The present invention relates to an energy-supplying rehydrating composition which can be used in particular for young animals, especially young ruminants, no longer able to digest milk normally.
Diarrhea in calves constitutes the main cause of morbidity during the first weeks of life, thus causing considerable economic losses for this cattle farm. Whatever its origin (nutritional, bacterial or viral), diarrhea is most commonly revealed by symptoms of severe dehydration of the animal and of digestive and metabolic modifications, these phenomena doubtless being linked. In conditions of diarrhea or in situations of stress likely to profoundly disturb the course of digestion, it is well known that it is necessary to partially or totally eliminate milk-based food. Specifically, the digestion of milk can be affected by disturbances in the emptying of the rennet stomach and, in this case, the administration of milk tends to worsen the physiological state since this may lead to total blocking of the functioning of the rennet stomach, which compromises the subsequent taking of any oral treatment.
Even though the processes of coagulum formation in the rennet stomach are not entirely destroyed, the possibilities for digesting proteins and lipids in the small intestine are decreased given the poor condition of the intestinal mucous membrane or insufficient pancreatic secretion. Even if the calf suffering from digestive problems manages to partially digest the milk-based food, this does not allow it to have an optimum amount of water and of minerals to deal with the exacerbated intestinal losses of water and of electrolytes. The mineral composition of milk appears to be intended for ensuring rapid growth of the various tissues, in particular of the bone tissues. For this reason, milk is rich in the phosphorus and calcium which are required for constructing bone, and in potassium, the major cation of the intracellular medium. The relative lack, in milk, of sodium and of chloride, which are lost in very high amounts during diarrhea, makes this food unsuitable for compensating the very high digestive losses of these minerals.
In addition, a sick animal appears to be quite incapable of assimilating energetic substrates for anabolism (synthesis of proteins and of lipids) subsequent to the metabolic disturbances caused by dehydration. The calf is, in fact, in reasonably serious acidosis subsequent to the accumulation of lactic acid and to the digestive loss of bicarbonate. Hypovolemia decreases the oxygenation of the tissues and, therefore, the metabolic capacity of the organs. The secretion of glucocorticoids causes intense nitrogen-based catabolism, which means that it is not possible to ensure normal tissue growth during this period. This set of factors means that the animals suffering from diarrhea show a reasonably high intolerance to milk. In fact, these animals need to receive minerals and water in order to restore the body""s losses of electrolytes and blood volume.
The use of glucose, of disaccharides and of amino acids, coupled to a suitable supply of electrolytes, has been a basis for the preparation of many synthetic rehydrating substances.
An example of such a preparation is described in French patent No. 2 467 599, which relates to a rehydrating composition comprising, besides glucose, at least one amino acid which is free or in the form of a salt, in particular sodium glutamate and a sodium salt of C2 to C8 aliphatic carboxylic acid. It has, in fact, been shown that, at the digestive level, carbohydrates and/or amino acids are essential for promoting the active absorption of sodium and, therefore, that of water since the latter follows the solutes. Other glucose-based compositions have also been proposed.
However, these formulations, which are theoretically effective in correcting the problems of dehydration and mineral losses, do not enable the calves to combat the disease over a long period of time if they do not recover very rapidly. Specifically, in the form of simple carbohydrates or of free amino acids, the available energy supply is much too low. For reasons of osmotic pressure, it is difficult to supply a lot of energy in this form; in addition, an energy supply restricted to these two types of substrate does not satisfy all of the calf""s needs.
A first attempt at resolving the nutritional problems of diarrheic calves has been described in patent FR 2 539 006, using lactose or lactoserum as a rehydration base. However, it is highly inadvisable to use products of animal origin, from diverse sources, in animals whose immune defenses are insufficient; specifically, the lactoserum-based products might contain various pathogenic agents which can be transmitted more easily when the digestive barrier is modified.
