Bioactive oligosaccharides in colostrum and other liquid feeds for calf’s early life nutrition: A qualitative and quantitative investigation

Abstract Milk oligosaccharides are the prebiotic gold standard for neonates. This work investigated the concentration and profile of bovine milk oligosaccharides (BMO) in colostrum and other types of liquid feeds. Sialylated BMO displayed a broad range of concentrations (from nearly 1.7 g L-1 to 100 mg L-1) with 3′-sialyllactose, 6′-sialyllactose, and 6′-sialyl-N-acetyllactosamine having the highest concentration in the 1st milking postpartum but decreasing rapidly until reaching a stable concentration at the 3rd–5th milking. While 3′-sialyllactose was present at the highest concentration in all samples, 6′-sialyl-N-acetyllactosamine concentration was higher than 6′-sialyllactose in the 1st milking but lower than 6′-sialyllactose in the 3rd–5th milking. BMO abundance in colostrum was 7–9 fold higher than in other liquid feeds (saleable, non-saleable, and saleable mixed with non-saleable milk). Sialylated BMO were the predominant type in colostrum, whereas neutral non-fucosylated were similar in all feeds. Five fucosylated BMO were also identified.