or a suspected lack of efficacy, contact your veterinarian, the marketing authorisation holder in your country, or your national competent authority. You can also write to mguadagnini@axiota.com.
This page is a transcription of the poster above, prepared so that the full results — including the subgroup where no difference could be established — are readable, searchable and accessible without opening the PDF.
Limitations. Controls received no injection: there was no placebo or sham-handled group, so restraint and handling at treatment are not controlled for. The poster does not state whether the technicians performing the pregnancy diagnosis were blinded to treatment, nor the dose rate and route administered. It reports no treatment-by-BCS interaction test. No ethics or animal-care approval is stated on the poster.
Where this page differs from the poster. The poster concludes that «the magnitude of the benefit can be amplified in cows with adequate BCS». It reports no treatment-by-BCS interaction test and the two subgroup intervals overlap widely, so this page reports the two subgroup results without claiming that the subgroups differ.
Study funded by Axiota Animal Health, manufacturer of the product studied. Four of the authors are employees of the company.