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Response of plantain (Plantago lanceolata L.) supplementation on nutritional, endo-parasitic, and endocrine status in lambs

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Abstract

The aim of the present study was to assess the effects of plantain herb (Plantago lanceolata L.) supplementation on growth, plasma metabolites, liver enzymatic activity, hormonal status, gastrointestinal parasites, and carcass characteristics of lambs. A total of 24 lambs, aged 6 months weighing 8.0 ± 0.5 kg were randomly allocated to one of two dietary treatments: (1) CL diet—roadside grass and concentrate mixture; (2) PL diet—CL diet + 5% fresh plantain supplementation on a DM basis. The PL diet group exhibited 23% higher (P = 0.01) average daily gain and 15% improved (P = 0.03) feed conversion efficiency. Circulating cholesterol concentrations were suppressed by 9% (P = 0.03), and liver enzyme activity was improved by 5–25% (P < 0.05) in the lamb fed PL diet, compared with CL diet only. The inclusion of plantain in the diet was highly effective at suppressing the parasites, Paramphistomum spp. (P = 0.003) and coccidial parasites (P = 0.04), but not stomach worms. Moreover, plantain supplementation increased growth hormone and insulin concentrations in plasma level, whereas decreased carcass fat by 32.7%. Therefore, supplementation of the lambs’ diet with plantain showed some beneficial effects on productivity and parasitic infection, while it led to a leaner carcass.

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge the Project Implementation Unit, National Agricultural Technology Program: Phase II Project, Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council for funding (Fund no. PIU-NATP-II, CRG, ID-719) and also would like to acknowledge Dr. Yoshifumi Tamura for providing plantain seeds.

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Author notes

  1. M. M. Reza and M. R. A. Redoy contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Animal Nutrition, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, 2202, Bangladesh

    M. M. Reza, M. R. A. Redoy, M. A. Rahman, S. Ety & M. Al-Mamun

  2. Department of Parasitology, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, 2202, Bangladesh

    M. A. Alim

  3. Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Dookie Campus, Victoria, 3647, Dookie, Australia

    L. Cheng

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Reza, M.M., Redoy, M.R.A., Rahman, M.A. et al. Response of plantain (Plantago lanceolata L.) supplementation on nutritional, endo-parasitic, and endocrine status in lambs. Trop Anim Health Prod 53, 82 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-020-02514-0

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