Yang Fan, Yang Fang, Zhai Zhen-Han, Wang Sai-Qiao, Zhao Lu, Zhang Bing-Lei, Chen Jun-Cheng, Wang Yu-Qin
College of Animal Science and Technology, Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang, China.
Front Vet Sci. 2022 Jul 22;9:924373. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2022.924373. eCollection 2022.
This study aimed to determine the potential effects of alfalfa saponins on the production performance, serum biochemical factors, and immune factors in sheep. Twenty Small-Tailed Han sheep were equally and randomly divided into Groups 1-4, fed with diets containing 0, 5, 10, and 20 g alfalfa saponins per kg, respectively, for 40 consecutive days. During the treatments, the body weight change was recorded for each sheep. Before, during, and after the treatments of alfalfa saponins, serum was collected from each group to compare the levels of biochemical and immune factors. All sheep were killed after the treatments, and the longissimus dorsi muscle was collected to compare the meat quality. The results validated the effects of alfalfa saponins on the growth performance and meat quality in Small-Tailed Han sheep, and the supplementation level of 10 g/kg was the best. Alfalfa saponins also had effects on the levels of biochemical factors in serum. However, both dose- and time-dependent effects were observed. After a shorter feeding period (14 days), the concentrations of cholesterol (CHOL) and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) in Groups 2, 3, and 4 were all lower than those in the control group; however, when alfalfa saponins were continuously fed, this effect was not apparent or even gone. Supplying alfalfa saponins increased serum concentrations of IgA, IgG, IgE, IgM, IL-1, IFN-α, and IFN-β. And this effect was distinctly observed in Groups 3 and 4. Based on the current results, the alfalfa saponins concentration of 10 g/kg (for 14 consecutive days) could be suggested as the optimum ratio for good health conditions of Small-Tailed Han sheep.
本研究旨在确定苜蓿皂苷对绵羊生产性能、血清生化因子和免疫因子的潜在影响。将20只小尾寒羊平均随机分为1 - 4组，分别饲喂每千克含0、5、10和20克苜蓿皂苷的日粮，连续40天。在处理期间，记录每只绵羊的体重变化。在苜蓿皂苷处理前、处理期间和处理后，从每组采集血清以比较生化和免疫因子水平。处理后宰杀所有绵羊，采集背最长肌以比较肉质。结果验证了苜蓿皂苷对小尾寒羊生长性能和肉质的影响，10克/千克的添加水平最佳。苜蓿皂苷对血清生化因子水平也有影响。然而，观察到了剂量和时间依赖性效应。在较短的饲喂期（14天）后，第2、3和4组的胆固醇（CHOL）和低密度脂蛋白（LDL）浓度均低于对照组；然而，当持续饲喂苜蓿皂苷时，这种效应不明显甚至消失。补充苜蓿皂苷可提高血清中IgA、IgG、IgE、IgM、IL - 1、IFN -α和IFN -β的浓度。并且在第3和4组中明显观察到这种效应。基于目前的结果，建议10克/千克的苜蓿皂苷浓度（连续14天）作为小尾寒羊良好健康状况的最佳比例。
