Effects of Source of Carbohydrate and Protein and Rumen-Protected
Methionine on Performance of Cows1
ABSTRACT
Multiparous Holstein cows were fed diets consist-
ing of alfalfa silage, corn silage, and a concentrate
mixture containing primarily ground shelled corn or
corn gluten feed; the diets were supplemented with 0
or 20 g/d of rumen-protected Met. The 183-d ex-
perimental period followed a 21-d covariate period
beginning at calving. Data from early lactation ( d 22
to 105) and the entire experiment were analyzed.
Yields of milk and milk crude protein were not af-
fected by treatment. Corn gluten feed increased the
percentages of milk fat and total solids. The rumen-
protected Met tended to increase both the crude pro-
tein and casein N content of milk. Body weight, milk
fat percentage, and yields of milk fat, 3.5% fat-
corrected milk, and total solids were greater when
ground shelled corn and 20 g/d of rumen-protected
Met or corn gluten feed and 0 g/d of rumen-protected
Met were fed than when ground shelled corn and 0 g/
d of rumen-protected Met or corn gluten feed and 20
g/d of rumen-protected Met were fed. A similar inter-
action for dry matter intake was significant only dur-
ing d 22 to 204. Corn gluten feed increased plasma
concentrations of His, Ile, Leu, and Val. Rumen-
protected Met increased plasma concentrations of
Met, decreased His, and tended to decrease Arg, Lys,
and Orn. These data suggest that the dietary source
of carbohydrate and protein can modulate the
response of cows to rumen-protected Met.
( Key words: methionine, rumen-protected amino
acids, dairy cows)
Abbreviation key: CGF = corn gluten feed, GSC =
ground shelled corn, RPMet = rumen-protected Met.
INTRODUCTION
Received May 29, 1997.
Accepted September 30, 1997.
1Supported in part by the University of Illinois Agricultural
Experiment Station and a gift from the Degussa Corporation.
2Address correspondence to Jimmy H. Clark, Department of
Animal Sciences, 264 Animal Sciences Lab, University of Illinois,
1207 West Gregory Drive, Urbana 61801.
1998 J Dairy Sci 81:221–228 221
T. R. OVERTON, L. S. EMMERT, and J. H. CLARK2
Department of Animal Sciences,
University of Illinois, Urbana 61801
Research efforts have focused on increasing the
supply of AA to high producing dairy cows to support
greater production of milk and milk protein (5, 22).
Methionine has been identified as one of the most
limiting AA for the synthesis of milk and milk protein
by dairy cows fed diets based on corn (18). One
approach that has been used to supply additional Met
to the cow has been to protect it from ruminal degra-
dation for subsequent absorption in the small intes-
tine. Rumen-protected Met ( RPMet) in the diets of
lactating dairy cows has increased milk protein per-
centage (15, 16) and has increased yields of both
milk and milk protein during early lactation (14).
Corn gluten feed ( CGF) is a coproduct of the wet
milling process and has been used successfully to
replace a portion of cereal grains in the diets of cows
(4, 6, 8, 20). Because CGF has more NDF and less
starch and because its CP is more degradable than
that found in ground shelled corn ( GSC) (11),
replacement of GSC with CGF alters the substrates
provided for ruminal fermentation and possibly pas-
sage of individual AA to the small intestine.
In a previous experiment (12), cows fed diets con-
taining alfalfa silage, corn silage, and a concentrate
mixture consisting of primarily GSC and soybean
meal responded to supplemental RPMet with in-
creased yields of 3.5% FCM during the first 126 d of
lactation. The objective of this experiment was to
determine whether the type of carbohydrate and pro-
tein included in the concentrate mixture would modu-
late the effects of RPMet during the first 204 d of
lactation on DMI, milk yield and composition, BW,
body condition, and concentrations of AA and urea N
in plasma.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Cows, Experimental Design,
and Treatments
A 204-d lactation trial using a completely ran-
domized design with a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of
treatments was conducted with 44 multiparous Hol-
stein cows. Cows were housed in individual tie stalls
222 OVERTON ET AL.

