Optimizing animal health and productivity is key in livestock production, and accurate control of vitamins and nutrients is essential. BioAnalyt’s iCheck offers a fast, on-farm solution to measure nutrient levels in blood and tissue samples within minutes. This helps farmers quickly adjust feed and supplements, improving animal health, fertility, disease resistance, and overall productivity.
Let’s take a closer look at how iCheck benefits different livestock sectors.
Dairy cattle: Improving fertility, milk production and disease resistance
Optimizing fertility and milk production is vital for dairy farmers. Deficiencies in β-carotene and vitamin E can cause reproductive issues, lower lactation, and weaken disease resistance (1,2,3).Â
Recent studies have validated the iCheck test for the rapid measurement of fat-soluble vitamins – such as vitamin E, vitamin A and β-carotene – in whole blood without pre-treatment. Whole blood vitamin E concentrations in dairy cows ranged from 1.82 to 4.99 mg/L and showed a strong correlation (R² = 0.97) with HPLC results (4). Â
Wagyu Cattle: Optimising Meat Marbling with Precision Vitamin A Management
In Wagyu cattle, marbling is crucial for meat quality and profitability, with higher marbling linked to lower blood vitamin A levels. Precise control of vitamin A is essential—farmers must balance it to promote fat cell growth while maintaining disease resistance. iCheck allows farmers to optimize vitamin A levels, ensuring premium marbling without compromising animal health.
Poultry & Eggs: Perfecting Egg Yolk Color and Enhancing Poultry Health
In the poultry industry, consumer preferences for vibrant yolk colour are met by adding carotenoids to feed. Vitamin E further supports poultry health by boosting the immune system and acting as a powerful antioxidant, promoting growth and reducing mortality rates. iCheck provides accurate, real-time measurement of carotenoid and vitamin E levels in feed, ensuring consistent yolk pigmentation and enhanced poultry health.
Falcons: Strengthening Health and Disease Resistance
At the largest falcon veterinary clinic in the United Arab Emirates, iCheck is used to monitor vitamin A levels in falcons. Maintaining optimal vitamin A status is critical for improving the birds’ health and boosting their resistance to disease, ensuring they remain in peak condition.
Salmon: Achieving perfect pink meat
In aquaculture, the pink colour of salmon flesh is a key consumer preference, derived from the carotenoid astaxanthin in the feed (5). iCheck simplifies the measurement of carotenoid levels in salmon flesh, ensuring the optimal pink colour expected from quality salmon.
Pet food: ensuring safety and compliance
Pet food manufacturers and by-product suppliers need to control vitamin A levels in ingredients such as pork liver to avoid excessive levels in the final pet food causing toxicity. iCheck provides an effective means of monitoring vitamin A levels in by-products such as liver to ensure safety and compliance.
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The iCheck Advantage
BioAnalyt’s iCheck products (iCheck Fluoro for vitamin A, iCheck Carotene, iCheck Vitamin E) enable farmers and producers to monitor nutrient levels directly on the farm and optimise feeding strategies in real-time. This precision improves productivity, animal health and product quality across all sectors – from dairy and beef to poultry, salmon and pet food. By incorporating iCheck into daily routines, farmers and producers achieve better results and increased profitability through informed decision-making.
Sources:
- Herdt T.H. et al. Fat–soluble vitamin nutrition for dairy cattle. Vet Clin North Am Food Anim Pract. 7(2): 391-415, July 1991.
- Rapid Measurement of Vitamin E and B–Carotene at Cow–Side with iCheck. White Paper, BioAnalyt, 2019.Â
- Hosseini–Ghaffari M. et al. Rapid field–test for the quantification of vitamin E, B–carotene, and vitamin A in whole blood and plasma of dairy cattle. Technical note. J. of Dairy Sc. July 2019.Â
- Ghaffari MH, Bernhöft K, Etheve S, et al. Technical note: Rapid field test for the quantification of vitamin E, β-carotene, and vitamin A in whole blood and plasma of dairy cattle. J Dairy Sci. 2019;102(12):11744-11750. doi:10.3168/jds.2019-16755
- Anderson S. Salmon Color and the Consumer. IFET 2000 Proceedings. Hoffmann–La Roche Limited, Cambridge, Ontario, Canada. 2000.Â