Effects of Rosmarinus officinalis L. as essential oils or in form of leaves supplementation on goat’s production and metabolic statute

Abstract

The effects of rosemary supply in form of essential oils (REO) or leaves (RL) on performances of goats were investigated. Thirty goats were allocated into three equal groups, which were fed oat-hay ad libitum and 400 g of concentrate during the two last weeks of pregnancy and 600 g during the first 8 weeks of lactation. Three-control diet (C) was a mixture of barley, soybean meal and mineral vitamin supplement. The experimental concentrates contained the same mixture of the control diet plus 0.6 g/kg of REO or its equivalent supply RL (60 g/kg). Rosemary supply did not affect dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) digestibility. While urinary nitrogen loss was higher for experimental groups than the C (P = 0.03). Daily milk production was significantly higher (P = 0.007) for rosemary groups (694 and 582 ml for RL and REO, respectively) than C group (442 ml). Rosemary decreased numerically (P > 0.05) the fat content (23, 25 and 26.5 g/l for REO, RL and C groups, respectively) but significantly increased the fat (P = 0.003) and protein content (P = 0.008). The growth rate of kids was significantly higher (P = 0.008) for RL (111 g) than that for REO and C (97 and 83 g, respectively). However, rosemary has not shown significant effect on the plasma metabolite concentrations. Given the facility to obtain the rosemary leaves, this form of rosemary use is recommended as natural alternative to improve the performances of goats.

Effects of myrtle (Myrtus communis L.) essential oils as dietary antioxidant supplementation on carcass and meat quality of goat meat

“…Similarly, the use of a mixture of EO (containing myrtle EO) improved slightly the fattening performance of Karya lambs (Özdoğan et al., 2011). In addition, an increase in kids’ growth rates was documented as a result of the increase in goats’ milk production after receiving rosemary leaves or EO (Smeti et al., 2015). The lack of significant effects can be explained by the isonitrogenous diets (Table 1) and by the similarity between the daily DM intakes (Table 3).…”

Carcass Traits and Meat Quality of Fat-Tailed Lambs Fed Rosemary Residues as a Part of Concentrate

“…In Tunisia, the industry of rosemary essential oil extraction generates a great amount of residues (5460 Tm/year; [11]), which could be valorized as alternative feed for livestock given their free availability. Several investigations have studied the use of rosemary residues or essential oil as additive to the basal diet of lambs or ewes [8,12,13]. On the other hand, the concentrate for fattening lambs is based on cereals (>70%) in arid and semi-arid regions [14].…”

Effects of Using Rosemary Residues as a Cereal Substitute in Concentrate on Vitamin E, Antioxidant Activity, Color, Lipid Oxidation, and Fatty Acid Profile of Barbarine Lamb Meat

“…In this context, the extracts and essential oils from aromatic or medicinal plants (rosemary, myrtle, sage, and thyme, among others) are rich in compounds with significant antioxidant activity [3]. This antioxidant capacity promotes a considerable interest in their use as alternative ingredients in animal diets [3][4][5][6][7]. In fact, improvement of meat quality is related to richness in polyphenols and vitamins, known for their antioxidant activity and used in order to reduce meat oxidation and extend the shelf life of meat [8,9].…”

“…Among the aromatic and medicinal plants (AMP) of Tunisia, rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) covers vast areas of the country. The industrial extraction of this plant generates a great amount of residues (5460 tons/year) [10], which could be valorized as alternative feed for sheep [4,11]. Many studies used rosemary residues or essential oil as additives to the basal diet of young lambs or ewes [4,11].…”

“…The industrial extraction of this plant generates a great amount of residues (5460 tons/year) [10], which could be valorized as alternative feed for sheep [4,11]. Many studies used rosemary residues or essential oil as additives to the basal diet of young lambs or ewes [4,11]. However, to the best of our knowledge, only one study dealt with their use as fodder that totally substituted the basal diet [6], and none studied their introduction in concentrate.…”