and fed the same pretreatment diet (GSC + RPMet; tents of DM, CP, ether extract, Ca, and P. The per-
Table 1 ) for the first 21 d postcalving; measurements centages of ADF and NDF in the diet were increased,
for covariate adjustment of data were taken during d and the percentage of starch in the diet was
15 to 21 postcalving. Alfalfa hay ( 2 kg/d) was offered decreased, by replacing GSC with CGF. The RPMet
to each cow for the first 7 d postcalving. On d 22 was top-dressed onto the TMR of the appropriate cows
postcalving, cows were assigned randomly to one of at each feeding (10 g per cow per feeding).
four treatments and were fed either a diet containing
a large proportion of GSC in the concentrate mixture Sampling, Measurements,
or a diet containing a large proportion of CGF in the and Analyses
concentrate mixture and either 0 or 20 g/d of RPMet
Cows were milked twice daily at 0530 and 1530 h,
until d 204 of lactation. The RPMet was supplied as
and milk yield of individual cows was recorded at
Mepron M85 (Degussa Corp., Allendale, NJ) and
each milking. Milk was sampled at each milking on d
contained 85% DL-Met by weight. The four treat-
19 to 21 of lactation and then weekly from two con-
ments were 1 ) GSC – RPMet, 2 ) GSC + RPMet, 3 )
secutive milkings. Milk samples from each milking
CGF – RPMet, and 4 ) CGF + RPMet. Diets were fed
were preserved with 2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1,3-diol
as TMR twice daily at 1100 and 1700 h. The ingre-
and composited on a daily basis according to milk
dient and nutrient compositions of the diets are
yield. Composite milk samples were analyzed for con-
shown in Table 1. The diets contained similar con-
tents of fat, CP, and true protein by midinfrared
spectrophotometric analysis [(21); Northeast DHIA
Laboratory, Ithaca, NY]. Fat was measured using the
TABLE 1. Ingredient and nutrient composition of the total mixed
A filter (21). The total solids content was determined
diets (DM basis). in our laboratory by drying (100°C ) a weighed
amount of milk. Samples taken during the covariate
Diet1
period and every 4 wk during the treatment period
Composition GSC CGF also were analyzed for N fractions. Noncasein N was
Ingredient (%) determined by Kjeldahl analysis of the filtrate after
Alfalfa silage 36.5 36.5 precipitation with 10% acetic acid and 1N sodium
Corn silage 17.4 17.4 acetate ( 9 ) . Casein N was calculated as the difference
GSC 21.6 9.0
CGF . . . 14.3 between total N and noncasein N, NPN was calcu-
Soybean meal (48% CP) 10.6 7.0 lated as the difference between total N and true
Soybean hulls 6.3 8.3 protein N, and whey N was calculated as the differ-
Fat2 3.3 3.3
Limestone 1.05 1.05 ence between true protein N and casein N.
Sodium bicarbonate 1.00 1.00 Samples of the alfalfa silage, corn silage, and con-
Dicalcium phosphate 0.95 0.85 centrate mixtures were obtained weekly throughout
Sodium sulfate 0.70 0.70
Mineral and vitamin mix3 0.20 0.20 the experiment, DM content of the feeds was deter-
Sodium chloride 0.20 0.20 mined (110°C for 18 h), and the diet was adjusted for
Magnesium oxide 0.20 0.20 changes in the DM content of the feeds. Feed samples
Nutrient4
DM 69.6 69.8 were composited at 4-wk intervals and analyzed for
CP 15.7 16.2 DM, CP, ADF, NDF, Ca, and P using wet chemistry
ADF 22.7 25.0 techniques (Northeast DHIA Forage Laboratory).
NDF 31.6 37.8
Starch 20.8 14.5 Samples also were analyzed for the content of ether
Ether extract 5.51 5.65 extract ( 3 ) and starch (10).
Ca 1.16 1.11 Orts were weighed daily prior to the 1100-h feeding
P 0.44 0.47
and were scored on a four-point scale ( 1 = dry to 4 =
1Diets were formulated to contain either ground shelled corn
wet). Orts were periodically sampled and dried
(GSC) or corn gluten feed (CGF) and were fed with or without 20
g/d per cow of rumen-protected Met (Mepron M85; Degussa Corp., (110°C for 18 h ) to determine the mean DM that
Allendale, NJ). corresponded with each bunk score. The DMI was
2Animal fat marketed as Qual-Fat (National By-Products Inc., calculated from the quantity of feed offered and its
Des Moines, IA). DM content, the quantity of orts, and the DM percent-
3Contained 5.0% Mg, 7.5% K, 10.0% S, 3.0% Zn, 3.0% Mn, 2.0%
age that corresponded with the bunk score assigned
Fe, 0.5% Cu, 0.025% I, 0.015% Se, 0.004% Co, 2200 IU/g of vitamin
A, 660 IU/g of vitamin D3, and 8 IU/g of vitamin E. to the orts.
4Mean of 12 monthly composite samples, each prepared from Blood was sampled from the coccygeal vein or ar-
four weekly samples. tery into heparinized vacutainers (Becton Dickin-

