The effects of herbal plant extract on the growth performance, blood parameters, nutrient digestibility and carcase quality of rabbits: A meta-analysis.

A meta-analysis was conducted to determine the effects of herbal plant extracts on the growth performance, blood parameters, nutrient digestibility and carcase quality of farmed rabbits. A dataset was created from 33 in vivo studies comprising 121 experimental units. Statistical meta-analysis was performed using a random-effects model and linear-mixed model meta-regression using R software (v. 4.3.0). Our results showed that although supplemental herbs did not affect average daily gain (ADG) and final body weight (BW), they reduced (P < 0.01) feed conversion ratio and mortality and increased the digestibility of dry matter (DM) (P = 0.014) and crude protein (CP) (P = 0.018). The herbal extracts also increased (P = 0.037) blood high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and decreased (P = 0.004) low-density lipoprotein (LDL). Immunoglobulin M (IgM) was elevated (P = 0.009) by herbal plant extract supplementation, although most blood components were unaffected. The inclusion of herbal plant extract up to 300 g/kg increased (P = 0.011) carcase percentage while the weight and percentage of other organs were unaffected. Subgroup meta-analysis further explained the different effect of the type of herbal plant extract. Moringa, olive oil, and pepper were more favourable to increase final BW compared to the other herbs. Interestingly, the majority of herbs showed efficacy in reducing mortality. A majority of the response variables in our meta-analysis showed no dose-response effect except for ADG, mortality, HDL, and LDL which were improved by herbs supplementation. The evidence from the perspective of both meta-analysis and meta-regression shows that the addition of herbs tends to positively affect the parameters for production performance and blood metabolites in farmed rabbits.

Evaluation of milk yield and composition, feed intake, chewing activities, and clinical variables in dairy cows under hot-humid climate of tropical zone.

Dairy cows increase heat loads when the temperature-humidity index (THI) value is elevated in the ambient environments. This condition often occurs in the tropical areas due to a higher THI rate throughout seasons. The major objective of the study was to investigate the different responses in milk yield and composition, chewing activities, and health parameters in dairy cows under the dry and wet seasons of tropical climate zone in Indonesia. Twenty mid-lactating Indonesian Holstein-Friesian cows (139.3 ± 24.63 DIM; 10 primiparous and 10 multiparous; 441 ± 21.5 kg BW) were randomly subjected to 2 groups, dairy cows under dry (n = 10) and wet season (n = 10). Both groups received the same diets throughout the experiment. To determine the heat stress condition, the THI values were recorded daily. Overall, a higher number of THI was more pronounced in wet season. A lower dry matter intake (DMI) and milk yield were observed in wet season group. A tendency towards higher milk protein contents was found in dairy cows under dry season compared to cows under wet season. The other milk compositions such as fat, lactose, and SNF remained unchanged in both dry and wet season groups. The comparison between both groups at several time points of eating and ruminating time revealed significantly higher in cows under dry season. Overall, a higher chewing per bolus was observed in cows under dry season than their counterparts. Furthermore, a tendential greater extent rectal temperature pointed in the wet season group compared to the dry season group relatively. Data suggest that a stronger heat stress condition in wet season was more pronounced compared to dry season, with adversely affecting stronger declined DMI, milk yield, and chewing activities of dairy cows.

Productivity, absence of a bull and endoparasitic nematodiosis in beef cattle farms in an upland area of East Java, Indonesia.

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Cattle are an important economic asset for the rural community in East Java Province, Indonesia. The study aimed to provide updated data of cattle farm demography, productivity, as well as the role of the absence of a bull and nematodiosis in reduced productivity of beef cattle in an upland rural area of the province. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study was conducted in Sukowono village, Bondowoso region. A Census survey was conducted to collect data through interviews with farmers. Further, 102 fecal samples were taken systematically and processed using a double centrifugation method to investigate the endoparasitic nematodiosis in the cattle population. The demographic data, productivity, and nematodiosis were analyzed descriptively. The difference between proportions was analyzed using Chi-square with 95% confidence limit. The associations were described in risk ratio with 95% confidence interval (CI). RESULTS: The total cattle population was 814 heads; the range of farm size was 1-7 (median: 2) cattle. Female cattle comprised 81.8% (666/814) of the cattle population but, only 5.5% (23/422) farmers kept both bull and mature female cattle. Pregnancy rate was 26.8% (145/542) of mature female cattle. The delayed first calving time appeared in 24.8% (62/250) of heifers and calving interval of >14 months occurred in 83.2% (149/179) of multiparous cows. The prevalence of endoparasitic nematodiosis was 43.1% (44/102, 95%, CI: 38.1-52.1%). Either the absence of the bull or the nematodiosis did not associate with pregnancy rate or calving interval of cows. CONCLUSION: This study indicates that the productivity of the cattle in the study area was low but may not associate with the absence of a bull or nematodiosis.

