Abstract
The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of grazing cowpea pastures on growth, parasite egg count and biomarkers of immune response in goats. Spanish and Savannah goats (n = 48) stratified by initial body weight (42.0±7.0 kg) and fecal egg count (FEC), were randomly assigned to three pasture forages (Cowpea varieties: Mississippi silver (MS), or Iron and Clay (IC) or Pearl millet (PM) as control with 4 replicates, for a 28-day feeding trial. Forage samples collected at the start of the study were analyzed for nutrients, chemical and polyphenols content. Body weight, body condition score, and fecal egg count were measured weekly. Blood was collected from goats on days 0 and 28 for PCV and white blood cell differential counts. The concentration of total proteins, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) were evaluated in blood serum. Concentration of DNA isolated from fecal samples was used as a measure of gut health. Goats grazed on cowpea forage (MS and IC) had higher body weight (p = 0.01) compared to goats grazed on PM. Percent lymphocyte (p = 0.008) and neutrophil (p = 0.013) increased in MS fed goats. Goats grazed on MS pasture had decreased FEC (p = 0.03) also. Cowpea pasture grazing had no effect on serum protein concentration, PCV and BCS (p > 0.05), but decreased PGE2 concentration in serum. The concentration of TAC in serum, increased at day 28 (p < 0.05). The concentration of fecal microbial DNA decreased in all the treatment groups at day 28. Cowpea forage grazing had an impact on body weight, FEC, and blood serum parameters (PGE2, TAC) in goats. These results demonstrate that freshly grazed cowpea forage has potential impact and benefits on growth and health of goats. Integrating cowpea diet in goat feeding system may enhance growth performance, stimulate and prime the immune system for defense against gastrointestinal parasites.
Highlights
Small ruminant production is a growing industry as a result of demographic changes in populations and the global demand for goat and sheep products
Body weight in goats positively correlated with BCS, Total antioxidant capacity (TAC), % neutrophils count, and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), but a weak negative correlation with FAMACHA score, total serum protein concentration, and % lymphocytes was observed
There were no association between fecal egg count (FEC) and packed cell volume (PCV), total protein, % lymphocytes, and PGE2
Summary
Small ruminant production is a growing industry as a result of demographic changes in populations and the global demand for goat and sheep products. Major challenges for producers with economic impact include gastrointestinal nematode (GIN) parasites especially the blood-feeder Haemonchus contortus, that are associated with increased mortality and poor weight gain (Molento, 2009; Hamilton et al, 2017). These challenges reduce meat, milk and fiber production and cause estimated loss of “tens of billions of dollars worldwide” (Roeber, Jex, & Gasser, 2013). Sericea lespedeza a legume with high amounts of condensed tannins, has an anthelmintic effect (Min et al, 2004) when grazed as a fresh forage (Terrill et al, 2009; Mechineni et al, 2014) and impacts immune response gene expression (Worku et al, 2016; Asiamah et al, 2016)
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