Cottonseed and Gossypol: Effects on Lactation, Reproduction and

Health

J.E.P. Santos,1 E.J. DePeters,2 and P.H. Robinson2

1Veterinary Medicine Teaching and Research Center2Department of Animal Science University of California - Davis

Cottonseed and Gossypol

• Cottonseed is generally fed at 10 to 15% of the diet

• Provides a unique blend of protein, fat and fiber for inclusion in diets of dairy cows

• Cottonseed contains gossypol (0.5 to 1.2%), which is a toxin present throughout the cotton plant that helps to control pests

• However, gossypol can be toxic to mammals and it disrupts reproduction in males

Gossypol

• Mixture of two stereoisomers: (+) and (-) gossypol

– The (-) isomer is thought to be more toxic and retained in the body longer

• Gossypol can be found in the free or bound forms

– Free gossypol is assumed to be available for absorption in the digestive tract

Gossypol

• Fact:

– Gossypol is extremely toxic to non-ruminant animals and to young ruminants at small quantities in the diet

– Ability to tolerate gossypol coincides with development of rumen functions

– Affects fertility in males

• Dogma:

– Any gossypol is bad for lactating dairy cows

– The upper safe level of plasma gossypol is 5 g/ml

Gossypol

• First discovered in China

• Until 1980’s little attention was given to gossypol as a toxin in cattle diets:

– Classic work by Holmberg and colleagues in 1988 at UC Davis characterizing the pathological effects of gossypol in calves fed cottonseed meal

Cottonseed & Gossypol

• Substantial amount of published literature on the effects of cottonseed and gossypol on lactation performance of dairy cows:

– Different types of cottonseed, different levels cottonseed in the diets, different concentrations of gossypol in the diet, different sources of gossypol in the diet, short-term and long-term studies, etc.

• Very limited data available on the effects of cottonseed and gossypol on reproductive functions in female cattle:

– Few studies with limited number of animals and some studies utilizing in vitro techniques to replicate reproductive processes in female bovine.

Cottonseed & Gossypol

• One method to study the effects of gossypol on cattle is to use cottonseeds with different gossypol concentrations or compare cottonseed with cottonseed meal:

– Whole Upland vs Pima cottonseed

• Slightly different in nutrient composition (lack of lint), but extremely different in gossypol content

– Cottonseed vs Cottonseed Meal

• Differ in availability of gossypol

Mena et al. (1997)

Effect of Type of Cottonseed on FG Intake and Plasma TG in Steers

Type of Cottonseed

Whole Cracked Extru Roast CrRoast SEM

DMI, kg/d 9.6 9.5 10.4 9.8 99.0 0.6

FG intake

g/d 10.3a 10.0a 1.7c 3.8b 1.4c 0.32

mg/kg BW 26.8a 25.6a 4.0c 10.3b 4.1c 0.80

Plasma TG 1.19a 1.43a 0.75b 0.81b 0.18c 0.10

Prieto et al. (2002)

Ratio of Whole Upland and Cracked Pima

100:0 67:33 33:67 0:100 SEM Linear

Mature

TG, g/d 24.7 26.2 32.6 34.8 2.73 0.01

DMI, lb/d 66.7 58.7 62.9 58.7 4.6 0.33

Milk, lb/d 92.2 91.3 91.3 84.5 4.0 0.13

Heifers

TG, g/d 20.9 24.9 27.4 32.7 2.86 0.01

DMI, lb/d 56.3 56.1 52.8 55.2 5.4 0.84

Milk, lb/d 81.2 86.0 88.2 84.0 3.3 0.60

Effect of Type of Cottonseed and Iron Sulfate on Effect of Type of Cottonseed and Iron Sulfate on Plasma TG in Dairy CowsPlasma TG in Dairy Cows

((McCaughey et al., 2002) et al., 2002)

0123456789

1011

Primiparous Multiparous

Pla

sma

TG

, u

g/m

l

WUP CrP 0ppm CrP 250 ppm CrP 500 ppm

Cottonseed: P < 0.01Iron sulfate: P < 0.01

McCaughey et al. (2002)

Effect of Type of Cottonseed and Fe Sulfate on Performance of Lactating Dairy Cows

