Influence of a Polyherbal Mixture in Dairy Calves: Growth Performance and Gene Expression

Abstract

A polyherbal feed mixture containing (Achyrantes aspera, Trachyspermum ammi, Citrullus colocynthis, Andrographis paniculata, and Azadirachta indica) was evaluated in growing calves through blood chemistry, blood biometry, and gene expression during the pre-ruminant to weaning period. Forty Holstein calves (initial BW 45.6 ± 3.2 kg; 22.8 ± 0.9 days post birth) from a dairy farm were randomly assigned to the following treatments: 0, 3, 4, and 5 g/d of a polyherbal mixture, dosed in colloid gels with gelatin. Calves were housed in individual outdoor boxes with ad libitum access to a 21.5% CP calf starter and water and fed individually with a mixture of milk and a non-medicated milk replacer (22% CP). Blood samples were collected on day 59 for blood chemistry, blood biometry, and gene expression analysis in leukocyte through microarray assays. Immunoglobulins were quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The animals treated with the polyherbal mixture showed a quadratic effect on final body weight, daily weight gain, final hip height, and final thoracic girth. The best performance results were obtained with a treatment dose of 4 g/d. The serum IgG increased linearly with the treatment doses. Gene set enrichment analysis of upregulated genes revealed that the three biological processes with higher fold change were tight junction, mucin type O-Glycan biosynthesis, and intestinal immune network for IgA production. Also, these upregulated genes influenced arachidonic acid metabolism, and pantothenate and CoA biosynthesis. Gene ontology enrichment analysis indicated that the pathways enriched were PELP1 estrogen receptor interacting protein pathways, nuclear receptors in lipid metabolism and toxicity, tight junction, ECM-receptor interaction, thyroid hormone signaling pathways, vascular smooth muscle contraction, ribosome function, glutamatergic synapse pathway, focal adhesion, Hippo, calcium, and MAPK signaling pathways.

Citrullus colocynthis (L.) Schrad (Bitter Apple Fruit): Promising Traditional Uses, Pharmacological Effects, Aspects, and Potential Applications

“…Some gene expression research indicates that polyherbal therapy enhanced lipid, protein, carbohydrate, and immune response metabolism. These findings support using plant chemicals in animal feed ( Díaz Galván et al_, 2021 ). Supplementation with C. colocynthis fruit showed potential to minimize methanogenesis and improve rumen fermentation.…”

A Polyherbal Mixture with Nutraceutical Properties for Ruminants: A Meta-Analysis and Review of BioCholine Powder

“…Nutrigenomic studies show the effects of BioCholine expressed at the cellular level, allowing us to explain changes in productive variables, health, and antioxidant status. In the calf experiment [ 41 ], changes in leukocyte expression were evaluated by microarrays from blood samples collected on day 60 of the experiment, when the calves consumed 4.95 ± 0.686 kg of starter concentrate per day and the milk had been suspended for 25 days, so the rumen was adapted to eating solids, and the response could be interpreted as calves with a developed rumen (BW 93.21 ± 9.53). Microarray results showed that 1093 genes were upregulated and 1349 were downregulated with BioCholine, with marked changes in 13 genes related to lipid metabolism, 9 genes related to carbohydrate metabolism, and 9 genes related to oxidation–reduction.…”

Evaluation of polyherbal with vitamin C activity on lamb performance and meat characteristics

“…Lamb performance was evaluated with daily feed intake, average daily gain, feed conversion ratio, and variation in daily feed intake between days as an indicator of stability and welfare (Díaz Galván et al, 2021). Lambs were fasted (16 h) and weighted on two consecutive days at the beginning and at the end of the experiment.…”