The problem which the present invention proposes to resolve consists in allowing animals no longer able to digest milk normally, in particular diarrheic calves, to have an energy supply suitable for their physiological condition; in particular, a supply of energy at the digestive level in order to promote the active absorption of sodium and, therefore, of water, and a supply of energy at the metabolic level since a minimum supply of energetic substrates, in the form of carbohydrates, of proteins and of lipids, is essential in order to optimize cellular functioning, to help cells conserve minerals and to help the body combat infection.
In addition, another problem resolved by the present invention is nevertheless avoiding an energy supply in the form of a dairy food, in any case in significant amount.
Another problem resolved by the present invention is avoiding the risk of transmitting pathogenic agents which are unconventional and resistant to the current treatment of dairy products (of prion type).
An object of the present invention is to propose a food composition which provides an energy supply of carbohydrates identical to that of milk.
The supply of carbohydrates, in the form of glucose or preferably in the form of the natural sugar present in milk, lactose, should be as abundant as possible. Once hydrolyzed, lactose is also involved in sodium cotransport, whether for the entry of glucose or of galactose into the enterocyte. The presence of lactose leads to the absorption of glucose and of galactose, which are the two sugars most suitable for the calf""s physiology, even when it is sick.
Another object of the present invention is to propose a food composition which provides a supply of proteins representing 25 to 40% of the mean protein content of milk, but consisting entirely of proteins which are soluble and not precipitated in the rennet stomach.
The supply of proteins is, in particular, essential for providing glutamine, an essential energetic substrate of enterocytes, and also the other amino acids required for the accelerated renewal of the intestinal cells. During their degradation, amino acids or peptides can help the transport of sodium toward the enterocyte. A supply of very digestible proteins facilitates both intestinal regeneration, maintenance of the body pool of proteins and functioning of the cells of the immune system via certain specific amino acids (arginine, glutamine, etc.).
Another object of the present invention is to propose a food composition which provides a supply of lipids representing 25 to 40% of the mean lipid content of milk, but comprising mainly triglycerides of medium-chain fatty acids.
The supply of fatty acids, in particular of medium-chain fatty acids, is very important for thermogenesis, for stimulating the use of lactate in the liver and for glucose sparing.
The present invention therefore consists in optimizing an energy supply suitable for diarrheic calves, using products with high microbiological safety. The proportion of the energy in the form of carbohydrates, proteins and lipids, in the rehydrating mixture, is greatly modified with respect to the composition of milk.
The invention therefore relates to a rehydrating composition which can be used in particular for feeding young animals no longer able to digest milk, comprising:
lactose or glucose, or a lactose-based or glucose-based product,
a mineral supplement ensuring restoration of the digestive losses,
characterized in that the composition also comprises an effective amount of soluble plant proteins and of plant lipids which ensure suitable energy supply.
The carbohydrates can therefore be supplied in the form of glucose or lactose as has been described in previous patents concerning rehydration. The choice of lactose is most indicated, keeping a content substantially identical to that of milk (50 g lactose/l). It has been reported that intestinal lactase activity could be decreased in diarrheic calves, which is why lactose is often used in an amount lower than 50 g/l in various mixtures of rehydrating substances. The present invention recommends the use of a normal lactose content (preferably between 40 and 55 g/l) since the inventors have realized that lactase activity is increased by the presence of sodium, which makes it possible to transfer the hydrolysis products (glucose and galactose) to the enterocyte more rapidly. This increased transfer of the simple saccharides to the intestinal cell, in decreasing the concentration of the products of the lactase, facilitates its activity (which is located at the cell membrane on the intestinal lumen side). A large supply of carbohydrates is important not only for stimulating the intestinal absorption of sodium, but also for maintaining the glycemia, which is absolutely essential for the survival of the animal. Glucose, in particular 25 to 30 g/l, or lactose plus glucose: for example, 25 g of lactose and 13 g of glucose, may also be used as carbohydrate supply.