BACKGROUND

The fungal culture of Acremonium terricola culture (ATC) has been extensively utilized in livestock farming systems due to its demonstrated efficacy in improving productivity and preventing disease outbreaks. However, the effects of dietary ATC supplementation on pregnant and lactating ewes and their offspring remain a critical knowledge gap requiring investigation. Therefore, this study was designed to address two primary objectives: (1) to evaluate the effects of dietary supplementation with ATC on production performance and hematological parameters in ewes; (2) to determine whether maternally ingested ATC can be transmitted to offspring via lactation and subsequently influence lamb growth performance. This study employed eighteen ewes randomly stratified into two groups: a basal diet control (CON, n = 9) and an experimental group receiving basal diet supplementation with 9 g of ATC per ewe daily (ATC, n = 9). The study design comprised a 115-day protocol consisting of a 10-day pre-experimental acclimatization phase with environmental parameter standardization, followed by a 105-day controlled experimental intervention period.

RESULTS

The findings demonstrated that administration of ATC supplemented diets throughout the gestational-lactational period significantly enhanced maternal dry matter intake (DMI) and late-gestation (day 145) body mass (p < 0.05), concurrently attenuating gestational lipolysis compared with control group. Regarding lactation performance, ATC supplementation led to an increase in the average daily milk yield (0.90 vs. 0.78 kg/d), decelerated the decline rate of the lactation peak, and enhanced milk quality by boosting the percentages of milk fat, total solids (Ts), and urea content (p < 0.05). Moreover, ATC supplementation elevated serum levels of immunoglobulin A (IgA), urea, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in pregnant and lactating ewes, while decreasing the interleukin-6 (IL-6) level (p < 0.05). For lambs, the supplementation of ATC in ewes' diets significantly improved the average daily gain (ADG) during the 1-45-day nursing period (p < 0.05) and showed a trend toward increased weaning weight at 45 days of nursing (p = 0.061). Biochemically, lambs from the ATC - supplemented group exhibited significantly higher serum concentrations of urea, IgA, interleukin-4 (IL-4), catalase (CAT), SOD, and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), along with lower serum tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) content (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

Maternal dietary supplementation with ATC demonstrated dual zootechnical benefits, effectively augmenting ovine productive efficiency through enhanced milk synthesis capacity, improving the immune and antioxidant levels of the body, while concurrently stimulating neonatal development of pre-weaning growth velocity.