Effect of Alpha-lipoic Acid on Productive Parameters and Ruminal VFA Profile in Sheep

Abstract

Aims: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) on feed over the productive parameters of sheep, as well as volatile fatty acids (VFA) in the rumen and blood glucose.
 Place and Duration of Study: The experiment was conducted at the Centro de Enseñanza, Investigación y Extensión en Producción Animal del Altiplano (CEIEPAA), located in Tequisquiapan, Querétaro-México.
 Methodology: A total of 64 sheep (Pelibuey x Dorset), two months old (32 males and 32 females with an average weight of 20.7 ± 1.3 kg) were used. Animals were housed in 16 pens, 4 animals per pen, and each pen was assigned to one of the 4 ALA inclusion treatments (0, 40, 80, 120 ppm). ALA was mixed with 50 g of ground corn to ensure its consumption; the animals of treatment 0 also received 50 g of ground corn without ALA.
 Results: Differences in weight gain were observed from day 56 in the animals supplemented with 80 ppm of ALA (P < .0001) and an improvement in daily weight gain (246 g) and feed conversion (P = .05) was shown. Animals treated with 40 ppm of ALA observed lower blood glucose without affecting the productive parameters (P = .05). A lower concentration of VFA was found in the treatment 120 ppm on day 84 (334.2 ± 26.5 vs 260.0 ± 15.7; P = .05).
 Conclusion: The inclusion of 80 ppm of ALA in the diet of sheep could improve the productive parameters.

Digestibility, Rumen Fermentation, Rumen Microbiota, and Lipid Peroxidation in Sheep Supplemented With Lipoic Acid

“…Lipoate (the deprotonated charge form of lipoic acid that dominates at pH of above 4.7) metabolism can be found in most bacterial, fungal, and protozoan organisms (Spalding and Prigge, 2010). However, further research is required to determine the role of LA and its effects on the ruminal microbiome as well as its action mechanism under different feeding systems (Robles-Rodríguez et al 2022).…”