Technical note: forms and route of vitamin C supplementation for cows

The purpose of this study was to compare the effect of multiple oral supplementation of two forms of vitamin C on plasma ascorbic acid concentrations in dairy cows. Vitamin C was administrated at the rate of 40 g/d during a 5-d period. The supplements were vitamin C in the form of a fine powder and vitamin C coated with ethyl cellulose. In addition, another group of cows provided with vitamin C in the form of fine powder through an abomasal fistula was enrolled in the study. The effect of vitamin C supplementation was assessed by the change in plasma ascorbic acid concentrations during a 5-d period of vitamin C supplementation. A tendency existed for cows that were dosed with vitamin C in the abomasum to have higher ascorbic acid than cows supplemented orally. In the abomasum-dosed cows, plasma ascorbic acid value varied between 3.6 and 4.4 micrograms/ml; the maximum ascorbic acid content was 4.4 micrograms/ml at 54 h. Cows dosed orally with vitamin C coated with ethyl cellulose had higher plasma ascorbic acid concentrations than did cows that received vitamin C in the form of fine powder. In the former group, the maximum ascorbic acid concentration occurred at 30 h after dosing (5 micrograms/ml).