WUP CrP:WUP CrP:WUP CrP:WUP

Iron Sulfate 0 0 250 500 Linear

DMI, kg/d

Multiparous 31.8 32.8 32.5 29.7 0.01

Primiparous 26.4 27.6 27.0 25.4 0.01

Milk, kg/d

Multiparous 49.7 51.2 49.9 47.7 0.10

Primiparous 39.2 40.3 38.0 36.8 0.10

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

2.5

3.0

3.5

4.0

4.5

5.0

5.5

0 7 14 28 35 42

day

PG

, ug

/ml

Plasma gossypol (PG) concentrations in lactating dairy cows fed varying amounts of gossypol from whole cottonseed and cottonseed meal. Solid triangle () = control (0 mg/kg); Open square () = 1040 mg/kg total gossypol (TG) from whole cottonseed (WCS); Open circle () = 900 mg/kg TG from cottonseed meal (CSM); Solid circle () = 960 mg/kg TG, half from WCS and half from CSM; Solid square () = 1922 mg/kg TG, half from WCS and half from CSM (Mena et al., 2001)

Mena et al. (2001)

Effect of Source of Gossypol on Performance of Dairy Cows

Diet TG, ppm

0 1040 900 960 1922 SEM

DMI, kg/d 24.8 23.6 23.2 22.6 24.0 1.4

FG intake

g/d 0.0c 22.4a 1.5c 12.1b 25.2a 1.00

mg/kg BW 0.0c 33.8a 2.2c 18.1b 38.0a 1.66

PTG, ug/ml 0.22d 2.94b 0.77cd 1.63c 4.96a 0.37

Milk, kg/d 27.6b 29.7ab 27.9b 28.7b 32.6a 1.4

FCM, kg/d 25.4c 28.2ab 25.3c 27.4bc 30.2a 1.3

Relationship between free gossypol (FG) intake (g/d) and plasma gossypol (PG) concentration (g/ml) in lactating dairy cows after 42 days of feeding diets varying in gossypol content (Mena et al., 2001).

Plasma gossypol = 0.219815 + 0.117034 FG

r2 = 0.80

Filed Study in California

• Study:

– 813 lactating Holstein cows in 3 commercial dairies

– 10 pens (5/treatment)

– 406 cows/trt

– Low vs high gossypol diet (750 vs 990 mg/kg FG)

– Cows were fed for the first 183 DIM

– Production, reproduction and health were monitored

Experimental Protocol

Diets: 10% WUP vs 10% of a 1:2 blend of WUP & cracked Pima

813 cows day postpartum

D 3 - 24 PP 30 ± 3 44 ± 3 63 ± 3 93 ± 3 183

BCS PGF PGF Blood + BCS

Blood + BCS

BCS

Heat detection & AI

Pregnancy Diagnosis

Nutrient Composition of DietsNutrient Composition of Diets

Cottonseed

ItemItem WUP BWUPCP SEM P <

Samples, nSamples, n 15 15

OM, %OM, % 91.1 91.3 0.45 0.43

NENELL, Mcal/lb, Mcal/lb 0.77 0.78 0.02 0.36

CP, %CP, % 18.4 18.5 0.34 0.87

Fat, %Fat, % 7.0 6.9 0.13 0.48

ADF, %ADF, % 21.8 21.8 0.93 0.99

NDF, %NDF, % 33.1 32.3 0.32 0.05

TG, mg/kgTG, mg/kg 743 1,000

Santos et al. (2002)

Effect of Type of Cottonseed on Performance of Dairy CowsEffect of Type of Cottonseed on Performance of Dairy Cows

Cottonseed

ItemItem WUP BWUPCP SEM P <

Cows, nCows, n 402 401 -- --

DMI, lb/dDMI, lb/d 53.7 53.5 1.58 0.91

FG, g/dFG, g/d 17.8 23.4 0.70 0.01

Milk, lb/dMilk, lb/d 87.8 87.3 0.77 0.78

3.5% FCM, lb/d3.5% FCM, lb/d 88.0 88.4 0.79 0.61

Santos et al. (2002)

Association of plasma TG above or below the mean on yields of Association of plasma TG above or below the mean on yields of milk and milk componentsmilk and milk components

