ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: In recent years, dietary fat supplementation has become a common practice and fat supplemented diets have had variable effects on animal performance and carcass characteristics.
OBJECTIVES: This study was conducted to determine the effect of increasing the levels of sesame oil on performance, rumen parameters and plasma lipid profile in finishing Chal lambs.
METHODS: Eighteen male lambs were fed with control [C; without sesame oil] and the diets contained low level [LSO; 2.5%] and high level [HSO; 5%] of sesame oil.
RESULTS: The addition of fat had no effect on dry matter intake [DMI], average daily gain [ADG], feed conversion ratio [FCR] and carcass weight. Treatments with sesame oil had no effect on rumen ammonia concentration and total protozoal count. Ruminal pH was numerically smaller [p=0.14] for control compared to lambs fed diets containing 2.5 and 5% sesame oil. Treatments had no effect on total VFA, acetate, butyrate, valerate and isovalerate concentrations. The propionate concentration decreased [p=0.04] by supplementation of sesame oil compared with the control. Total cholesterol [TC] and HDL increased and the tendency for VLDL and triglyceride [p=0.13] to increase was observed by treatment groups when compared with the control. Glucose concentration and LDL were not affected by treatment.
CONCLUSIONS: Sesame oil had no effect on the performance and carcass weight of lambs but there was decrease in blood cholesterol concentration.