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The present study evaluated the seasonal effects of transportation of goats (Alpine × Beetle) at different flocking densities, supplemented with vitamin C in group I, vitamin C + electrolyte in gro...

Comparative study was conducted to evaluate the seasonal effects of transportation of goats (Alpine × Beetle) at different flocking densities, supplemented with vitamin C in group I, vitamin C + el...

Background and Aim: Probiotics are the living microorganism which when administered improves the digestion and health of the animal. Saccharomyces cerevisiae (SC) improves the humoral and innate immunity of the animal. Prilled fat is a hydrogenated palm oil triglyceride which has been reported to promote the release of cytokines from macrophages. The aim of the study was to evaluate the immunomodulatory effect of probiotic and prilled fat during transition stage in Karan Fries (KF) cows. Materials and Methods: A total of 12 KF cows at 21 days prepartum were selected and divided into two groups of six animals each. The control group was fed as per the standard feeding practices and the supplemented group cows were supplemented daily with prilled fat at 100 g/cow, SC at 25 g/cow, and sweetener at 1 g/cow in addition to the standard feeding practices from -30 days of prepartum to 21 days of lactation. The sweetener was added to improve the palatability of the feed. The natural sweetener of an African plant leave had 105 times more sweetness than glucose with good aroma. The dry matter intake of the animal was recorded. Plasma samples were collected weekly from all cows for the analysis of blood metabolite beta-hydroxybutyric acid (BHBA). Lymphocytes were isolated from the blood for studying the expression of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and for estimating lymphocyte proliferation index (LPI). Results: The upregulated IL-1β and TNF-α around calving might be possibly associated to the metabolic changes occurring during the transition period and suggest a higher degree of inflammation around parturition. High concentrations of BHBA caused increased expression and synthesis of the pro-inflammatory factors such as TNF-α and IL-1β in supplemented group in primary calf hepatocytes. The LPI was higher in supplemented group as compared to control which suggests a stimulatory effect of unsaturated fatty acids on mitogen-stimulated T-cell proliferation. Conclusion: Dietary supplementation of probiotics, prilled fat, and sweetener alleviated negative energy balance by stimulating feed intake and modulating hepatic lipid metabolism; and both of these additives improved the postpartum health (antioxidant status and immune function) of transition dairy cows.

Present study was conducted to investigate the seasonal effects of transportation of goats (Alpine x Beetle) at different flocking densities, supplemented with Vitamin C in group I, Vitamin C + Electrolyte in group II and Jaggery in group III, 3 days before transport of animal, during winter and hot-humid seasons. The goats were selected from LRC, NDRI Karnal and were of 10-12 months old. Each group consisted of 25 goats each, divided into high (15) and low (10) flocking densities, transported for 8h with average speed of 25 Km/h. All the animals were kept off-feed and deprived of water during the transportation period. Physiological responses (Respiration rate, Rectal temperature, Pulse rate and Skin temperature) were recorded before and after transportation. A significant increase (P less than 0.05) in ST, RT, RR and PR were recorded just after unloading in both the flocking density groups and during both seasons which then declined to basal values (P less than 0.05) within 6-12 hours post transportation. Supplementation with Vitamin C, Vitamin C + Electrolyte and Jaggery aided in reducing transportation stress but Vitamin C + Electrolyte combination proved more beneficial in alleviating transportation stress in the goats.