Patterns of milk production, blood metabolite profile and enzyme activities of two fat-tailed sheep breeds

Abstract

This study was conducted to compare milk yield and composition, blood parameters and enzyme activities between two fat-tailed Iranian breeds of sheep (Mehraban and Sanjabi). Two groups of eight ewes per breed were kept indoors and fed a diet based on alfalfa hay (60%) and concentrates (40%). Milk production of the individual ewes was measured and sampled weekly for 11 weeks and blood samples were obtained at 28, 56 and 77 days of lactation. No significant differences between the breeds were evident in average daily milk production and fat and lactose contents, but average milk protein content tended to be higher (P = 0.05) in Mehraban than in Sanjabi ewes.However, milk and protein yields were higher (P < 0.05) in Mehraban ewes in the last two-thirds of lactation.Plasma lipid profile (triglyceride, cholesterol, HDL-and LDL-cholesterol) was not different between the two breeds at any time of study. At the end of lactation, plasma urea contents and alanine amino transferase activities were higher (P < 0.05) either before or after feeding in Mehraban than in Sanjabi ewes, which suggests a more intense metabolic activity in the former probably related to their higher milk and protein production at that stage of lactation.Additional keywords: ewes, milk composition, plasma parameters.Milk production, plasma parameters and different enzyme activities were compared in two Iranian fat-tailed sheep breeds (Mehraban and Sanjabi) during lactation. There were few differences in plasma parameters between breeds.However, Mehraban ewes performed better than Sanjabi ewes in the last two-thirds of the lactation period. (Sakul and Boylan 1992a, 1992b). Those differences can alter the texture of milk products (Lucey et al. 2003). Additionally, knowing breed effects on milk yield and composition is very important to implement breeding selection programs based on the traditional quantitative approach (Carta et al. 2009).Blood biochemical parameters are used to assess the nutritional status of lactating animals and they are known to change according to the physiological status (Nazifi et al. 2002; Karapehlivan et al. 2007; Piccione et al. 2009). The assessment of the relationship between blood biochemical parameters and enzymes activities and patterns of milk production may lead to a better understanding of the ewe's metabolism changes during the lactation period.The aim of the present work was to study milk yield and composition, plasma metabolites and enzyme activities during lactation in Sanjabi and Mehraban ewes, kept indoors under the same feeding regime and management conditions. month before lambing from a synchronised pure flock. All animals were clinically healthy and free from internal and external parasites. Ewes were divided into two groups of eight animals, balanced in parity (2.5 ± 0.53 and 2.4 ± 0.92 in Sanjabi and Mehraban groups, respectively; P = 0.74). The two groups were kept in an enclosed facility as a single flock and fed the same diet without grazing at all. Diet was based on alfalfa hay (60% DM) and a conc...

Effects of probiotic supplementation on milk production, blood metabolite profile and enzyme activities of ewes during lactation

“…The data obtained in the present work (Table 2) were similar to those previously reported in other fattailed sheep (Nazifi et al 2005;Eshratkhah et al 2008). The observed trends in the blood plasma metabolite contents and enzyme activities as lactation progressed were in agreement for the most part with the patterns of change with time previously found by Payandeh et al (2016) in Sanjabi ewes. Again, the few reported effects of probiotic supplementation on a diversity of blood indices of dairy ewes are controversial.…”

“…SAS UE 3.5 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC) was used to perform the statistical analyses. Prior to carrying out the experiment, a power analysis was conducted utilising the data generated in the study of Payandeh et al (2016). All variables to be studied were used to calculate power.…”

Supplementation with rumen-protected proteins induces resistance to Haemonchus contortus in goats

“…Such results would be markers of intense liver function to meet the energy and protein requirements for maintenance and production. These enzymes have been reported to be responsible for the protein balance during the lactation peak in dairy cattle and sheep 21–23 . No significant difference was observed between the Hay and the CS diets on the FEC and the TFEC.…”

Development of yogurts with mixture of sheep and bovine milk: effect on chemical physical characteristics, protein profile and antioxidant activity

“…The mineral content available in yogurt is directly related to the content contained mineral in the raw material. In this study, only the analysis of calcium content was for its predominance, where according to studies (Park et al, 2007;Payandeh et al, 2015), the mineral calcium content in bovine milk can range from 107 to 133 mg.100 mL-1 and 136 to 218.44 mg.100 mL-1 for sheep milk.…”