Influence of dietary calcium salts of long chain fatty acids supplementation on growth and onset of puberty in Rahmani ewe- lambs
Abstract
The present investigation was to study the effect of dietary calcium salts of long chain fatty acids (CSFA) on puberty attainment of Rahmani ewes -lamb. Twenty Rahmani ewes –lamb of 6-7 months of age and average body eight 24.75 ± 0.16 kg. Animals were randomly allotted into two equal groups. Animals were fed a basal diet of hay (64.2%) and barley grain (35.0%) plus minerals and vitamins (0.8%). The first group was kept as a control (n = 10) were fed a basal diet. Ewes-lambs on the second group (n = 10) received the same basal diet supplemented with calcium salts of long chain fatty acids (CSFA) at 3% of the basal diet dry matter intake (1.2 kg/ewe/d). The ewe-lambs were weighed at the start and at the end of the experiment. In addition, the body condition score, withers height and heart girth were determined at the end of the study. Blood samples were collected weekly till the end of experiment. Sera samples were assayed for progesterone, insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) glucose, total cholesterol, total lipids, and urea. Results indicated that the dietary supplementation with CSFA to Rahmani ewes – lamb attained puberty 5 weeks earlier than control one. CSFA supplementation of Rahmani ewe lambs has higher body weight, and body condition score than those of the control one (34.67 ± 0.30 kg 3.25 ± 0.09 vs. 30.67 ± 0.95 kg 2.0 ± 0.0; p< 0.05 respectively). A similar tendency was observed in dry matter intake and average daily gain. CSFA has a beneficial effect on blood born metabolites as indicated by increased serum glucose, total lipids, cholesterol, IGF1 and decreased urea of Rahmani ewes- lamb as compared to control. The highest concentrations of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) were significantly (P < 0.05) detected at 2nd 4th and 10th weeks (258.42±6.0, 228.76 ±14.44 and 337.32 ±24.57 ng/ml, respectively) than those of control one (163.3 ±11.94, 135.5 ± 3.07 and 218.47 ± 9.18 ng/ ml, respectively). In conclusion, CSFA enhanced puberty in Rahmani ewe lambs. This is due to increased provision of trophic signals (represented by increased Serum IGF-1 secretions) and/or blood-borne metabolites (glucose, cholesterol and lipid)
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| Other ID | JA49UK25RN |
|---|---|
| Journal Section | Research Article |
| Authors | |
| Publication Date | July 1, 2010 |
| Published in Issue | Year 2010 Volume: 4 Issue: 2 |