Journal of Dairy Science Vol. 81, No. 1, 1998

 RUMEN-PROTECTED METHIONINE FOR COWS
son, Rutherford, NJ) at 0700 h on one day during d
17 to 21 postcalving and on one day during both d 33
to 37 and d 54 to 58 postcalving. Plasma was har-
vested by centrifugation of whole blood for 5 min at
1500 × g at 20°C. A portion (4.5 ml) of the plasma
was deproteinized with sulfosalicylic acid (250 mg)
and assayed for AA content by ion-exchange chro-
matography utilizing a Beckman 6300 AA Analyzer
(Beckman Instruments, Fullerton, CA); L-a-amino-b-
guanidino propionic acid (0.5 ml; 3000 nmol/ml;
Sigma Chemical Co., St. Louis, MO) was used as an
internal standard. The remaining plasma was frozen
at –20°C until analysis for urea N (kit 640; Sigma
Chemical Co.).
The BW of each cow was measured on d 1 postcalv-
ing, on one day during d 15 to 21 postcalving, and
weekly after assignment to treatment. All BW were
measured after the morning milking and prior to
feeding. Body condition scores were determined on
one day during d 15 to 21 postcalving and every 14 d
from d 22 to 204 by three individuals using a five-
point scale [1 = thin to 5 = fat; (23)].
Milk yield and DMI were reduced to weekly means
prior to statistical analysis. Data were analyzed for
both d 22 to 105 and for d 22 to 204 to determine
whether responses were altered during different
stages of lactation. Data were adjusted by analysis of
covariance using data collected during d 15 to 21 of
lactation as covariates. All data were subjected to
ANOVA for a completely randomized design with
repeated measurements using the general linear
models procedure of SAS (17). The model contained
the effects of treatment, cow within treatment, time,
and the interaction between treatment and time; cow
within treatment was used as the error term to test
the effect of treatment. Maximum loss of BW was
calculated by subtracting the lowest BW for each cow
after assignment to treatment from the BW measured
during the covariate period. These data were not
covariately adjusted and were analyzed as a com-
pletely randomized design; cow and treatment were
the terms used in the model. Single degree of freedom
orthogonal contrasts utilized in both analyses were 1 )
GSC versus CGF, 2 ) 0 g/d of RPMet versus 20 g/d of
RPMet, and 3 ) the interaction between diet and
RPMet. Prior to analysis, data from 7 cows were
deleted from the data file. Data from 2 cows on the
GSC + RPMet treatment were deleted because of
chronic mastitis and recurring infection following sur-
gery for displaced abomasum; data from 1 cow fed the
GSC – RPMet treatment were deleted because of
chronic rumenitis; data from 3 cows fed the CGF +
RPMet treatment were deleted because of chronic
223
mastitis; and data from 1 cow fed the CGF – RPMet
treatment were deleted because of chronic mastitis.
Therefore, least squares means are presented
throughout. Significance was declared at P ≤ 0.05,
and trends were declared at P > 0.05 to P < 0.15.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
DMI, Milk Yield, and Milk Composition
Interactions between treatment and time were not
significant for DMI, milk yield, or milk composition
measurements in this experiment. The DMI was not
affected by type of diet or RPMet during either d 22 to
105 or d 22 to 204 (Table 2), but a trend for an
interaction between type of diet and RPMet for DMI
during d 22 to 204 was observed. The DMI was
greater when GSC + RPMet and CGF – RPMet were
fed to the cows than when GSC – RPMet and CGF +
RPMet were fed to the cows. Milk yield was not
affected by treatment and averaged 41.4 kg/d from d
22 to 105 and 38.0 kg/d from d 22 to 204. However,
milk fat percentage was increased by CGF, and there
was a trend for an interaction such that both milk fat
percentage and yield were increased when GSC +
RPMet and CGF – RPMet were fed. The increased
milk fat yield by cows fed GSC + RPMet and CGF –
RPMet resulted in an interaction between type of diet
and RPMet for yield of 3.5% FCM during both d 22 to
105 and d 22 to 204. Yield of 3.5% FCM was increased
by RPMet only when GSC was fed. Rumen-protected
Met tended to increase the percentages of CP and
true protein in milk during d 22 to 105, but yields of
CP and true protein in milk were not different during
d 22 to 105 because milk yield was not increased by
RPMet. Neither percentages nor yields of CP and true
protein in milk were affected by treatment during d
22 to 204 of lactation. The trend for an interaction
between type of diet and RPMet for the total solids
content of milk during d 22 to 105 of lactation oc-
curred because GSC + RPMet increased the content of
milk fat compared with GSC – RPMet and because
the numerical decrease in fat content offset the nu-
merical increase in protein content when CGF +
RPMet was compared with CGF – RPMet. During d
22 to 204 of lactation, CGF or RPMet tended to
increase the percentage of total solids in milk, but the
interaction between type of diet and RPMet for the
percentage of total solids was not significant. A trend
also existed for an interaction between type of diet
and RPMet for yield of total solids in milk during d 22
to 105 and d 22 to 204 of lactation. Cows fed GSC +
RPMet and CGF – RPMet had greater yields of total
Journal of Dairy Science Vol. 81, No. 1, 1998
224 OVERTON ET AL.

