Response of plantain (Plantago lanceolata L.) supplementation on nutritional, endo-parasitic, and endocrine status in lambs

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to assess the effects of plantain herb ( Plantago lanceolata L.) supplementation on growth, plasma metabolites, liver enzymatic activity, hormonal status, gastrointestinal parasites, and carcass characteristics of lambs. A total of 24 lambs, aged 6 months weighing 8.0\u2009±\u20090.5\xa0kg were randomly allocated to one of two dietary treatments: (1) CL diet—roadside grass and concentrate mixture; (2) PL diet—CL diet + 5% fresh plantain supplementation on a DM basis. The PL diet group exhibited 23% higher ( P \u2009=\u20090.01) average daily gain and 15% improved ( P \u2009=\u20090.03) feed conversion efficiency. Circulating cholesterol concentrations were suppressed by 9% ( P \u2009=\u20090.03), and liver enzyme activity was improved by 5–25% ( P \u2009<\u20090.05) in the lamb fed PL diet, compared with CL diet only. The inclusion of plantain in the diet was highly effective at suppressing the parasites, Paramphistomum spp. ( P \u2009=\u20090.003) and coccidial parasites ( P \u2009=\u20090.04), but not stomach worms. Moreover, plantain supplementation increased growth hormone and insulin concentrations in plasma level, whereas decreased carcass fat by 32.7%. Therefore, supplementation of the lambs’ diet with plantain showed some beneficial effects on productivity and parasitic infection, while it led to a leaner carcass.