Supplementation of grape pomace (Vitis vinifera) in broiler diets and its effect on growth performance, apparent total tract digestibility of nutrients, blood profile, and meat quality.

This experiment was conducted to explore the efficacy of grape pomace (Vitis vinifera) on growth performance, apparent total tract digestibility of nutrients, blood profile, and meat quality in commercial broilers. Four hundred broiler chicks (3-d-old) were randomly allotted to 4 dietary treatments for 28 d. Each treatment had 5 replicates with 20 birds per replicate. The dietary treatments were 1) control, 2) 5 g/kg grape pomace (GP), 3) 7.5 g/kg GP, and 4) 10 g/kg GP supplemented in diets after drying. Supplementation of GP did not show linear effects (P > 0.05) on body weight (BW) gain, however, quadratic effects (P < 0.05) on BW gain were observed during d 0 to 7 and d 8 to 14. Body weight gain, feed intake, and feed conversion ratio remained unaffected during d 22 to 28 and overall period. The nutrient digestibility studies conducted at the end of the feeding trial did not show (P > 0.05) any effect due to GP supplementation, except a quadratic trend (P = 0.07) for digestibility of ash was observed. Serum levels of glucose, triglyceride, and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol were not affected (P > 0.05), however, total cholesterol and serum immunoglobulin G levels showed quadratic effects (P < 0.05) due to GP supplementation. The thio-barbituric acid reactive substances values in breast meat linearly decreased (P < 0.01) in supplemented groups at 0, 5, and 10 d of storage showing linear effects due to GP supplementation, and quadratic effects were also observed at 5 and 10 d of storage. The meat color value such as redness was also decreased (P < 0.05) in supplemented groups showing both linear and quadratic effects. Overall, it could be concluded that GP supplementation showed quadratic effects on BW gain during early growth stages and was effective in reducing serum cholesterol level and improving meat quality parameters in broilers.

Effects of dietary onion (Allium cepa) extract supplementation on performance, apparent total tract retention of nutrients, blood profile and meat quality of broiler chicks.

OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to investigate the effect of dietary onion (Allium cepa) extract (OE) supplementation on growth performance, apparent total tract retention (ATTR), blood profile, carcass characteristics and meat quality in broilers. METHODS: Four hundred male broiler chicks (Ross 308, 3-d old) were randomly allocated to four dietary treatments for 28 d feeding trial. Each treatment has five replications with 20 birds each. Four dietary treatments were designated according to the OE supplementation levels (0 as control, 5, 7.5, and 10 g of OE per kg of basal diet respectively). On d 28, a total of 20 birds from each treatment were subjected for ATTR, serum biochemical assay, carcass characteristic and organ weight measurement. RESULTS: Overall weight gain of OE 7.5 g/kg group was higher (p = 0.04) than control group. The ATTRs of dietary energy (p<0.01) and ether extract (p = 0.04) linearly increased with increasing levels of dietary OE. However, no difference in ATTR of dry matter and crude protein was evident. Furthermore, serum IgG concentration increased linearly (p<0.01) and quadratically (p = 0.03) with increasing OE supplementation. No differences in carcass dressing weight and amount of abdominal fat by treatments were observed. Also, the weight of organ including immune organ was not different among the treatments. The TBARS values of 10 d stored breast meat decreased linearly (p<0.01) and quadratically (p<0.01) with increasing dietary OE levels. The meat color was also affected, with lower (p<0.01) redness score in meats from OE supplemented groups. This study showed that dietary OE improved broiler weight gain presumably by increasing feed intake and ATTR of both energy and ether extract. The dietary OE increased serum IgG level and meat anti-oxidation capacity. CONCLUSION: This study implies that the recommended level of dietary OE supplementation could be beneficial for improving broiler performance and meat quality.