A study was conducted to evaluate some plant parts (already tested for their antimethanogenic activity in in vitro gas production test in the authors' laboratory) as feed additive to combat methane emission from sheep. Sixteen male sheep with average body weight of 29.96±1.69 kg (22 months of age) were divided into four groups in a randomized block design. The animals were fed on a diet containing forage to concentrate ratio of 1:1. The concentrate fraction composed (in parts) of maize grain, 32; wheat bran, 45; deoiled soybean meal, 20; mineral mixture, 2 and common salt, 1. The four treatments were control (without additive), seed pulp of Terminalia chebula (Harad), bulb of Allium sativum (Garlic) and a mixture (Mix) of the latter two in equal proportions at the rate of 1% of dry matter (DM) intake. There was no effect on DM intake due to the inclusion of these feed additives. The digestibilities of DM and organic matter tended to be higher (p<0.1) in the groups with T. chebula and A. sativum, whereas, neutral detergent fibre (NDF), acid detergent fibre (ADF) and cellulose digestibilities were higher (p<0.05) in all the three experimental groups compared with control. The nitrogen balance and plane of nutrition were not affected by inclusion of any of the feed additives. Methane emission (L/kg digested DM intake) as estimated by open circuit respiration chamber and methane energy loss as per cent of digestible energy intake tended to be lower in T. chebula (p=0.09) and Mix (p=0.08) groups compared with control. The data indicated that T. chebula showed antimethanogenic activity, whereas both T. chebula and A. sativum improved nutrient digestibility. Therefore, these two plants appear to be suitable candidates for use as feed additive to mitigate methane emission and to improve nutrient utilization by sheep.

Zinc is ubiquitous in all living cells. Structural and catalytic properties of cellular enzymes are zinc dependent. Zinc deficiency leads to a variety of pathological abnormalities with immune impairment. It is an established fact that nutritional status contributes to overall immune response of individuals. Outcome of zinc deficiency on immune system is so drastic that it is difficult to conceive at the first instance. Zinc supplementation has been advocated to prevent diarrheal disease in children with poor nutritional status. The bioavailability of zinc depends upon its sources. Moreover it varies between monogastrics and ruminants. Controversy still prevails between inorganic and organic sources of zinc with respect to their superiority in bioavailability. Zinc exerts immunostimulatory effects in various laboratory and farm animals. Animals having congenital zinc deficiency diseases like A46 lethal trait usually die due to impairment of the immune system unless treated with zinc. The immune mechanism of zinc and its effect on animals and man are discussed. Zinc has been considered as extremely safe at higher therapeutic doses, but does not provide any beneficial effect but rather may cause immunosuppression. More recently, zinc has been prescribed for immunodeficient hosts, to modulate the immune system so that to a certain extent it can combat against opportunistic pathogens.

There is increasing awareness of therapeutic and nutritive importance of goat milk. Increasing evidences show a surge in harnessing the potential of bioactive milk components. This study reports Gaddi goat milk composition and antioxidant activity in different lactation stages. A significant (p < 0.05) higher pH (7.05 ± 0.03) and lactose (4.28% ± 0.07%) were noted in late lactation. Total phenol (mg TAE/100 ml) was 56.99 ± 2.32, 8.15 ± 0.44, and 7.05 ± 0.03 in whole milk, whey and casein, respectively. 2, 2‐Diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity and protein (4.06% ± 0.19%) were higher, whereas fat was lowest (6.00% ± 0.28%) in late lactation milk. It is envisaged that late lactation Gaddi goat milk with splendid biological activities, could be a source of milk‐derived bioactive nutraceuticals to thwart oxidative stress and aging. Practical applications Milk is an important source of complex proteins, enzymes and peptides of diverse biological activities. Goat milk has assumed importance in humans, particularly in infants, as alternative to cattle milk. Milk composition and antioxidant activity of Gaddi goat milk and its protein fractions were assessed for bioactive potential. The casein protein fraction of Gaddi goat milk proved to be a potent antioxidant component and may be used as futuristic nutraceuticals. This is the first study unravelling antioxidant traits of Gaddi goat milk, whey and casein in different lactation stages.

(2018) Effect of tea (Camelliasinensis) seed saponins on invitro rumen fermentation, methane production and true digestibility at different forage to concentrate ratios,

ObjectiveAn experiment was conducted to determine the nutrient intake, digestibility, microbial protein synthesis, haemato-biochemical attributes, immune response and growth performance of Gaddi kids fed with oat fodder based basal diet supplemented with either tea seed or tea seed saponin (TSS) extract.MethodsEighteen male kids, 7.03±0.16 months of age and 19.72±0.64 kg body weight, were distributed into three groups, T0 (control), T1, and T2, consisting of 6 animals each in a completely randomized design. The kids were fed a basal diet consisting of concentrate mixture and oat fodder (50:50). Animals in group III (T2) were supplemented with TSS at 0.4% of dry matter intake (DMI), and group II (T1) were supplemented with tea seed at 2.6% of DMI to provide equivalent dose of TSS as in T2. Two metabolism trials were conducted, 1st after 21 days and 2nd after 90 days of feeding to evaluate the short term and long term effects of supplementation.ResultsThe tea seed (T1) or TSS (T2) supplementation did not affect DMI as well as the digestibility of dry matter, organic matter, crude protein, neutral detergent fibre, and acid detergent fibre. Nutritive value of diet and plane of nutrition were also comparable for both the periods. However, the average daily gain and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were improved (p<0.05) for T1 and T2 as compared to T0. The microbial protein supply was also higher (p<0.05) for T1 and T2 for both the periods. There was no effect of supplementation on most blood parameters. However, the triglyceride and low density lipoprotein cholesterol levels decreased (p<0.05) and high density lipoprotein-cholesterol level increased (p<0.05) in T2 as compared with T0 and T1. Supplementation also did not affect the cell mediated and humoral immune response in goats.ConclusionTea seed at 2.6% of DMI and TSS at 0.4% DMI can be fed to Gaddi goats to improve growth rate, FCR and microbial protein synthesis.