Peer-reviewed publication · Livestock · In the living system
Prepartum potassium humate was studied at four doses in dairy cows.
On one farm, cows given the two lowest doses before calving had better transition markers than controls, while milk yield was highest at the lowest dose and lowest at the highest, the only two groups that differed.
Uyarlar et al., 2025. Animals 15(2):279.
Scope, material and route
- Studied
- Multiparous (third lactation) Holstein cows, from 60 days before calving; their calves after birth
- Design
- Completely randomised design with five groups
- Setting
- One commercial farm in Niğde, Türkiye
- Material
- Potassium humate supplied by Türkiye Coal Enterprises
- Route
- Feed, added to the concentrate
- Exposure
- 0.5, 1, 1.5 or 2 percent of the concentrate. Study exposure, not application guidance.
- Duration
- 60 days before calving, with lactation followed afterwards
Study design
Control
15 cows
- 305-day milk9,012 kg
0.5 percent
15 cows
- 305-day milk9,353 kg, the highest
- NEFA and BHBALower
- Cow and colostrum IgGHigher
1 percent
15 cows
- 305-day milk8,957 kg
- NEFA and BHBALower
- Cow and colostrum IgGHigher
1.5 percent
15 cows
- 305-day milk8,813 kg
2 percent
15 cows
- 305-day milk8,365 kg, the lowest
More study details
- Research question
- Does prepartum potassium humate affect lactation performance, cow metabolism and calf immune measures?
- Sample size
- 75 cows, 15 per group, each group fed in three subgroups of five
- Comparator
- Control concentrate without potassium humate
- Outcomes measured
- Milk yield and components, body condition, blood metabolites (NEFA, BHBA, glucose, triglycerides), liver enzymes, cow and colostrum IgG, calf blood measures
Findings
Researchers fed 75 third-lactation Holstein cows on one Turkish farm a control diet or potassium humate at 0.5, 1, 1.5 or 2 percent of the concentrate, for the 60 days before calving. After calving, all cows received the same diet. The 0.5 percent group had the highest 305-day milk yield, about 9,353 kg, and the 2 percent group the lowest, about 8,365 kg; only these two groups differed, and the control gave about 9,012 kg. Cows at 0.5 and 1 percent had lower NEFA and BHBA and higher serum IgG, and their calves had higher IgG in the first days. Body condition, glucose and liver enzymes did not differ. The dose response was not linear, and the highest dose gave adverse results.
| Outcome | Comparison or result | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| 305-day milk yield | Highest at 0.5 percent (about 9,353 kg) and lowest at 2 percent (about 8,365 kg), the only two groups that differed; control about 9,012, 1 percent 8,957, 1.5 percent 8,813 kg | Not a linear dose response |
| NEFA at calving and postpartum BHBA | Lower at 0.5 and 1 percent | Consistent with a better transition metabolic profile at those doses |
| Cow serum and colostrum IgG | Higher at 0.5 and 1 percent before and at calving | An immune measure, not a disease outcome |
| Calf IgG | Higher in the 0.5 percent group on day 1 and the 1 percent group on day 2 | Most other calf measures did not differ |
| Body condition, glucose and liver enzymes | No difference | No statistically supported difference |
| Disease incidence | Lower numerically at 0.5 and 1 percent; no statistical test reported | Cannot be interpreted as an effect |
Interpretation and limits
What this record supports
For this potassium humate on one farm, lower NEFA and BHBA and higher IgG at 0.5 and 1 percent of the concentrate than without it, and lower 305-day milk at 2 percent than at 0.5 percent.
What remains uncertain
- Scale. One farm, about 15 cows per group.
- Intake. Prepartum feed intake was measured on subgroups of five cows, not per cow.
- Mechanism. The explanations offered for the metabolic changes were not tested.
- Dose. The poorest results came at the highest dose, which the authors could not fully explain.
Which part of the framework it informs
Environmental conditions
The physical, chemical and management context.
Microbial activity
What microbial communities do within that context.
Observable function
What can be observed or measured in the host or wider system.
This record informs this area.
Source, funding and review
- Source type
- Peer-reviewed publication
- Associated products
- This record does not assess an associated product.
- Funding and relationships
- Türkiye Kömür İşletmeleri Kurumu (Türkiye Coal Enterprises), which also supplied the potassium humate. The authors declare no conflict of interest.
- Review status
- Prepared as an editorial summary. External scientific review has not been completed.
- What was read
- Full text read on PubMed Central.
- Original title
- Prepartum Dietary Supplementation of Potassium Humate Improves Postpartum Lactation Performance, Metabolic Profile of Multiparous Cows, and Immune Response of Their Calves
- Authors
- Uyarlar C, Rahman A, Gultepe EE, Cetingul İS, Akhtar MU, Bayram I
- Publication
- Animals 15(2):279, 2025
- DOI
- 10.3390/ani15020279
- Summary prepared by
- Carbon Biome Project
- Date added
- 19 October 2026
- Cite this summary
- Carbon Biome Project. Prepartum potassium humate was studied at four doses in dairy cows. Evidence library record, added 19 October 2026. carbonbiomeproject.com/evidence/uyarlar-2025-potassium-humate-prepartum-dairy-cows/
- Updates
- 2026-10-22 · Milk yield restated with all five group values from the paper's Table 3; the finding, takeaway and supports sentence now say only the 0.5 and 2 percent groups differed. · The earlier wording read as the lowest dose beating the control on milk, which the paper does not report.
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