Effect of propolis on ruminal fermentation, reproductive and productive performance of Santa Inês ewes

• Autor(a) principal: Selem, Amr Salah Morsy Amine
• Data de Publicação: 2012
• Tipo de documento: Tese
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Biblioteca Digital de Teses e Dissertações da USP
• Texto Completo: http://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/64/64134/tde-22042013-164545/
• topic: Blood metabolites; Hormones; Hormônios; Metabólitos sanguíneos; Metano; Methane; Milk yield; Produção de leite; Propolis; Própolis; Sustainability; Sustentabilidade

Propolis as natural dietary additive can be used to manipulate rumen fermentation towards less methane (CH4) and it may affect animal reproductive and productive performance. To study the application of propolis, three studies were conducted. The first study aimed to evaluate the in vitro nutritive value of two types of propolis (Brazilian red propolis (BRP) and Egyptian brown propolis (EBP) for their anti-methanogenic activity, ruminal fermentation and degradability. Propolis extracts were prepared using 70% ethanol and added to a 50:50 Tifton hay to concentrate diet at three levels [0 (negative control, CTL), 25, 50 and 100 micrograma / 0.5 g substrate]. Each propolis were compared with monensin as positive control. Both BRP50 micrograma and EBP25 micrograma showed similar significant effects on CH4 production as monensin; on average 14.2 ml/TDOM g compared with CTL (19.3 ml/TDOM). Monensin supplementation increased (P<0.001) the propionate concentration and decreased the acetate/propionate ratio, while BRP and EBP enhanced (P<0.001) the individual and total volatile fatty acids concentrations and reduced (P<0.002) protozoa count compared to CTL. The objective of the second study was to evaluate the oral administration of BRP extract to Santa Inês ewes during and after flushing period on the reproductive performance and animal health (hormonal profiles, hematological, biochemical and parasites responses). Thirty adult grazing ewes (40±2.0 kg BW) were divided into two dietary treatments, control (basal diet) and BRP (basal diet plus 3.0g of BRP/ewe/day) for 21 days. Blood and fecal samples were collected weekly for eight weeks. Oral administration of BRP did not affect (P>0.05) any of the observed reproduction traits, but there was promising improvement on the number of services per conceptions and hormones levels: increased (P<0.01) progesterone, decreased cortisol (P<0.05) and thyroxin (T4) (P<0.01) without significant changes in triiodothyronine (T3). Propolis resulted in increasing (P<0.01) of total leukocyte while there were no significant differences observed for other hematological parameters. Propolis increased (P<0.01) total protein and globulin but reduced (P<0.01) triglycerides, glutamate oxaloacetate transaminase (GOT), glutamate pyruvate transaminase (GPT) and fecal egg counts (P<0.05) compared with control. The third study was conducted to evaluate the oral administration of BRP extract to Santa Inês ewes from 25±3 day pre-partum through 48 d post-partum on milk yield, milk composition and lamb performance. Twenty Santa Inês ewes (60 ± 2.0 kg BW) were divided into two groups: control (basal diet) and BRP (basal diet plus 3.0g of BRP/ewe/day for 21 days). Milk samples were collected weekly for seven weeks. Propolis fed group showed increasing (P<0.05) milk yield, fat content, fat yield, protein yield, lactose yield and energy corrected milk while somatic cell counts was decreased (P<0.05). Propolis increased (P<0.05) ewes body condition score. Lambs average daily gain and milk conversion ratio were improved (P<0.05) by propolis treatment. The studies highlight the potential of propolis to handle the ruminal fermentation in order to reduce the production of CH4, as well as improved the health of ewes during the breeding season, besides increasing milk production and performance of lambs