Effect of tea saponins on milk performance, milk fatty acids, and immune function in dairy cow

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of tea saponins (TSP) on milk performance, milk fatty acids, and blood immune function in dairy cows. A total of 20 early-lactation Holstein cows (days in milk = 66.4 ± 16.8 d; parity = 1.75 ± 0.91; and milk yield = 36.3 ± 7.32 kg/d; mean ± standard deviation) were randomly divided into 4 homogeneous treatment groups, with TSP added at 0, 20, 30, and 40 g/d per head, respectively. All cows had 2 wk of adaptation and 6 wk of treatments. Feed, milk, and blood were sampled and analyzed weekly. At the end of the experimental period (wk 6), the dry matter intake and yields of energy-corrected milk, milk, and milk protein, fat, and lactose in the cows fed TSP showed a quadratic response, with the lowest values in cows fed TSP at 40 g/d. The milk fat content of cows fed TSP increased linearly. Significant interactions for treatment by week were found in milk C16:1 cis-9 and C18:1 cis-9, with the highest values at wk 2, 3, and 4 in the cows fed TSP at 40 g/d. The levels declined quickly after 4 wk of feeding to values similar to those for other TSP treatments and the control at wk 5 and 6. Plasma malondialdehyde concentration decreased as the supplement level of TSP increased. The concentration of superoxide dismutase increased as the supplement level of TSP increased. The plasma concentration of tumor necrosis factor-α increased as the supplement level of TSP increased. In summary, this study showed that an intermediate dose of TSP (20 and 30 g/d) had no significant effect on feed intake, but the supplementation of 40 g/d TSP decreased feed intake, resulting in a lower milk yield. The energy-corrected milk of cows fed 40 g/d TSP declined at first but increased after 3 wk of feeding, indicating the potential adaptation to high doses of TSP supplements in dairy cows. The supplementation of TSP could reduce oxidative stress in cows and improve the immunity of dairy cows during 6 wk of feeding.

Effects of dietary supplementation of Quillaja saponin on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, fecal gas emissions, and meat quality in finishing pigs

“…Ilsley et al (2003) reported that supplementing a diet with 250 mg/kg Quillaja saponin increased dry matter and crude protein digestibility of the sows. According to Hu et al (2006) and Wang et al (2017), triterpenoid saponins may inhibit growth performance at high doses and promote growth performance at low doses. Indeed, Ilsley et al (2005) noted that a diet containing 750 mg/kg Quillaja saponin did not affect the growth performance of pigs but feeding the pigs with a diet supplemented with 1300 mg/kg Quillaja saponin negatively affected their growth performance.…”

The influence of mulberry leaf flavonoids and Candida tropicalis on antioxidant function and gastrointestinal development of preweaning calves challenged with Escherichia coli O141:K99

“…Plant secondary metabolites, such as flavonoids and saponins, have anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antimicrobial properties in humans or ruminants (Harborne and Williams, 2000;Wang et al, 2017a) and mulberry could alleviate the severity of diarrhea in an experimental model of diarrhea in mice and rats (Di Carlo et al, 1993). Mulberry (Morus alba L.) leaves may be a potential source of natural antioxidants due to their marked antioxidant activity (Arabshahi-Delouee and Urooj, 2007).…”

Health Functions and Related Molecular Mechanisms of Tea Components: An Update Review

“…Saponins are another bioactive component in tea brewing and its extract, and usually exhibit antioxidant, immuno-regulatory, anticancer, and cardiovascular-protective effects [11,[53][54][55]. Moreover, tea saponins are generally regarded as safe compounds that have anti-fungal and insecticidal properties and are widely used in the field of agriculture and food industry [56,57].…”

“…Tea and its bioactive components also exhibit systematic and peripheral immuno-regulatory activities in vivo. Wang et al reported that the immunity of dairy cows was improved after a 6-week administration of tea saponins (0, 20, 30, and 40 g/d) [11]. Sharma et al declared that EGCG (100 mg/kg BW) from green tea enhanced the systemic immunity in aged male Swiss albino mice by improving the cellular immune response and simultaneously alleviating the antibody response aided by increased adrenal dehydroepiandrosterone [99].…”

“…White and green teas are not fermented, yellow tea is just slightly fermented, while oolong, black, and dark teas are more deeply fermented [2][3][4][5][6][7]. Tea contains various bioactive components, such as polyphenols, pigments, polysaccharides, alkaloids, free amino acids, and saponins [8][9][10][11][12][13]. In addition, many studies have indicated that tea and its bioactive components possess multiple health functions (as shown in Figure 1), including antioxidation, anti-inflammation, immuno-regulation, anticancer, cardiovascular-protection, have been identified with 4 isomers, including theaflavin, theaflavin-3-gallate, theaflavin-3 -gallate, and theaflavin-3,3 -gallate, are simpler than those of thearubigins and theabrownins that are complex mixtures of polyphenols and their polymers [39,40].…”