The effect of prepartum injection of vitamin E on health in transition dairy cows

The objective of this study was to investigate parenteral vitamin E for the prevention of peripartum disease in dairy cows. A randomized clinical trial was conducted in 21 commercial dairy herds. Cows (n = 1142) were randomly assigned to receive either a single subcutaneous injection of 3000 IU of vitamin E, or placebo, 1 wk before expected calving. Serum alpha-tocopherol was significantly increased in treated cows at 7 and 14 d, but not at 21 d after injection. Overall, there were no significant differences between treatment groups in the incidence of retained placenta, clinical mastitis, metritis, endometritis, ketosis, displaced abomasum, or lameness. However, there was a conditional benefit of treatment for reduction of the incidence of retained placenta. Cows with marginal pretreatment vitamin E status (serum alpha-tocopherol to cholesterol mass ratio < 2.5 x 10(-3)) that received an injection of vitamin E tended to have reduced risk of retained placenta. However, in cows with adequate serum vitamin E, there was no reduction in the incidence of any disease. For clinical application, primiparous animals were most likely to benefit from prepartum injection of vitamin E.