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The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of the dietary supplementation of dried Greek oregano ( Origanum vulgare ssp. hirtum ) as a whole plant on various blood and milk oxidative stress enzymatic indices, on milk total antioxidant capacity and on productivity in dairy goats. Twelve Alpine goats were used in a 4-week experiment and were allocated to 1 of 2 groups (CON, OR). The animals were fed 1.2 kg of alfalfa hay and 1.2 kg of concentrate mixtures (50% basal and 50% lactation ration) daily. The concentrate mixtures for the CON group were not supplemented with oregano, while oregano plants were incorporated into the lactation ration of the OR group, at a level of 30 g equivalent to a daily dosage of 1 ml of essential oil per animal. The goats were milked twice per day and the milk yield was recorded. At the end of each week of the experimental period, individual milk samples were obtained and analyzed for fat, milk and protein contents. Additional blood and milk samples were taken during the 3rd and the 4th week of the experimental period. The activities of the following antioxidant enzymatic indices were measured: superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, catalase in blood and milk, glutathione transferase in blood and lactoperoxidase in milk. The OR group showed a significant increase in glutathione peroxidase and glutathione reductase both in blood ( P P P P P

Essential oils (EO) from aromatic plants (AP) are used in ruminants’ diets due to several biological activities. The inclusion of AP in ruminants’ diets can be done as dried material, as they are harvested once a year. However, storage is one of the main factors that affect the EO content and chemical composition. Thus, the objective of this study was to determine the effect of storage, in the shade under ambient conditions, on the EO content and chemical composition (a) of Origanum vulgare spp. hirtum as a whole plant (OP) and/or (b) as the powdered form after mixing with the concentrate diet. The results showed that storage of the whole OP in the shade for six months has a very low EO loss (5.8%), while grinding and mixing OP with concentrates causes different losses, which depend on the OP/concentrate ratio and the storage period.

Summary This study was conducted to examine in vivo long-term effects of dietary dried oregano (Origanum vulgare ssp. hirtum) whole plant on rumen fermentation, enzyme profile and microbial communities. For this purpose, eight healthy, adult, non-lactating Alpine goats were kept in tie stalls equipped for individual feeding and randomly divided into two homogeneous groups: one fed 0.6 kg of a concentrate mixture and 0.6 kg of wheat straw without any supplementation and served as control group (CON) while the other group (OR) fed the same diet of CON but supplemented with 20 g of dried oregano plants (OPs) to provide daily dosage of 1 ml of essential oil (EO) per animal. The experimental period lasted 69 days and individual rumen fluid samples were obtained every 2 weeks at 0 and 4 hr after feeding. The results showed that dietary supplementation with OPs increased the protease activity (p

Summary The study aimed to describe the interactions between nutrition and caecal bacteria abundance using odd-numbered and branched-chain fatty acids (OBCFA). Following a 2 × 2 factorial design, 47 rabbits were fed diets with two levels of digestible fibre (DF, 180 vs. 260 g/kg DM) supplemented with soybean oil (SO, 20 g/kg) or not. At 77 days of age, fatty acid (FA) composition was determined in caecal contents. The microbial origin of OBCFA vs. dietary FA in caecal contents was illustrated by clustering of these FA in the loading plots of principal component analysis. The contribution of odd-numbered FA in the OBCFA pattern was increased (p

The study aimed to describe the interactions between nutrition and caecal bacteria abundance using odd-numbered and branched-chain fatty acids (OBCFA). Following a 2 × 2 factorial design, 47 rabbits were fed diets with two levels of digestible fibre (DF, 180 vs. 260 g/kg DM) supplemented with soybean oil (SO, 20 g/kg) or not. At 77 days of age, fatty acid (FA) composition was determined in caecal contents. The microbial origin of OBCFA vs. dietary FA in caecal contents was illustrated by clustering of these FA in the loading plots of principal component analysis. The contribution of odd-numbered FA in the OBCFA pattern was increased (p0.05) for high DF diets, whereas that of branched-chain FA decreased (p0.05), indicating potential shifts in the relative abundance of Gram-negative and Gram-positive fibrolytic bacteria respectively. Soybean oil reduced the relative importance of OBCFA (p0.001) in total microbial FA; however, its effects appeared to depend on the readily available fermentable substrate, as indicated by the DF × SO interactions (p0.001). In conclusion, OBCFA may be potentially used as markers of caecum function, but further detailed studies are necessary to validate their use as diagnostic tools in rabbit nutrition.