Manju Ashutosh

Effect of pre-partum supplementation of vitamin E to Murrah buffaloes on immune functions and viability of calves.

This study was undertaken in buffalo neonates born to vitamin E (dl-alpha-tocopherol acetate)-supplemented and non-supplemented Murrah buffaloes. Calves from vitamin E-supplemented buffaloes (n = 10; vitamin E -supplemented calves [VeC]) and non-supplemented buffaloes (n = 10; control calves [CC]) constituted the treatment and control groups respectively. Two colostrum samples were taken at the first post-partum milking and again after 12 h from dams for IgG estimation. Sampling of blood was performed on days 0 (before colostrum feeding), 1, 3, 7, 14, 21, 28, 42, 56, 70, 84, 98, 112 and 126 post-birth and analysed for apparent efficiency of absorption (%) of IgG and various immune parameters. Colostral IgG level was significantly higher (p < 0.05) in vitamin E-supplemented buffaloes. The calves in both groups were born hypogammaglobulinemic with IgG level <5 g/l. However, first colostrum feeding resulted in significantly elevated IgG levels (>10 g/l) in calves of both groups at 24 h, which remained high afterwards. Apparent efficiency of absorption (%) of IgG at 24 h was significantly higher (p < 0.05) in VeC than in CC. Plasma Nitric Oxide (NO) levels were significantly elevated in the calves of either group at birth, which declined significantly (p < 0.01) afterwards. Vitamin E feeding to dams had no added effect on NO levels in experimental calves. Total leucocyte counts did not differ significantly between the two groups. However, lymphocyte and neutrophil counts changed significantly between groups (p < 0.01) and days (p < 0.01), with lymphocytes increasing and neutrophils declining with age. This study revealed that the calves were immunologically immature at birth. Ante-partum supplementation of vitamin E did not influence plasma NO or IgG but had a significant effect on colostral IgG (p < 0.05). It also improved the apparent efficiency of absorption (%) of IgG at 24 h in VeC as compared to CC.

In Vitro Immune Competence of Buffaloes (Bubalus bubalis) of Different Production Potential: Effect of Heat Stress and Cortisol

Twelve healthy lactating Murrah buffaloes of similar parity (3rd) between 90 and 120 days of lactation, selected from the herd of National Dairy Research Institute (Karnal, India) and maintained at managemental practices as followed at the Institute they were included in this experiment. The animals were divided into two groups based on their production level in previous lactation. The average milk production level of group 1 and II was 9.3 and 6 lit/day, respectively. Blood was collected from these buffaloes on three occasions 10 days apart. The lymphocytes were separated and cultured in RPMI 1640 medium with PHA-P for 24 h at 37°C in a humidified CO2 incubator (95% air and 5%  CO2). The lymphocyte responsiveness was also evaluated in response to the in vivo heat stress and in vitro cortisol. Mitogen-induced stimulation index was not affected by production level (P < .01). Stimulation index was significantly reduced (P < .01) in both the groups when cortisol was added at 2.0 ng level in the culture. However, in heat-stressed buffaloes stimulation index did not vary despite increasing levels of cortisol, thus indicating that lymphocyte may become cortisol resistant during periods of acute heat stress. The results showed that lymphocyte proliferation response can be effectively used to study buffalo cell-mediated immunity in vitro.

Xanthine oxidase activity during transition period and its association with occurrence of postpartum infections in Murrah buffalo (Bubalus bubalis)

The aim of this study was to quantify xanthine oxidase (XO) levels during the transition period in Murrah buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) and determine its association with certain postpartum infections. For this, six healthy buffaloes were selected from the National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI) herd and managed under standard managemental practices as followed at the institute. Blood samples were drawn weekly from each buffalo from day -21 to +21 relative to parturition by jugular vein puncture. Additional blood samples were collected from buffaloes suffering from metritis (n=5), endometritis (n=6) and mastitis (n=8) on alternate days. XO activity followed a defined pattern with values gradually declining from day -21 up to the day of calving followed by an increase to day +21, but the difference was statistically not significant between pre- and post-partum stages. The activity significantly declined on the day of calving when compared to the pre-partum mean value (p<0.05). The activity was significantly enhanced in buffaloes with bacterial infections, endometritis, and mastitis compared to healthy controls (p<0.05). However, the levels were not significantly altered among buffalo with metritis. The results indicate that increased XO activity during the postpartum period was associated with some bacterial infections in buffaloes, which could be due to increased phagocytic activity as a part of the innate defense system. Keywords : Xanthine oxidase, transition period African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(32), pp. 5101-5104

Reproductive Performance as Affected by Mastitis in Lactating Crossbred Cows

The occurrence of mastitis in early lactation have negative impact on reproductive performance by increasing the number of days to first AI, inter-estrus intervals, service per conception, days open than healthy cows resulting in impaired production and reproduction efficiency. Therefore, the incidence of clinical mastitis in early lactation needs to be monitored by mCMT to make dairy farm more profitable.

Inflammatory Mediators and Hormonal Changes in Subclinical and Clinically Affected Mastitis Cows

Dairy animals encounter mastitis as one of the most important disease causing hindrance in the development of dairy sector. Selective breeding of dairy cattle has led to a dramatic increase in milk yield over recent decades giving India an honour to become the highest milk producer country in the world but simultaneous increase in high incidence of mastitis and huge economic losses have been reported (Heald et al., 2000; Seegers et al., 2003; Oltenacu and Algers, 2005). Researchers agree that the economic impact of subclinical forms of mastitis is larger than clinical mastitis (Singh et al., 2016). The overall prevalence of sub-clinical mastitis has been reported to be 59.43% with quarter level prevalence of 34.78% (Bhat et al., 2016). The annual economic losses due to mastitis have been calculated to be Rs.7165.51 crores both cows and buffaloes almost with rupees 3649.56 and 3515.95 crores, respectively (PDAMAS, 2011). Subclinicacl mastitis alone causes economic losses of rupees 4151.16 crores (Bogni et al., 2011). This could be minimized by using certain makers in milk and plasma of mastitis animals. It has been found that nitric oxide (NO), interleukins (IL) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) could play a vital role in the pathophysiology of this (Kushibiki et al., 2003; Hansen et al., 2004). International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 6 Number 11 (2017) pp. 620-627 Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com

EFFECT OF VITAMIN E SUPPLEMENTATION TO DRY MURRAH BUFFALOES ON DRY MATTER INTAKE, BODY CONDITION SCORE, METABOLIC SHIFTS PRE AND POSTPARTUM

This study as designed to evaluate effect of vitamin E supplementation to dry Murrah buffaloes on dry matter intake, body condition score and metabolic shifts pre and postpartum in response to vitamin E supplementation from day -56, relative to parturition. Total twelve numbers of healthy dry Murrah buffaloes were selected from National Dairy Research Institute Murrah herd and randomly distributed in to two groups treatment and control consisting six buffaloes in each group. Buffaloes in treatment group were supplemented with 2,000 IU α-tocopheryl acetate/day/head from -56 days prepartum to + 21 days postpartum in addition to the control feed. Dry matter intake, body weight and body condition score were recorded at fortnightly interval. Blood samples were taken from each buffalo by jugular vein puncture at weekly interval from day -56 to day + 56 relative to parturition. Vitamin E supplemented buffaloes registered significantly higher levels of glucose (P < 0.05) and albumin (P < 0.05) whereas plasma NEFA and DMI was low in these buffaloes. There was no effect of vitamin E supplementation on body weight, BCS, β-HBA and BUN levels. The changes occurring in peripheral levels of these blood metabolites were within the normal physiological range in both the groups.