Benefits of vitamin B complex supplements to ruminants

Abstract Vitamins are nutritional elements found in feed and perform vital specific functions in various body systems, and are very important for maintaining optimal health of livestock. The vitamin B-complex refers to essential water-soluble vitamins such as vitamin B1 (thiamine), vitamin B2 (riboflavin), vitamin B3 (niacin), vitamin B4 (choline), pantothenic acid (vitamin B5), vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamine). vitamin B complexs play an important role in the metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins and fats. The major source of vitamins in ruminants is green roughages. It was generally recognized that mature ruminants do not require B-vitamin supplements because the amounts of vitamins provided by the diet and synthesized by the ruminal microflora were sufficient to prevent emergence of deficiency symptoms. However, the results of the studies indicate that the synthesis of vitamin B complex by rumen microflora is not sufficient for optimal health maintenance and production so that supplements are needed to meet their needs. Finally, vitamin B Complex supplementation is still needed for high production livestock because its needs are far greater than those that can be produced by rumen microorganisms This paper aims to briefly review the benefits of giving vitamin B complex supplements to ruminants.Keywords : vitamin B complex, supplements, ruminants, ruminal microflora