Hazelnut Skin in Ewes’ Diet: Effects on Colostrum Immunoglobulin G and Passive Transfer of Immunity to the Lambs

Abstract

Passive immunity transfer has a pivotal role in newborn lambs, where the colostrum represents the primary source of immunoglobulins. This study hypothesized that the high content in polyphenolic compounds, mono- and poly-unsaturated fatty acids, and vitamin E of hazelnut skin affects blood and colostrum immunoglobulin G (IgG) concentration and related gamma-glutamyl-transferase (GGT) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels in sheep and their lambs. In the last 45 days of pregnancy, ewes were divided into a control (CTR) and a hazelnut skin supplemented group (HZN). Blood and colostrum were collected from ewes and lambs before the first suckling, at 24 and 48 h after birth, then IgG concentration, GGT and LDH activity levels were measured. IgG concentration in the colostrum and in lamb’s serum were significantly greater in HZN than CTR. No significant difference was detected for ewe’s blood. A significant positive correlation was found between IgG and GGT in lambs’ serum and colostrum, between IgG and LDH, as well as between GGT and LDH in lambs’ serum and colostrum. Our results suggest that hazelnut skin supplementation influences IgG colostrum concentration, with improved immune passive transfer to the suckling lambs. The transfer of maternal derived immune factors is confirmed by the GGT and LDH enzyme activity levels.

Role of hazelnut skin supplementation on plasma antioxidant status and cytokine profile in growing lambs

“…Moreover, after HS supplementation, the plasma proteome shows the involvement of different pathways, including that of the apolipoproteins (APOA1 and APOA4), which possess antioxidant activity and anti-inflammatory properties ( 12 ). Lambs’ meat proteome reveals that HS is able to modulate post-mortem processes linked with meat discoloration and tenderization rate ( 13 , 14 ) In the study of Viola et al ( 15 ), an improvement of the immune passive transfer to the suckling lambs is demonstrated after HS supplementation of ewes, which is capable of restoring the reduced immune competence connected to the growth. Hence, the inclusion of 15% of HS to replace an equal amount of maize in growing lambs can be an effective strategy to reduce the cost of disposal for industries ( 9 ).…”

“…The potential value of HS as a source of polyphenols from waste, which is available for growing lambs' feedstock, is highlighted in a number of studies (9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15). As indicated, dietary supplementation with HS improves the nutritional quality of lamb meat with a decrease in meat lipid oxidation (10) and an increase in health-promoting fatty acids, such as polyunsaturated fatty acids and vaccenic acid, without any detrimental effect on growing parameters (9).…”