Effects of Zanthoxylum bungeanum essential oil and oregano essential oil on growth performance,serum biochemical,and immune indices of ewes at different growth stages
JIN Qian
JING Zhaoming
KANG Fange
LIU Haibo
LIU Lishan
GONG Xuyin
Abstract：The study aimed to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation with Zanthoxylum schinifolium essential oil and oregano essential oil on the growth performance,serum biochemical,and immune indices of ewes at different growth stages.Twenty-four healthy three-month-old ewe lambs and 24 healthy adult ewes with similar body weights were selected and randomly divided into three groups,with eight replicates per group,one ewe per replicate.The control group was fed a basal diet,while the experimental groups were fed the basal diet supplemented with 7 g/(head·d)oregano essential oil or 10 mL/(head·d)Zanthoxylum schinifolium essential oil,respectively.The pre-trial period was 10 days,and the formal trial period was 90 days.The results showed that compared with the control group,both oregano essential oil and Zanthoxylum schinifolium essential oil significantly increased the final body weight,average daily gain(1～30 d),and average daily feed intake of ewes(P＜0.05).Oregano essential oil significantly increased serum levels of total protein(TP),albumin(ALB),glucose(GLU),glutathione peroxidase(GSH-Px),catalase(CAT)activity,and total antioxidant capacity(T-AOC),as well as immunoglobulin G(IgG),immunoglobulin M(IgM),and interferon-γ(IFN-γ)concentrations(P＜0.05),while significantly reducing serum cholesterol(CHO)and triglyceride(TG)concentrations(P＜0.05).Zanthoxylum schinifolium essential oil significantly increased ALB content,T-AOC,and CAT activity in serum(P＜0.05),significantly reduced CHO content(P＜0.05),increased IgM and IFN-γ concentrations in adult ewes,and IgG and IFN-γ concentrations in ewe lambs(P＜0.05).The study indicates that Zanthoxylum schinifolium essential oil and oregano essential oil can effectively improve growth performance,enhance antioxidant capacity and immune function in adult ewes and ewe lambs.
Keywords：Zanthoxylum bungeanum essential oiloregano essential oilewesgrowth stagesgrowth performanceserum biochemical indicesantioxidant capacityimmune indices
Publication Date：2025-02-28
Online Publishing Date：2025-08-15(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：6( 1-6 )