solids in milk than did cows fed GSC – RPMet and
CGF + RPMet. The increased yield of total solids in
milk by cows fed GSC + RPMet and CGF – RPMet
occurred because yields of both milk and milk fat
were increased slightly when these two diets were fed
to the cows.
These data are similar to those reported by others
(4, 6, 8, 20) in that replacing GSC with CGF had
little effect on DMI, yield of milk, and percentage and
yield of milk protein. Corn gluten feed in the diet
increased (6, 20) or did not affect ( 8 ) the percentage
of fat in milk. In another experiment ( 4 ) , the diet
that contained dry CGF decreased milk fat percent-
age compared with the control diet; however, the diet
that contained CGF also contained less corn silage
than did the control diet.
The magnitude of the increases in yields of milk
and 3.5% FCM and milk fat percentage and yield
when RPMet was fed with GSC is similar to findings
from our previous experiment (12). Increased yields
of both milk fat and 3.5% FCM were obtained in this
experiment and the experiment of Overton et al. ( 1 2 )
when RPMet was fed with GSC to cows. Sharma and
Erdman ( 1 9 ) suggested that choline synthesized
from Met may be at least partially responsible when
milk fat content is increased by supplemental Met.
Reasons for the lack of an increase in yields of milk
fat and 3.5% FCM when CGF + RPMet was fed in this
experiment are unknown; however, differences in
responses to RPMet might be related to differences in
ruminal fermentation (e.g., amounts of acetate and
propionate produced or differences in microbial popu-
lations) that could have occurred when CGF replaced
GSC in the diet. The increased protein content of milk
obtained in this experiment when RPMet was fed
agrees with data from other experiments (1, 14, 15,

