Supplementation of vitamin E, selenium and increased energy allowance mitigates the transition stress and improves postpartum reproductive performance in the crossbred cow  Amit Khatti, Sanjeev Mehrotra, Pankaj Kumar Patel, Gyanendra Singh, Vijai Prakash Maurya, Ajit Singh Mahla, Ravjibhai Karshanbhai Chaudhari, Gautam Kumar Das, Mithilesh Singh, Mihir Sarkar, Harendra Kumar, Narayanan Krishnaswamy  Theriogenology  Volume 104, Pages 142-148 (December 2017) DOI: 10.1016/j.theriogenology.2017.08.014 Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. Terms and Conditions

Fig. 1 Effect of Vitamin E and Se supplementation with additional energy on the serum concentration of (A) malondialdehyde (MDA), (B) total antioxidant capacity (TAC), (C) superoxide dismutase (SOD and (D) catalase (CAT) during the transition period in crossbred cow (Mean ± SE): Transition crossbred cows were divided into TRT or CON groups (n = 13/group). In TRT group, oral supplementation of Vitamin E and Se was given from four weeks prepartum to eight weeks postpartum (NRC 2001). Cows in TRT received additional energy in the form of 20% increased provision of concentrate from second to eighth week of postpartum. Data were analyzed by GLM repeated measure ANOVA using SPSS version 20. A treatment effect was observed on the serum MDA and SOD, while treatment × time interaction (P < 0.001) was recorded for all the variables. Single and double asterisk represent significance at 5% and 1%, respectively. Theriogenology 2017 104, 142-148DOI: (10.1016/j.theriogenology.2017.08.014) Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. Terms and Conditions

Fig. 2 Effect of Vitamin E and Se supplementation with additional energy on (A) phagocytic activity (PA) and (B) lymphocyte proliferation assay (LPA) during the transition period in the crossbred cow (Mean ± SE): Transition crossbred cows were divided into TRT or CON groups (n = 13/group). In TRT group, oral supplementation of Vitamin E and Se was given from four weeks prepartum to eight weeks postpartum (NRC 2001). Cows in TRT received additional energy in the form of 20% increased provision of concentrate from second to eighth week postpartum. Data were analyzed by GLM repeated measure ANOVA using SPSS version 20. There was a treatment effect (P < 0.05) on LPA and PA, whereas, treatment × time interaction (P < 0.001) was observed in PA only. Single and double asterisk represent significance at 5% and 1%, respectively. Theriogenology 2017 104, 142-148DOI: (10.1016/j.theriogenology.2017.08.014) Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. Terms and Conditions

Fig. 3 Kaplan-Meier survival analysis is showing the first postpartum estrus (%) over a period of 60 days from calving in the crossbred cows. The cows of TRT group were supplemented vitamin E and Se at dose rate of 80 IU/kg and 0.3 mg/kg of DM, respectively, from 4 weeks prepartum to 8 weeks postpartum and increased energy from 2 to 8 weeks postpartum. First postpartum estrus was considered as event. Log rank test showed a statistically significant difference in the interval from calving to first postpartum estrus (χ2df1 = 20.03, P < 0.001). By day 30 postpartum, 46.15% cows in TRT showed first postpartum estrus while none of the cow in the CON was found in estrus. Theriogenology 2017 104, 142-148DOI: (10.1016/j.theriogenology.2017.08.014) Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. Terms and Conditions