Effect of oligosaccharides supplementation on the meat performance traits and selected indicators of humoral immunity in lambs.

Abstract

The experiment was performed on 32 suckling Kamieniec lambs divided into two equal groups: I – control and II – experimental. Over a period of 60 d, experimental lambs were fed a diet supplemented with Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast with an increased β-1,3/1,6-D-glucan and mannan-oligosaccharide content. The following meat performance parameters were determined: body weight, daily gains, growth rate, the dimensions of musculus longissimus dorsi sections, skin and subcutaneous fat thickness, and fat thickness over the loin „eye” area. Serum humoral immunity parameters: lysozyme and ceruloplasmin activities, total protein, and γ-globulin contents were determined. The yeast supplement significantly increased the values of the analysed meat performance traits. As regards the investigated humoral immunity parameters, i.e. lysozyme activity, ceruloplasmin activity (throughout the entire experiment), and γ-globulin content (from experimental day 30 to 60), significantly higher values were noted in the experimental group, compared with the control group. Statistically significant differences between the compared groups were not observed only with respect to total protein content.