Peitro Celi is a veterinarian with a wealth of academic and practical knowledge, and is currently employed as the APAC Ruminant Technical Manager for ADM, as well as an honorary Senior Fellow at the University of Melbourne. Peitro opens his session with just why insulin resistance aka ‘glucose sparing’ matters in dairy cows during the critical transition period and that this is an emerging challenge for cows and those of us who work with them.
Insulin resistance is defined as a reduced response by body tissues to insulin when concentrations of insulin are otherwise “normal”, resulting in reduced uptake of glucose by those tissues. A ‘normal’ process to prioritise supply of glucose to tissues that have an obligate requirement for glucose particularly during early lactation e.g. the brain, milk synthesis in early lactation and, glucose also supports the immune system/inflammatory response, particularly when infective challenges are present.
How insulin resistance occurs in some but not all body tissues occurs is discussed, and how and why this changes through and beyond the transition period. This is very well discussed by Pietri in an easy to listen to manner. A review of gluconeogenesis scene sets for the second consequence of insulin in transition cows – that higher levels of insulin suppress gluconeogenesis just when the cow needs more glucose the most – during early lactation. Overcoming insulin resistance in transition cows is therefore our goal.
Pietro concludes his presentation with the role for rumen-protected capsicum (RPC; in chilli pepper!!) for promoting reduced concentrations of insulin and therefore improving gluconeogenesis, improving glucose uptake by peripheral tissues and reducing consequences of inadequate glucose supplies through the transition period. Benefits of RPC improved milk yields and reduced prevalence of ketosis are discussed.
Enjoy this presentation – anyone working with transition management of dairy cows will gain a lot of knowledge with practical applicability from Pietros work.
Pietro Celi graduated in Veterinary Medicine at the University of Bari (Italy), moved to Perth, Western Australia, to complete a PhD in Animal Science (University of Western Australia). In 2000 he took a lectureship position in Animal Physiology at the University of Basilicata (Potenza, Italy) and in 2005 he joined the University of Sydney as Senior Lecturer in Ruminant Health and Production. In 2015 he transitioned into the private sector taking on Technical and Commercial roles with dsm-firmenich (Global Science Lead Eubiotics and Manager Performance Solutions, Oceania) and Adisseo (Regional Category Manager Ruminants and Palatability and ANZ and Pacific Islands Territory Manager). He is currently the APAC Ruminant Technical Manager for ADM and honorary Senior Fellow at the University of Melbourne (Australia). He has been invited speaker to over 50 national and International Conferences, workshops, and seminars, including key international events relevant to industry and academia. Dr Celi has been involved in studies into animal physiology, nutrition and reproduction for over 25 years and during this time he has worked on a variety of livestock species. Dr Celi has published 150 peer reviewed journal papers, 4 book chapters and over 160 conference papers related to animal nutrition and health (full list of papers can be found at https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Pietro_Celi and https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=pptcOxYAAAAJ&hl=en). He is Editorial Board member for Journal of Dairy Research.
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