Effect of Thymus vulgaris or Peppermint on Lactating Sanjabi Ewe Performance, Milk Composition, Lamb Growing and Relevant Blood Metabolites

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Animal Science Department, Kermanshah Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Kermanshah, Iran

2 Animal Science Research Institute of Iran, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Karaj, Iran

Abstract

Milk production and composition, lamb growth, blood hematological profile and relevant blood metabolites were assayed in Sanjabi ewes and lambs as affected by supplementing basal diet by either thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.)(THY) or Peppermint (PEP). Twenty-one pregnant Sanjabi ewes of similar weight (BW around 50 Kg) and age (45-48 months) were equally divided into three dietary treatments. Group (1) served as a control group received a basal diet (BD) with no feed supplement. Groups  (2) THY and (3) PEP received 10 g/ewe/day THY or PEP, respectively. Lactation period and milk yield were higher (p <0.05) in ewes of THY supplement followed by that of PEP supplement than that of basal diet only, respectively. Whereas, weaning weight (WW) and average daily gain (ADG) of lambs were improved (p <0.05) by the addition of THY or PEP to the basal diet. The addition of THY and PEP increased (p <0.05) WBC’s and lymphocytes counts of these lactating ewes, while, monocytes count was higher (p <0.05) in ewes fed basal diet only. No significant effects were noticed on eosinophils, RBC’s count and Hb concentration in ewes fed the supplemented diets. RBC’s, WBC’s, lymphocytes counts and Hb concentration of suckling lambs were improved (p <0.05) by adding THY or PEP to the basal diet of ewes. The addition of THY or PEP to the basal diet increased (p <0.05) blood serum; total protein and globulin concentration of these ewes compared to those of the control group. However, no significant differences were observed in albumin, glucose, triglycerides and urea concentrations. Total serum cholesterol was decreased (p <0.05) by the addition of THY and PEP. Concerning suckling lambs, the addition of THY or PEP to the basal diet increased (p <0.05) total protein and globulin concentration, while, it decreased albumin: globulin ratio. No significant effects were noticed in albumin, glucose, triglycerides and cholesterol of suckling lambs blood serum. It is concluded that THY and PEP diet supplements could be used as natural growth promoters in ewe diets to improve milk yield and composition and lamb growth.

