Ultraviolet B needed for indoor cows to have enough vitamin D in milk – June 2015

Short communication: Artificial ultraviolet B light exposure increases vitamin D levels in cow plasma and milk.

J Dairy Sci. 2015 Jun 24. pii: S0022-0302(15)00433-6. doi: 10.3168/jds.2014-9277. [Epub ahead of print]
Jakobsen J1, Jensen SK2, Hymøller L2, Andersen EW3, Kaas P4, Burild A5, Jäpelt RB5.
1National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark, 2860 Søborg, Denmark. Electronic address: jeja at food.dtu.dk.
2Department of Animal Science, Aarhus University, 8830 Tjele, Denmark.
3Department of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science, Technical University of Denmark, 2800 Lyngby, Denmark.
4Scan Research, 7400 Herning, Denmark.
5National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark, 2860 Søborg, Denmark.

The number of dairy cows without access to pasture or sunlight is increasing; therefore, the content of vitamin D in dairy products is decreasing. Ultimately, declining vitamin D levels in dairy products will mean that dairy products are a negligible source of natural vitamin D for humans. We tested the ability of a specially designed UVB lamp to enhance the vitamin D3 content in milk from dairy cows housed indoors. This study included 16 cows divided into 4 groups.
Each group was exposed daily to artificial UVB light simulating 1, 2, 3, or 4 h of summer sun at 56°N for 24 d, and the group with simulated exposure to 2 h of summer sun daily continued to be monitored for 73 d. We found a significant increase in 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (25OHD3) levels in plasma as well as vitamin D3 and 25OHD3 levels in milk after daily exposure for 24 d in all treatment groups. Extending daily exposure to artificial UVB light to 73 d did not lead to an increase of vitamin D3 or 25OHD3 level in the milk. In conclusion, the change in production facilities for dairy cows providing cows with no access to pasture and sunlight causes a decrease of vitamin D levels in dairy products. This decrease may be prevented by exposing cows to artificial UVB light in the stable.

PMID: 26117346

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