Plasma TG

ItemItem Above Mean Below Mean TG TRT x TG

Cows, nCows, n 335 474 -- --

Milk, lb/dMilk, lb/d 93.1 84.3 0.01 0.90

3.5% FCM, lb/d3.5% FCM, lb/d 95.7 84.7 0.001 0.54

Milk fat, lb/dMilk fat, lb/d 3.41 2.97 0.001 0.40

Milk protein, lb/dMilk protein, lb/d 2.70 2.46 0.007 0.94

Santos et al. (2002)

Plasma Total Gossypol in Primiparous and Multiparous Cows Fed WUP or a Blend of WUP and Cracked Pima

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

10 33 61 91 120 152

DIM

Pla

sma

go

ssyp

ol,

ug

/ml

WUP-P WUP-M BUPCP-P BUPCP-M

Santos et al. (2002)

Effect of Type of Cottonseed and Gossypol Intake on Conception and Pregnancy Rates of Lactatin Dairy Cows

10

13

16

19

22

25

28

31

34

%

First AI, CR

WUP BWUPCP

50

55

60

65

70

75

80

85

90

%

PR, 170 DIM

WUP BWUPCP

P < 0.72 P < 0.01

Santos et al. (2002)

180160140120100806040200

1.0

0.9

0.8

0.7

0.6

0.5

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0.0

Days Open

Pro

port

ion

of n

on-p

regn

ancy

Effect of Type of Cottonseed and Gossypol Intake on Days Open in Lactating Dairy Cows

Whole Upland:

Blend of cracked Pima and WUP:

Cottonseed: P < 0.01

Plasma Gossypol Concentration in Lactating Dairy Cows

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

ug

/ml

Total Gossypol

Pregnant Open

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

ug

/ml

Total Gossypol

No Abortion Abortion

P < 0.01 P < 0.04

Santos et al. (2002)

180160140120100806040200

1.0

0.9

0.8

0.7

0.6

0.5

0.4

0.3

0.2

Days Open

Pro

port

ion o

f non

-pre

gnan

cyEffect of Plasma Total Gossypol Above or Below the Mean

on Days Open in Lactating Dairy Cows

TG: P < 0.04

Above Mean:

Below Mean:

Q1Q2

Q3Q4

180160140120100806040200

1.0

0.9

0.8

0.7

0.6

0.5

0.4

0.3

0.2

Time to Failure

Pro

babi

lity

P < 0.05

Effect of Plasma Gossypol Concentrations on Days Open in Dairy Cows

Effect of Type of Cottonseed and Gossypol Intake Effect of Type of Cottonseed and Gossypol Intake on Conception Rate of Dairy Cows (1,863 AI)on Conception Rate of Dairy Cows (1,863 AI)

(Santos et al. 2002)(Santos et al. 2002)

20

25

30

35

40

45

Primiparous Multiparous

Co

nc

ep

tio

n r

ate

, %

WUP BWUPCP

Cottonseed: P < 0.03Plasma Gossypol: P < 0.01

Effect of Type of Cottonseed and Gossypol Intake on Incidence of Effect of Type of Cottonseed and Gossypol Intake on Incidence of Health Disorders in Lactating Dairy CowsHealth Disorders in Lactating Dairy Cows

Treatment

ItemItem WUP Blend WUP and CrP

P <

Mastitis, %Mastitis, % 16.3 10.5 0.21

DIM at first mastitisDIM at first mastitis 73.4 85.5 0.28

Lameness, %Lameness, % 11.1 16.2 0.57

DIM at first lamenessDIM at first lameness 94.9 109.4 0.27

Any health disorder, %Any health disorder, % 30.9 31.6 0.89

Death and culling, %Death and culling, % 9.1 7.8 0.51

Santos et al. (2002)

Take Home Message

• Cottonseed can be safely fed to lactating dairy cows at 10 to 15% of the diet DM with minimum effects on lactation performance

• Small amounts of gossypol can disrupt fertility in bulls– Consider AI vs bull breeding

• There is no clear evidence that dietary gossypol up to 1,000 mg/kg of diet affects lactation or health of lactating dairy cows

• High gossypol diets for extended periods increases plasma TG and can affect conception and pregnancy maintenance in dairy cows

Acknowledgements

• SUPIMA Association of America

• Cotton Incorporated

• Dairy owners and their staff