The goal of our study was to determine a safe UV irradiation dose for vitamin D supplementation in dairy cows of the Holstein Friesian breed and to investigate the utility of narrow-band UVB irradiation limited to robot milking time for vitamin D supplementation. We also wanted to determine the influence of hair and skin and/or hair colour on cutaneous vitamin D synthesis in cattle. For the first part of our study, we enrolled 21 cows and heifers of the Holstein Friesen breed from two farms. We irradiated them with a raising dose of irradiation using a narrow-band UVB light on 8 hair-covered and 8 shaven areas. In the second part of the study, we enrolled 51 cows of the Holstein Friesen breed, which we split into three equal and random groups based on milk yield in the previous lactation, days after calving and the percent of black hair on the back. The first group was shaven every two weeks and irradiated with a dose of 80 J/m2, the second group was irradiated with a maximum dose daily robot milking time would allow but did not exceed 360 J/m2, the third group served as a control group. During the study the cows were blood sampled four times on the first and at 7 days, 30 days and 60 days after the start of irradiation and the concentration of 25-hydroxyvitamin D was determined using an automated immune enzyme fluorescence method. In the first part of the study, we found that erythema on shaven will appear at a dose of 329 J/m2 and on haired skin at a dose of 5595 J/m2 and that the latter dose was linearly dependent on hair length, therefore, a significantly higher dose is needed to produce erythema on haired skin. In the second part of our study, we found that vitamin D supplementation using a narrow-band UVB light limited to robot milking time is possible. On average the shaven cows produced the most vitamin D (13,37 ng/mL), followed by the haired group (9,96 ng/mL), while the control group produced the least vitamin D (5,11 ng/mL). We also found that cutaneous vitamin D synthesis is dependent on skin colour; however, we could not confirm an effect of hair colour. This study is the first to determine the minimal erythema dose in Holstein Friesen dairy cattle in a standardised way, which allows the comparison of doses between different studies. The determined doses are easily exceeded at mild latitudes; therefore, it is important that cattle on pasture have shelter where they can get out of direct sun irradiation. We also found an effect of hair and skin colour on cutaneous vitamin D production in Holstein Friesen cattle and put forward a new way of vitamin D supplementation that does not interfere with daily farm routine.
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