Keywords

References

1. El-Ghousein SS. Effect of some medicinal plants as feed additives on lactating awassi ewe performance, milk composition, lamb growth and relevant blood items. Egyptian J Animal Pro. 2010;47:37-49.
2. Morshedy SA, et al., Effect of Prickly Pear Cactus Peel Supplementation on Milk Production, Nutrient Digestibility and Rumen Fermentation of Sheep and the Maternal Effects on Growth and Physiological Performance of Suckling Offspring. Animals. 2020;10:1476.
3. Barwary M. Evaluation of medicinal plants (Astragalus eriocephalus and Quercus infectoria) as feed additives in awassi ewes’ration. Iraqi J Agricultural Science. 2019;50:526-533.
4. Hendawy AM, Mansour AN, El-Din. Effects of medicinal plants on haematological indices, colostrum, and milk composition of ewes. J Veterinary Med Animal Sci. 2019;2:1-5.
5. Zebarjadi A, et al. Assessment of Genetic Diversity by Application of Inter Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR) Primers on Iranian Harmal (Peganum harmala L.) Germplasm as an Important Medicinal Plant. J Applied Biotech Reports. 2016;3:441-445.
6. Kazemi N, et al. Induction of linalool as a pharmaceutical and medicinal metabolite via cell suspension culture of cumin (Cuminum cyminum L.). Cell Molecular Biol. 2016;62:65-68.
7. Kahrizi D, ROSTAMI AH. Akbarabadi A. Feasibility Cultivation of Camelina (Camelina sativa) as Medicinal-Oil Plant in Rainfed Conditions in Kermanshah-Iran's First Report. 2015.
8. Kahrizi D, et al. Medicinal plants in holy Quran. American Journal of Scientific Research. 2012;42:62-71.
9. Eftekharinasab, N., et al., Identification of wild medicinal plant in Dalahoo mountain and their used indigenous knowledge (Kermanshah, Iran). Annals Biol Res. 2012;3:3234-3239.
10. Olvera-Aguirre G, et al. Effect of Feeding Lactating Ewes with Moringa oleifera Leaf Extract on Milk Yield, Milk Composition and Preweaning Performance of Ewe/Lamb Pair. Animals. 2020;10:1117.
11. Galbat S, et al. Effects of some medicinal plants mixture on milk performance and blood components of egyptian dairy goats. Middle East J Applied Sci  Tech. 2014;4:942-948.
12. Zeid A Ahmed M. Productive performance of Zaraibi goats fed rations containing some medicinal herbs. J Agric Sci. Mansoura University. 2004;29:595-608.
13. Vakili A, et al. The effects of thyme and cinnamon essential oils on performance, rumen fermentation and blood metabolites in Holstein calves consuming high concentrate diet. Asian-Australasian J Animal Sci. 2013;26:935.
14. Abeer M, Ahlam R, Marwa H. Impact of Anise, Clove, and Thyme essential oils as feed supplements on the productive performance and digestion of Barki ewes. Australian Jo Basic and Applied Sci. 2019;3:1-13.
15. Ismail M, Osman M. Effect of adding some herbs to goat feed on the chemical, microbiological and organoleptic properties of Domiati cheese. J Agric Sci, Mansoura University. 2004;29:253-263.
16. Dalle Zotte A, et al. Effect of dietary supplementation of spirulina (Arthrospira platensis) and thyme (Thymus vulgaris) on carcass composition, meat physical traits, and vitamin B12 content on growing rabbits. World Rabbit Science. 2014;22:11-19.
17. Karásková K, Suchý P, Straková E. Current use of phytogenic feed additives in animal nutrition: a review. Czech Journal of Animal Sciences. 2015;60:521-530.
18. Alamgir A. Vitamins, Nutraceuticals, Food Additives, Enzymes, Anesthetic Aids, and Cosmetics, in Therapeutic Use of Medicinal Plants and their Extracts: Volume 2. Springer. 2018;407-534.
19. Abdelhamid A, Shehata E, Maged G. Effect of some medical herbs on production of lactating Zaraibi goats. J Animal Poultry Production. 2011;2:493-513.
20. Youssef MA, El-Ashker MR, Ouda MF. Hematological and serum biochemical alterations in buffalo with some digestive disorders. Comparative Clinical Pathology. 2017;26:1033-1039.
21. Abraham G, et al. Serum thyroid hormone, insulin, glucose, triglycerides and protein concentrations in normal horses: Association with topical dexamethasone usage. The Veterinary J. 2011;188:307-312.
22. Wintrobe MM. Wintrobe's clinical hematology. Vol. 1. 2008: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.
23. Akers RM. Lactation and the mammary gland. John Wiley & Sons. 2016.
24. El-Hawy A. Biochemical, hematological, immunological responses and growth performance of Barki lambs born to ewes fed on Nigella sativa meal. Res J Animal Veterinary Sci. 2018;10:25-36.
25. Loolaie M, et al. Peppermint and its functionality: A review. Archives of Clinical Microbiology. 2017;8:54.
26. Ibrahim OAE-H, Mohamed AG, Bahgaat WK. Natural peppermint-flavored cheese. Acta Scientiarum Polonorum Technologia Alimentaria. 2019;18:75-85.
27. Nayak P, et al. Peppermint a medicinal herb and treasure of health: A review. J Pharmacognosy Phytochem. 2020;9:1519-1528.
28. Van Vuuren S, de Rapper S. Odoriferous Therapy: Identifying the Antimicrobial Potential of Essential Oils against Pathogens of the Respiratory Tract. Chemistry & Biodiversity. 2020;17:e2000062.
29. Nieto G. A Review on Applications and Uses of Thymus in the Food Industry. Plants. 2020;9:961.
30. Osman NN, Alsharari MA, Alsufiani HM. Peppermint (Mentha piperita L.) and Thyme (Thymus vulgaris) attenuate the Immune and Inflammatory Disorders in Rats Consumed Repeatedly heated Palm oil. Inter J Pharmaceutical Phytopharmacological Res (IJPPR). 2020;10:59-66.
31. Mahdavikia F, Saharkhiz MJ. Secondary metabolites of peppermint change the morphophysiological and biochemical characteristics of tomato. Biocatalysis Agric Biotech. 2016;7:127-133.
32. Wang Z-J, Heinbockel T. Essential oils and their constituents targeting the gabaergic system and sodium channels as treatment of neurological diseases. Molecules. 2018;23:1061.
33. Satnami P, Karthikeyan B, Ganesh P. Antimicrobial activity of essential oils against certain bacterial species. Inter J Advanced Res. 2016;2:300-303.
34. Caroprese M, Ciliberti MG, Albenzio M. Application of aromatic plants and their extracts in dairy animals, in Feed Additives. Elsevier. 2020;261-277.
35. Boutoial K, et al. Effect of feeding goats with distilled and non-distilled thyme leaves (Thymus zygis subp. gracilis) on milk and cheese properties.J Dairy Res. 2013;80:448.
36. Ludwiczuk A, Skalicka-Woźniak K, Georgiev M. Terpenoids. InPharmacognosy 2017 Jan 1 (pp. 233-266), 2017, Academic Press.
37. Emami NK, et al. The effect of peppermint essential oil and fructooligosaccharides, as alternatives to virginiamycin, on growth performance, digestibility, gut morphology and immune response of male broilers. Animal Feed Sci Technology. 2012;175:57-64.
Journal of Medicinal plants and By-product
Volume 10, Special
April 2021
Pages 95-101

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics