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Supplementation of Moringa oleifera leaf concentrate pellets on nutrient utilization, antioxidant status, and reproductive performance of prolific ewes during extreme summer months in semi-arid tropical conditions

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Abstract

A feeding trial was conducted for a period of 60 days during extreme summer months to observe the effect of supplementation of Moringa oleifera leaves containing concentrate pellets on nutrient utilization, antioxidant status, and reproductive performance in Avishaan ewes reared under semi-arid condition. Forty adult non-pregnant cyclic ewes (2–3 years, 31.8 ± 0.81 kg body weight) were selected and randomly allocated into 2 groups of 20 animals each, viz., G-I (control) and G-II (treatment). The ewes were grazed on natural pasture for 8 h, offered ad libitum Cenchrus ciliaris hay after grazing and concentrate pellets @ 300 g/animal/day. The ewes in G-I were offered conventional concentrate pellets, whereas G-II ewes were offered concentrate pellets containing 15% Moringa leaves. The mean temperature humidity index during the period of study was 27.5 ± 0.3 and 34.6 ± 0.4 at 0700 h and 1400 h, respectively, indicating severe heat stress. Nutrient intake and utilization were comparable between the two groups. The antioxidant status was higher in G-II ewes as the values of catalase, superoxide dismutase, and total antioxidant capacity were higher (P < 0.05) in G-II ewes compared to G-I. The conception rate was higher (100%) in G-II ewes than G-I ewes (70%). Multiple birth percentage was 77.8% in G-II ewes, and it was comparable with the herd average of Avishaan (74.7%). However, ewes in G-I group exhibited a marked decline in multiple birth percentage (28.6%) than the normal herd average. Hence, it can be concluded that inclusion of Moringa oleifera leaves in feeding of prolific Avishaan ewes improved their antioxidant status resulting in optimum reproductive performance during stressful summer months.

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Acknowledgements

The authors are thankful to ICAR-AICRP on Nutritional and Physiological Approaches for enhancing Reproductive Performance in Animals for providing financial assistance to carry out the research work. Authors are thankful to the Director, ICAR-Central Sheep and Wool Research Institute, Avikanagar, Rajasthan, India, for providing necessary research facilities and constructive suggestions.

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ICAR-AICRP on Nutritional and Physiological Approaches for enhancing Reproductive Performance in Animals.

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  1. ICAR-Central Sheep and Wool Research Institute, Avikanagar, Rajasthan, 304501, India

    Srobana Sarkar, R. S. Bhatt, Ajit Singh Mahla & Arun Kumar

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  1. Srobana Sarkar
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Contributions

SS: Conceptualization, investigation, data curation, formal analysis, software, writing—original draft. RSB: Conceptualization, writing (review and editing), project administration, funding acquisition. ASM: Methodology, investigation, formal analysis, writing—review and editing. AK: Methodology, writing—review and editing, supervision. All authors read and approved the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Srobana Sarkar.

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Animal care, handling, and sampling procedures were approved by the Institute Animal Ethics Committee (IAEC) under Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiment on Animal (CPCSEA), India.

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Sarkar, S., Bhatt, R.S., Mahla, A.S. et al. Supplementation of Moringa oleifera leaf concentrate pellets on nutrient utilization, antioxidant status, and reproductive performance of prolific ewes during extreme summer months in semi-arid tropical conditions. Trop Anim Health Prod 55, 241 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-023-03659-4

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