Countering the effects of heat stress with natural betaine
Dr Janet Remus, Senior Technical Director, North America at Danisco Animal Nutrition (IFF) explains how the dual action of natural betaine benefits animals experiencing heat stress and helps to maintain performance.
BY DR JANET REMUS, DANISCO ANIMAL NUTRITION (IFF) H
Ileal APP ug/min/cm 23.5b
100a 68b 8.3a 6.3a 22
Control no heat stress
Control under
heat stress (HS)
Betaine (HS)
Control no heat
stress
Control under
heat stress (HS)
ab Values without a common superscript within a graph are significantly different (P<0.005) Gabler et al., 2013. APP= Apparent Permeability Coefficient TEER = Transepithelial Electrical Resistance
38 ▶ HEAT STRESS | MAY 2021
Betaine (HS)
Control
*P<0.001 Redrawn from Dunshea et al., 2019
Natural Betaine
ydration is more than a cellular issue. With 98% of all the molecules in the body affected by water, maintaining optimum hydration challenges the whole animal in terms of energy demands. When
heat stress occurs, the energy needed to maintain cellular water balance goes up at the same time as the animal is also having to work hard to maintain productivity and survive the stress. So how can the multiple functions of natural betaine help producers improve efficiency?
Water regulation Cells have no direct way to hold or control water movement, so water can move according to the concentration gradient prevailing at the time. However, because water is a crucial cel- lular component, nature has devised ways of manipulating its
Figure 1 - Natural betaine and intestinal morphology in grower pigs exposed to heat stress.
Ileal TEER (AU) 94a 23.4*
movement. The most commonly recognised method is through the use of ion pumps, such as sodium-potassium AT- Pase. They act to increase electrolyte levels (mainly potassium) in the cell to a level which is more concentrated than its hyper- osmotic environment, and so minimises water movement. However, these pumps are mainly effective against short term stresses, rather than sustained pressure from dehydration. This is because high accumulation of potassium destabilises cellular enzymes, proteins and organelles; leading to a drop in cellular energy output at a rate that increases the longer the stress per- sists. This is when the functional benefits of Betafin natural be- taine, come into play; providing a safe way to minimise cellular water loss at minimum energy cost.
The functions of natural betaine A naturally-occurring osmolyte and methyl donor, natural betaine is an effective means of helping cells stay hydrated. It works by interacting with cellular water to maintain water balance. At the same time, it protects cellular organelles, enzymes and proteins and so enables these components to maintain normal functions despite the stresses caused by, for example, high environmental temperatures. By helping cells “cope” with dehydration in this way, natural betaine helps to prevent valuable energy being diverted away from growth and lean gain and so helps to maintain animal performance, despite the challenging conditions. Indeed, the presence of natural betaine has been shown to reduce the activity of ion pumps like Na/K ATPase and Ca2+ ATPase by 64% and 73%
Figure 2 - Milk yield of naturally heat stressed grazing dairy cows supplemented with ~15 g/ head/day of natural betaine.
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