Effect of exogenous enzymes and <i>Salix babylonica</i> extract or their combination on haematological parameters in growing lambs

Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare the use of exogenous enzyme preparations (EZ) and/or Salix babylonica extract (SB) or their combination as feed additives on some haematological parameters in growing lambs. Twenty Suffolk lambs of 6 to 8-months-old with 24±0.3 kg body weight were used in the study. Lambs were divided into 4 groups of 5 animals each in a completely randomized design and the treatments were: 1.control: fed a basal diet of concentrate (30%) and maize silage (70%); 2. EZ: fed the basal diet plus 10 g of enzyme; 3. SB: fed the basal diet plus 30 ml of S. babylonica extract, and 4. EZSB: fed the basal diet plus 10 g enzyme and 30 ml of S. babylonica extract. Lambs were housed in individual cages and the experiment was conducted for 60 days. The SB was given orally while the EZ was mixed with a small amount of the concentrate and maize silage and was offered ad libitum. Blood samples were collected from each animal on days 0, 15, 30, 45 and 60 of Animal and Feed Sciences, 21, 2012, 577-586 ENZYMES -HAEMATOLOGICAL PARAMETERS IN LAMBSexperiment and analysed for haematological parameters. The treatments of EZ, SB or EZSB did not affect any of the measured blood parameters. Day of sampling modified concentrations of red blood cells (P=0.001; linear effect), haematocrit (P=0.01; quadratic effect), haemoglobin (P=0.01; linear effect), mean corpuscular volume (P=0.01; linear effect), monocytes (P=0.004; quadratic effect) and plasma protein (P=0.0002; linear effect). It could be concluded that Salix babylonica extract, exogenous enzymes and their combination as feed additives had not a negative effects on the blood parameters measured and therefore on the health of the lambs.

Polyherbal feed additive for lambs: effects on performance, blood biochemistry and biometry

“…Interleukin 8 has been related to the degranulative effects of neutrophils and its gene overexpression has been described when polyphenols are added to rations (Taub et al 1996;Jung et al 2009). Increases in plasma proteins have also been observed when adding an extract rich in phenols to lamb diets (Rivero et al 2012); and, as observed here, these changes were not related to infectious agents or chronic inflammatory processes, confirmed by the albumin and globulin values (Russell and Roussel 2007).…”

Influence of exogenous enzymes in presence ofSalix babylonicaextract on digestibility, microbial protein synthesis and performance of lambs fed maize silage

“…These improvements were reflected in the feed conversion ratios, which improved by 25•7% for EZSB, 13•5% for EZ and 3•2% for SB treatments. The increased feed intake, nutrient digestibility and daily gain with the administration of SB extract and/or enzymes may be related to the positive effects of metabolites contained in the extract (Jiménez-Peralta et al 2011;Rivero et al 2012: Salem et al 2014a, and/or the action exerted by the enzymes (Rivero et al 2012). Researchers have demonstrated that a positive correlation between feeding animals diets supplemented with fibre-degrading enzymes, their performance and modes of action are uncertain (Alsersy et al in press).…”

“…The most important factor should be the dose of the additives administered (Jiménez-Peralta et al 2011;Salem et al 2013). Rivero et al (2012Rivero et al ( , 2013 stated positive effects on Suffolk lamb performance with no effects on blood chemistry when both SB extract and ZADO ® enzymes were administered together.…”

“…A hypothesis was developed to explain the synergetic effects resulting from the combination of Salix babylonica (SB) extract and direct-fed enzyme on animal performance: optimal doses of secondary metabolic compounds from plant extracts with optimum doses of enzymes may have cumulative effects on animal performance. Rivero et al (2012Rivero et al ( , 2013 tested the effect of administering 30 ml SB extract in combination with 10 g ZADO ® (i.e. an exogenous enzyme cocktail) on the performance of Suffolk lambs.…”

Exogenous Enzymes in Ruminant Nutrition: A Review

“…They found that only the combination of Salix babylonica extract and enzyme had a significant effect on meat quality parameters but no significant effects with only the enzyme addition (Cayetano et al, 2013). A study by Rivero et al (2012) reported the effect of Salix babylonica extracts and exogenous enzymes separately and as a combination on haematological parameters in growing lambs where no effect with any treatment observed. Giraldo et al (2009) Table 2).…”