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The effect of triterpenoid saponins from Saponaria officinalis on some blood hormones, metabolic parameters and fatty acid composition in dairy cows
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 09 November 2015
Summary
An experiment was performed to determine the effect of triterpenoid saponins from powdered root of Saponaria officinalis L. (SO) on some blood metabolic parameters and hormone concentrations in dairy cows. Three dairy Polish Holstein-Friesian cows were used in the experiment in a 3 × 3 Latin Square arrangement. Animals were fed twice a day with a control diet and two experimental diets – a diet supplemented with either 440 or 660 g/d of the powdered S. officinalis root (SO1 and SO2, respectively). Each of the three experimental cycles lasted for 26 days, including a 23-day adaptation period and a 3-day sample collection period. Blood samples were collected from the jugular vein from 24th to 26th day of the experiment. Total high-density lipoproteins cholesterol (HDL) and low-density lipoproteins cholesterol (LDL), as well as triglycerides, free fatty acids (FFA) and glucose, were assayed in serum. Fatty acid composition in the blood was also analysed. Moreover, concentrations of insulin, glucagon, leptin, triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4) were measured. It was demonstrated that total and HDL-cholesterol concentrations were significantly elevated in the blood of cows treated with experimental diets; however, LDL-cholesterol remained unchanged. No concentrations of triglycerides, FFA or glucose were influenced by saponins. Two fatty acids (C16 : 0 and C16 : 1c9) were markedly reduced when SO was used, while C18 : 1t11 decreased with increasing levels of SO. The significant increase of C20 : 4n-6 in animals treated with SO was observed. Both saponin diets resulted in a slight increase in insulin concentration and the SO2 diet evoked an emphatic rise of glucagon concentration. The concentration of T3 also increased after consumption of the experimental diet. The current study shows for the first time that triterpenoid saponins from S. officinalis can alter blood parameters in ruminants. These effects seem to result from saponin-induced changes in the rumen.
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- Animal Research Papers
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- Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2015
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