TABLE 2. Least squares means for DMI and yield and composition of milk from cows fed diets containing either ground shelled corn
(GSC) or corn gluten feed (CGF) with ( + ) or without ( – ) supplemental rumen-protected Met (RPMet) from d 22 to 204 of lactation.
Treatment
GSC CGF Effect
Item –RPMet +RPMet –RPMet +RPMet SEM Diet Met Diet × Met
P
DMI, kg/d
d 22 to 105 23.2 24.1 24.1 23.4 0.7 0.87 0.90 0.24
d 22 to 204 22.7 23.9 24.2 22.9 0.7 0.67 0.97 0.06
Milk, kg/d
d 22 to 105 41.0 42.2 41.6 40.8 1.2 0.73 0.87 0.36
d 22 to 204 37.6 38.9 38.6 37.0 1.3 0.70 0.88 0.23
Fat, %
d 22 to 105 3.20 3.42 3.54 3.44 0.08 0.02 0.41 0.04
d 22 to 204 3.25 3.45 3.56 3.48 0.08 0.03 0.44 0.07
Fat, kg/d
d 22 to 105 1.32 1.43 1.47 1.37 0.05 0.29 0.94 0.03
d 22 to 204 1.22 1.33 1.37 1.27 0.05 0.36 0.93 0.02
3.5% FCM,1 kg/d
d 22 to 105 39.1 41.5 41.9 39.8 1.2 0.62 0.90 0.04
d 22 to 204 36.1 38.4 38.8 36.5 1.2 0.71 0.99 0.04
CP, %
d 22 to 105 2.91 2.94 2.90 2.98 0.03 0.59 0.09 0.46
d 22 to 204 2.94 2.98 2.95 3.02 0.05 0.61 0.16 0.68
CP, kg/d
d 22 to 105 1.18 1.25 1.19 1.21 0.04 0.75 0.29 0.60
d 22 to 204 1.10 1.17 1.12 1.11 0.04 0.65 0.45 0.35
True protein, %
d 22 to 105 2.72 2.74 2.70 2.78 0.04 0.74 0.12 0.43
d 22 to 204 2.75 2.79 2.80 2.83 0.04 0.69 0.17 0.67
True protein, kg/d
d 22 to 105 1.10 1.15 1.12 1.13 0.03 0.96 0.31 0.47
d 22 to 204 1.03 1.08 1.06 1.04 0.03 0.81 0.53 0.23
Total solids, %
d 22 to 105 11.81 12.17 12.22 12.22 0.12 0.04 0.12 0.10
d 22 to 204 11.87 12.20 12.25 12.31 0.13 0.06 0.13 0.30
Total solids, kg/d
d 22 to 105 4.83 5.08 5.09 4.91 0.14 0.75 0.81 0.12
d 22 to 204 4.45 4.71 4.71 4.50 0.15 0.88 0.86 0.10
13.5% FCM = 0.4324 (kilograms of milk) + 16.216 (kilograms of fat).

Journal of Dairy Science Vol. 81, No. 1, 1998

 RUMEN-PROTECTED METHIONINE FOR COWS 225

16) in which percentages of CP in milk were in-
creased when RPMet was added to the basal diet fed
to cows.
The inclusion of CGF in the diet did not affect the
distribution of N components in milk, except for a
trend for a small decrease in NPN as a percentage of
total N (Table 3). Percentages of total N and true
protein N in milk tended to increase when RPMet was
fed during both d 22 to 105 and d 22 to 204. This
trend occurred because RPMet tended to increase the
percentage of casein N in milk during d 22 to 105 and
increased the percentage of casein N in milk during d
22 to 204. Increases in the percentages of casein N in
milk during both d 22 to 105 and d 22 to 204 reflected
the increased percentages of CP and true protein in
milk. The percentage of whey N in milk was not
affected by treatment. A trend for an interaction be-
tween type of diet and RPMet for the percentage of N
as NPN in milk existed, but these differences were
small.
Yields of total N, true protein N, casein N, whey N,
and NPN were not affected by treatment (Table 3);
however, RPMet increased casein N as a percentage
of true protein N and decreased whey N as a percent-

