Effects of propolis extract on growth performance and health condition of dairy calves.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of propolis ethanol extract, on performance, fecal structure, and general health status of calves during the preweaning phase. For this purpose, 24 Simmental calves that were given colostrum for the first 3 days after birth were enrolled in the study. The study started when the calves were 4 days old and finished when they were 60 days old. These calves were divided into two groups as propolis and control groups according to their weight and gender. Both groups were given the same ration and housed in individual calf huts under the same environmental conditions. Differently from the control group, the calves in the propolis group were given 4 mL of propolis extract (300 mg/mL) with an oral feeding syringe for 56 days after morning feeding. The amounts of feed intake and fecal scores of the calves were recorded daily. Health scores, rectal body temperature, fecal pH, body weight, and body measurements were recorded weekly. For the determination of the counts of Lactobacillus spp. and Bifidobacterium spp., fecal samples were collected at the beginning and at the end of the study. The results indicated that oral administration of propolis had positive effects in terms of some performance parameters, the number of days with diarrhea, and fecal scores. In this study, it was concluded that propolis extract had the potential to positively affect the growth performance and health status of preweaning calves.

Effects of dietary mannanoligosaccharide on performance, some blood parameters, IgG levels and antibody response of lambs to parenterally administered E. coli O157:H7.

Forty-eight male lambs were used to evaluate the effect of dietary supplementation of mannanoligosaccharide (MOS) with or without parenteral Escherichia coli injection on their growth performance, feed conversion efficiency, blood metabolites, total serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) levels and antibody response. Lambs were randomly assigned to four groups of 12 animals each. In groups C (control) and CE (E. coli challenged), animals were fed commercial concentrate pellets and hay (50:50), and in groups M (MOS) and ME (MOS + E. coli challenged), animals were fed commercial concentrate pellets including MOS at 0.2% and hay (50:50). At day 15 and 30, animals in groups CE and ME were injected subcutaneously with 1 ml of phosphate buffered saline (PBS) suspension containing 10(6) cfu of heat inactivated non-toxigenic E. coli O157:H7, while animals in C and M groups were injected subcutaneously with 1 ml of PBS. The experimental period was 45 days. Data indicated that body weight of lambs at the end of the study were statistically non-significant among the groups. Blood metabolites, i.e. total protein, albumin, calcium and phosphorus concentrations were not affected significantly by MOS supplementation. However, administration E. coli lowered (p < 0.05) total protein, albumin and calcium concentrations in the serum on day 30. The IgG level was not different between groups. However, on day 45, the total IgG level was found to be higher (p < 0.05) in lambs that had received MOS and E. coli than in other groups. Application of MOS did not have any effect on the antibody response to E. coli as OD values.