Wahidullah Charkhi; Fardin Hozhabri; Hadi Hajarian
Volume 26, Issue 1 , March 2024, , Pages 15-31
Abstract
Introduction: Medicinal plants are one of the most important known herbal additives in feeding ruminant animals. It has been reported that medicinal plants with favorable effects on rumen fermentation improve the function of the digestive system and as a result feed intake, as well as the level of animal ...
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Introduction: Medicinal plants are one of the most important known herbal additives in feeding ruminant animals. It has been reported that medicinal plants with favorable effects on rumen fermentation improve the function of the digestive system and as a result feed intake, as well as the level of animal products and the growth rate of infants increases. Also, numerous and sometimes contradictory reports have been reported about the effects of using medicinal plants in the diet of different animals on blood parameters. Limited studies have been published regarding the addition of medicinal plants to the diet of mother ewes and its effect on the suckling lambs. Most of the studies are about the direct use of medicinal plants by lambs and its effect on the performance and other behavioral characteristics of the animal. Therefore, in the present study, the main goal was to investigate the effects of adding a mixture of different proportions of medicinal plants such as cumin, coriander seeds and peppermint to the ration of lactating ewes on the performance, blood parameters, and antioxidant status of the suckling lambs.
Materials and Methods: This research was conducted in a completely randomized design using 48 lambs with an average weight of 3.34±0.44 kg along with 24 lactating ewes with an average milk production of 1107.03±122.25 grams per day in individual stalls for a period of 65 days. The groups of mother ewes included: control (basic diet) and first, second and third treatments, in addition to the basic diet, were received 15 grams of cumin, coriander and peppermint mixed powder with the ratios of 60:30:10; 10:45:45 and 30:60:10 %, respectively. The lambs were weighed every two weeks and at the end of the experiment, blood was taken from the jugular vein.
Results and Discussion: The final weight and average daily gain (ADG) of lambs of first treatment were higher than other groups (P<0.05). Red blood cells (RBC) and hematocrit were the lowest in third and the highest in first treatments, although there was no significant difference with control. Platelets and red cell distribution width (RDW) in first treatment were lower than control (P<0.05). There was no difference between treatments in terms of white blood cells (WBC), percentages of lymphocytes and granulocytes. The concentration of blood glucose in lambs of first treatment decreased compared to control. The total antioxidant capacity of lambs from mothers receiving herbal supplement increased and malondialdehyde was lower compared to control.
Conclusion: The results showed that the use of a mixture of cumin, coriander and peppermint in the ration of mother ewes increased the antioxidant capacity and decreased malondialdehyde in suckling lambs, although ADG was not noticeable.
Sayyed Mohsen Hosseini; Javad Rezaei; Yousef Rouzbehan
Volume 21, Issue 4 , January 2020, , Pages 461-473
Abstract
The present study was conducted to determine the chemical composition of Echinophora sibthorpiana and Pulicaria dysenterica and the effect of dietary inclusions of these plants on in vitro ruminal fermentation parameters and digestibility. Chemical composition of the experimental plants was determined ...
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The present study was conducted to determine the chemical composition of Echinophora sibthorpiana and Pulicaria dysenterica and the effect of dietary inclusions of these plants on in vitro ruminal fermentation parameters and digestibility. Chemical composition of the experimental plants was determined using standard methods and different levels of each plant were included in the diet. In vitro gas production technique was performed with seven treatments (control diet, diets containing 15, 30 or 45 percentage of Echinophora and diets containing 15, 30 or 45 percentage of Pulicaria) and three replicates. Results indicated that crude protein and organic matter digestibility (OMD) of Echinophora (10.4 and 61.8 percentage, respectively) were higher than Pulicaria (7.85 and 52.5 percentage, respectively) (P<0.05). Inclusion of Echinophora in the diet increased OMD and metabolizable energy, while using Pulicaria reduced these parameters (P<0.05). Ruminal ammonia decreased with inclusion of Echinophora in the diet (P<0.05), but it was not affected by Pulicaria. Dietary inclusions of Echinophora and Pulicaria decreased protozoa population and methane production (P<0.05). The ruminal antioxidant capacity was improved by inclusions of Echinophora and Pulicaria in the diet (P<0.05). Based on the results, theuse of Echinophora up to 45 percentage and Pulicaria up to 30 percentage of diet dry matter is recommended in ruminants. However, the forage to concentrate ratio should be reduced when feeding Pulicaria in high-performance animals. On the other hand, using Echinophora and Pulicaria improves ruminal antioxidant capacity and reduces methane release to the environment.
Tavakol Akhavan Gigloo; Fardin Hozhabri; Manouchehr Souri
Volume 21, Issue 1 , April 2019, , Pages 23-35
Abstract
A total of 24 male and female Sanjabi suckling lambs with an average weight of 4.2 kg at birth day were used in a 90-day trial period using randomized complete block design for evaluation of two dietary antioxidants. The lambs were received forage and concentrate from the second week of birth in addition ...
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A total of 24 male and female Sanjabi suckling lambs with an average weight of 4.2 kg at birth day were used in a 90-day trial period using randomized complete block design for evaluation of two dietary antioxidants. The lambs were received forage and concentrate from the second week of birth in addition to maternal milk. The experimental diets included control (milk and starter), control + 10% lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) and control + one tablet CoQ10 (30 mg). Every 30 day of experiment blood samples were drawn from jugular vein to measure some hematological and enzymatic parameters. No significant difference was observed among treatments for daily milk, dry matter intake and performance of lambs. Hematocrit was not affected due to lemon balm but it was increased (P<0.05) by CoQ10. Diets containing antioxidants increased the total white blood cells compared to control (P<0.05); but monocytes and basophils did not alter these parameters. Lemon balm reduced the lymphocytes and increased neutrophils while CoQ10 did not influence these two parameters. Eosinophil in blood samples of lambs received Lemon balm or CoQ10 were more than that of control (P<0.05). The concentrations of glutathione peroxidase, immunoglobulin-G and total antioxidant capacity were not affected by treatments, but lemon balm supplementation decreased (P<0.05) malondialdehyde index. The results of this experiment showed, the use of lemon balm in 10% of diet as well as 30 mg/day of coQ10 in suckling lambs’ diet improved immune system, however no significant changes observed in the performance of the lambs.