TABLE 3. Least squares means for distribution of N components in milk from cows fed diets containing either ground shelled corn (GSC)
or corn gluten feed (CGF) with ( + ) or without ( – ) supplemental rumen-protected Met (RPMet) from d 22 to 204 of lactation.1
Treatment
GSC CGF Effect
Item –RPMet +RPMet –RPMet +RPMet SEM Diet Met Diet × Met
P
Total N, %
d 22 to 105 0.453 0.458 0.455 0.468 0.006 0.31 0.12 0.49
d 22 to 204 0.460 0.467 0.460 0.478 0.008 0.47 0.10 0.44
Total N, g/d
d 22 to 105 186.1 194.2 190.8 188.5 5.8 0.92 0.59 0.33
d 22 to 204 172.6 182.0 178.9 175.6 5.9 0.99 0.55 0.23
True protein N, %
d 22 to 105 0.422 0.427 0.424 0.437 0.006 0.29 0.11 0.52
d 22 to 204 0.430 0.436 0.430 0.446 0.008 0.49 0.12 0.46
True protein N, g/d
d 22 to 105 173.1 180.9 177.8 175.9 5.4 0.98 0.55 0.33
d 22 to 204 161.0 170.0 167.1 164.0 5.4 0.99 0.54 0.22
Casein N, %
d 22 to 105 0.348 0.356 0.349 0.361 0.006 0.59 0.07 0.72
d 22 to 204 0.350 0.362 0.351 0.367 0.007 0.66 0.03 0.79
Casein N, g/d
d 22 to 105 142.8 150.4 146.3 145.6 4.5 0.88 0.41 0.32
d 22 to 204 131.2 140.9 136.5 135.4 4.5 0.97 0.29 0.18
Casein N, % of true
protein N
d 22 to 105 82.5 83.1 82.3 83.0 0.5 0.82 0.19 0.96
d 22 to 204 81.4 82.7 81.7 82.6 0.5 0.77 0.02 0.55
Whey N, %
d 22 to 105 0.074 0.072 0.075 0.075 0.002 0.28 0.68 0.69
d 22 to 204 0.080 0.075 0.079 0.078 0.002 0.52 0.21 0.24
Whey N, g/d
d 22 to 105 30.8 30.9 31.0 29.6 1.2 0.67 0.57 0.51
d 22 to 204 30.2 29.4 30.2 28.2 1.2 0.58 0.21 0.55
Whey N, % of true
protein N
d 22 to 105 17.5 16.9 17.7 17.0 0.5 0.82 0.19 0.96
d 22 to 204 18.6 17.3 18.3 17.4 0.5 0.77 0.02 0.55
NPN, %
d 22 to 105 0.031 0.031 0.031 0.031 <0.001 0.78 0.49 0.07
d 22 to 204 0.030 0.030 0.030 0.031 <0.001 0.12 0.03 0.09
NPN, g/d
d 22 to 105 13.0 13.3 13.0 12.6 0.4 0.38 0.89 0.51
d 22 to 204 11.6 12.0 11.8 11.7 0.5 0.91 0.71 0.54
NPN, % of Total N
d 22 to 105 7.0 6.8 6.8 6.7 0.1 0.08 0.18 0.64
d 22 to 204 6.6 6.6 6.6 6.6 0.1 0.93 0.99 0.48
1Samples taken from each cow at 4-wk intervals were analyzed for N fractions.

Journal of Dairy Science Vol. 81, No. 1, 1998

226 OVERTON ET AL.

TABLE 4. Least squares means for BW and body condition score of cows fed diets containing either
ground shelled corn (GSC) or corn gluten feed (CGF) with ( + ) or without ( – ) supplemental rumen-
protected Met (RPMet) from d 22 to 204 of lactation.
Treatment
GSC CGF Effect
Item –RPMet +RPMet –RPMet +RPMet SEM Diet Met Diet × Met
P
BW,1 kg
d 22 to 105 593 618 607 594 8 0.51 0.45 0.01
d 22 to 204 597 628 616 607 10 0.85 0.24 0.04
Body condition
score2
d 22 to 105 2.0 2.1 2.0 2.0 0.1 0.74 0.28 0.36
d 22 to 204 2.1 2.2 2.1 2.2 0.1 0.65 0.21 0.73
1Values are means of weekly measurement.
2Five-point scale where 1 = thin to 5 = fat (23).

age of true protein N during d 22 to 204. These
findings agree with other reports (2, 7), which indi-
cate that percentages of milk protein increased when
rumen-protected AA were fed. These increases in milk
protein were primarily because of the increased syn-
thesis of casein.
BW and Body Condition Scores
An interaction between type of diet and RPMet
existed for BW such that cows fed GSC + RPMet and
CGF – RPMet had greater BW during both d 22 to
105 and d 22 to 204 (Table 4). This increase cor-

