Effects of complex plant essential oil on reproductive performance,antioxidant,and immune function of ewes in late gestation period

LIU Gan; ZHANG Wenming; ZHANG Kaixuan; LIU Chunhai; HAN Junping; WANG Jiaxu; LI Wei; TAO Chunwei

doi:10.13557/j.cnki.issn1002-2813.2025.12.006

Abstract：The experiment aimed to investigate the effects of complex plant essential oil(carvacrol,thymol,and cinnamaldehyde)on the reproductive performance,antioxidant,and immune function of ewes in the late gestation period.A total of 600'Australian white × Hu'cross ewes with similar body weight at 90 days after gestation were selected and divided into the essential oil group(EO group)and the control group(CO group),with five replicates per group and 60 ewes per replicate.The CO group was fed a basal diet,and the EO group was fed with the basal diet supplemented with complex plant essential oil.The pre-test period was 15 days and the formal text period was 90 days.The results showed that compared with the CO group,the elimination rate of the EO group was reduced by 9.22％,the abortion rate was reduced by 43.76％,the lambing rate was increased by 3.36％,the multiple lambing rate was increased by 36.03％,and the mortality rate of lambs aged from 0 to 7 days was reduced by 1.38％.The average birth weight of single lamb in the EO group was 0.12 kg lower than that of the CO group and the average birth weight of many lambs was 0.42 kg higher than that of the CO group.Compared with the CO group,the activity of superoxide dismutase and total antioxidant capacity in the serum of pregnant ewes in the EO group at 30 days before pregnancy were significantly increased(P＜0.05),and the content of malondialdehyde was significantly decreased(P＜0.05).Compared with the CO group,the concentrations of immunoglobulin M(IgM),immunoglobulin A(IgA),immunoglobulin E(IgE)and immunoglobulin G(IgG)in the serum of pregnant ewes in the EO group were significantly increased at 60 days before pregnancy(P＜0.05).Compared with the CO group,the concentrations of IgM and IgA in milk of pregent ewes in the EO group were significantly decreased(P＜0.05),and the content of IgE was significantly increased at three days postpartum(P＜0.05).Compared with the CO group,the concentrations of IgM,IgA,IgE and IgG in the milk of pregnant ewes in the EO group were significantly increased at 10 days postpartum(P＜0.05).The result shows that feeding plant essential oil can enhance the immune and antioxidant function of ewes during pregnancy,effectively improve the health of ewes,reduce the elimination rate of ewes and the mortality rate of 0 to 7 days of age lambs,and increase the lambing rate and the average birth weight of multiple lambs.