Two homologous groups of preruminant male calves (10 control and 9 sorbitol) of the Friesian X Holstein crossbreed were used to study the effects of sorbitol on lipid metabolism. Between 1 and 8 weeks of age they received two diets (IC, IS) with high levels of protein and fat (23% of DM), and then between 8 and 19 weeks two diets (FC, FS) containing lower levels of protein and fat (21% of DM). Diets IC and FC contained no sorbitol, while in the IS and FS diets it accounted for 0.8% of DM. Blood samples were taken at 2, 3, 4, 7, 12 and 19 weeks of age and at the following times: 2 h before (T-2), and then 1/2 (T1/2), 2 (T2), 3 (T3), 5 (T5) and 7 (T7) hours after ingestion of the morning meal. At slaughter (19 weeks), samples of liver and of rectus abdominis muscle were taken from the carcasses. The addition of sorbitol to the replacer milks had no effect on plasma levels of nonesterified fatty acids or triglycerides. However at weeks 2, 7 and 12, the levels of free and esterified cholesterol decreased significantly by a mean of 60 and 15% respectively. Sorbitol intake significantly reduced muscle levels of triglycerides (6.8 mg/g of fresh tissue vs 18.6 mg/g), free cholesterol (0.41 mg/g vs 0.66) and total lipids (13.6 mg/g vs 26.1). Lipid composition of liver was not modified by sorbitol ingestion. An histological study confirmed that the diets caused no serious lesions. Generally, the results were more dispersed in the control group than in the sorbitol group.

Two homologous groups of preruminant male calves (10 control and 9 sorbitol) of the Friesian X Holstein crossbreed were used to study the effects of sorbitol on appetite, health status and growth rate. Between 1 and 8 weeks of age they were given two milk replacers (IC and IS) that contained high levels of protein and fat (23% of DM), and then between 8 and 19 weeks two diets (FC and FS) containing lower levels of protein and fat (21% of DM). The IC and FC diets had no sorbitol, while in the IS and FS diets it accounted for 0.8% of DM. In each group 4 to 6 calves were used to measure milk digestibility at 3, 7 and 12 weeks of age. At slaughter (19 weeks), carcass quality and liver status were checked. The overall health status of the animals was satisfactory, but after accidental cold stress at week 7, the 10 calves of the control group had diarrhea for 2 to 5 days vs 4 calves in the sorbitol group. Sorbitol digestibility was about 95% at week 3 and almost 100% at weeks 7 and 12. Apparent energy and protein digestibilities increased in the two lots from 83.8 and 83.1, respectively, at week 3, to 89.8 and 90.7%, respectively, at week 7, but these digestibilities were not affected by sorbitol. Liveweight gain (+ 12% for the whole trial) and feed efficiency (+ 6.7% for the whole trial) were significantly (P less than 0.05) improved by the presence of sorbitol in the diet.