TABLE 5. Least squares means for concentrations of AA and urea N in plasma of cows fed diets containing either ground shelled corn
(GSC) or corn gluten feed (CGF) with ( + ) or without ( – ) supplemental rumen-protected Met (RPMet) from d 22 to 204 of lactation.
Treatment
GSC CGF Effect
AA –RPMet +RPMet –RPMet +RPMet SEM Diet Met Diet × Met
( mmol/dl) P
Essential
Arg 7.69 7.45 8.07 7.10 0.34 0.97 0.07 0.27
His 2.87 2.12 3.24 3.03 0.25 0.01 0.05 0.26
lle 12.84 12.43 15.30 15.55 0.75 0.01 0.91 0.64
Leu 15.30 14.69 18.70 18.48 0.84 0.01 0.61 0.81
Lys 7.57 7.36 7.81 6.61 0.40 0.50 0.07 0.20
Met 1.94 2.36 2.05 2.28 0.13 0.90 0.01 0.45
Phe 5.03 5.21 5.57 5.08 0.20 0.30 0.42 0.09
Thr 11.56 13.01 12.41 11.70 0.58 0.68 0.51 0.06
Val 26.91 25.41 32.76 33.05 1.40 0.01 0.65 0.50
Nonessential
Ala 23.77 25.53 25.01 23.93 1.44 0.90 0.80 0.31
Asn 7.68 7.61 7.87 7.23 0.44 0.82 0.40 0.50
Asp 1.73 1.72 1.54 1.65 0.07 0.07 0.44 0.39
Cit 9.55 8.48 9.00 9.42 0.58 0.72 0.55 0.18
Cys 1.39 1.47 1.34 1.15 0.07 0.01 0.45 0.06
Gln 11.46 10.81 11.67 10.88 0.70 0.84 0.28 0.92
Glu 12.42 12.36 12.19 11.65 0.60 0.41 0.60 0.67
Gly 42.88 42.56 37.68 39.86 2.49 0.10 0.70 0.60
Orn 4.12 3.70 4.24 3.86 0.25 0.56 0.10 0.93
Pro 8.15 7.86 8.52 8.44 0.39 0.20 0.62 0.78
Ser 9.42 8.84 8.53 8.40 0.42 0.10 0.38 0.56
Tyr 5.72 5.72 6.26 5.90 0.35 0.29 0.59 0.59
(mg/dl)
Urea N 10.48 9.91 10.72 10.47 0.59 0.47 0.46 0.77

Journal of Dairy Science Vol. 81, No. 1, 1998

 RUMEN-PROTECTED METHIONINE FOR COWS
responds to the increased DMI (Table 2 ) by cows fed
these treatments during these periods. A trend ( P <
0.11) for an interaction between treatment and time
existed for BW such that cows fed GSC + RPMet and
CGF – RPMet had greater BW than did cows fed the
other treatments for most of the experiment; cows fed
CGF + RPMet had BW similar to those of cows fed
GSC + RPMet and CGF – RPMet by d 204 of lacta-
tion. Maximum BW losses by cows fed GSC + RPMet,
GSC – RPMet, CGF – RPMet, and CGF + RPMet
were 27, 32, 13, and 20 kg (SEM = 10), respectively,
and contrasts were not significant ( P > 0.30). Body
condition scores of cows were not affected by treat-
ment.
Concentrations of AA and
Urea N in Plasma
Corn gluten feed increased concentrations of His,
Ile, Leu, and Val in plasma; decreased the concentra-
tion of Cys; and tended to decrease concentrations of
Asp, Gly, and Ser in plasma (Table 5). Rumen-
protected Met increased the concentration of Met but
decreased the concentration of His and tended to
decrease the concentrations of Arg, Lys, and Orn. A
trend for an interaction between diet and RPMet for
concentrations of Phe, Thr, and Cys in plasma oc-
curred because concentrations of these AA were
greater when GSC + RPMet and CGF – RPMet were
fed than when GSC – RPMet and CGF + RPMet were
fed. Concentrations of urea N in plasma were not
affected by treatment.
These data indicate that RPMet increased the sup-
ply of Met, regardless of the type of diet fed. Previous
researchers (12, 13) also reported that RPMet in-
creased concentrations of Met in plasma. Coomer et
al. ( 6 ) reported that replacing GSC with CGF
decreased the concentration of Arg but did not affect
concentrations of other AA in plasma. Reasons for the
increased concentrations of the branched-chain AA
when CGF was fed in this experiment are unknown,
but the increased concentrations suggest that these
AA were not limiting for synthesis of milk and milk
protein by cows fed diets that contained CGF.
CONCLUSIONS
Cows fed RPMet in this experiment increased DMI
and yield of 3.5% FCM only when the diet contained a
large proportion of GSC in the concentrate mixture.
The mechanism modulating the different responses to
RPMet by cows fed different types of carbohydrate
and protein is unknown.
227
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors thank D. R. Bremmer and D. D. Leuk-
ing for assigning body condition scores, T. M. Cicela
for technical assistance, and G. C. McCoy and the
employees of the University of Illinois Dairy Farm for
care and management of the cows.
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