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Influence of Nigella sativa seeds, Rosmarinus officinalis leaves and their combination on growth performance, immune response and rumen metabolism in Dorper lambs

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Abstract

The objective of this study was to determine the effects of dietary supplementation of Nigella sativa L. seeds, Rosmarinus officinalis L. leaves and their combination on rumen metabolism, nutrient intake and digestibility, growth performance, immune response and blood metabolites in Dorper lambs. Twenty-four entire male Dorper lambs (18.68 ± 0.6 kg, 4–5 months old) were randomly assigned to a concentrate mixture containing on a dry matter basis either, no supplement (control, T1), 1% R. officinalis leaves (T2), 1% N. sativa seeds (T3) or 1% R. officinalis leaves +1% N. sativa seeds (T4). The lambs had ad libitum access to urea-treated rice straw (UTRS) and were raised for 90 days. Supplemented lambs had greater (P < 0.05) intake of DM and UTRS than the control lambs. The T4 lambs had lower (P < 0.05) nutrient digestibility than those fed other treatments. Total and daily weight gain was greater (P < 0.05) in T2 lambs than those fed other diets. The T3 and T4 lambs had greater (P < 0.05) ruminal pH than the T1 and T2 lambs. Supplemented lambs had lower (P < 0.05) ruminal total volatile fatty acids, acetate, propionate, NH3-N and C18:0 than the control lambs. The T4 lambs had lower (P < 0.05) population of Fibrobacter succinogenes, Ruminococcus albus, methanogens and total protozoa compared with those fed other diets. Supplemented lambs had lower (P < 0.05) neutrophils, basophils and serum urea and greater (P < 0.05) serum IgA and IgG compared with the control lambs. The current results emphasised the variation in the efficacy of medicinal plants in ruminant nutrition.

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Funding

This research was funded by the Federal Ministry of Education, Malaysia, through Fundamental Research Grant Scheme (project code 07-01-14-1436FR). The funder had no role in carrying out the experiment, writing of the manuscript and the decision to submit the manuscript for publication.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400, UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

    Kifah Jumaah Odhaib, Kazeem Dauda Adeyemi, Muideen Adewale Ahmed, Shokri Jusoh, Anjas Asmara Samsudin, Abdul Razak Alimon, Halimatun Yaakub & Awis Qurni Sazili

  2. Department of Physiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Basrah, 61004, Basra, Iraq

    Kifah Jumaah Odhaib & Muhammad Faseleh Jahromi

  3. Department of Animal Production, University of Ilorin, PMB 1515, Ilorin, Nigeria

    Kazeem Dauda Adeyemi

  4. Laboratory of Sustainable Animal Production and Biodiversity, Institute of Tropical Agriculture and Food Security, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400, UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

    Awis Qurni Sazili

  5. Halal Products Research Institute, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400, UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

    Awis Qurni Sazili

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  1. Kifah Jumaah Odhaib
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  2. Kazeem Dauda Adeyemi
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  3. Muideen Adewale Ahmed
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  4. Muhammad Faseleh Jahromi
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  6. Anjas Asmara Samsudin
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  7. Abdul Razak Alimon
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  8. Halimatun Yaakub
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  9. Awis Qurni Sazili
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Correspondence to Awis Qurni Sazili.

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This study was conducted following the guidelines of the Research Policy of Universiti Putra Malaysia on Animal welfare and ethics. The experimental protocol was approved by the Universiti Putra Malaysia Animal use and care committee. The care of the experimental goats was in accordance to Malaysian standards.

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Odhaib, K.J., Adeyemi, K.D., Ahmed, M.A. et al. Influence of Nigella sativa seeds, Rosmarinus officinalis leaves and their combination on growth performance, immune response and rumen metabolism in Dorper lambs. Trop Anim Health Prod 50, 1011–1023 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-018-1525-7

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