Effect of β-1,3/1,6-D-glucan in diet on productivity and humoral and cellular defense mechanisms in sheep

Abstract

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of β-1,3/1,6-D-glucan, isolated from Saccharomyces cerevisiae, on indicators of milk and meat performance in sheep as well as on selected non-specific indicators of humoral and cellular defense. The experiment was carried on 26 suckling ewes divided into 2 equal groups, and their offspring (21 in each group). The ewes were administered concentrate with the addition of β-1,3/1,6-D-glucan at a dose of 3 g/kg. Indicators of milk performance and markers of humoral and cellular immunity were analyzed on days 28 and 70 of lactation; and the indicators of meat performance of lambs on day 28 and 70 of their life. The addition of β-1,3/1,6-D-glucan was observed to cause an increase in milk performance by 13.5–14%. Simultaneously, milk was characterized by a lower somatic cell count. Diet supplementation had a positive effect on the chemical composition of milk, which was manifested by increased percentage contents of fat (by 15– 30%) and protein (by 11%). Lambs were characterized by a higher growth rate and better muscle tissue development. The supplementation caused an increase of gamma-globulin concentration (by 6.33–9.5 g/l), lysozyme activity (by 0.1 mg/l), respiratory burst activity (by 0.11–0.14), potential killing activity (by 0.10–0.12), proliferative response of T-cells stimulated by mitogen concanavalineA (by 0.07–0.09 RI) and proliferative response of B-cells stimulated by mitogen lipopolysaccharide (by 0.13–0.16 RI) in sheep’s blood. The activity of β-1,3/1,6-D-glucan as a natural immunostimulator has been studied in many animal species, however, this is the first study conducted on sheep.