Nutrient Utilization and Performance of Endotoxin Exposed Kids Supplemented with Phytogenic Feed Additive

The present study was conducted to ascertain the effect of a phytogenic feed additive (PFA) on nutrient utilization and growth pattern of kids exposed to endotoxin. Eighteen male goat kids of 8–10 months age and 10.6±0.54 kg BW were equally divided into three groups, CON (Control), PRO (prophylactic) and THP (therapeutic) during an experiment of 91 d involving two consecutive periods (P1: 0–49 d; P2: 50–91 d). Kids in all the groups were fed a basal diet comprising wheat straw and concentrate mixture. The PRO group kids were supplemented with the PFA at 1.5% of DM intake in P1 and P2; however, during P2, these kids were treated with the endotoxin at 0.2 μg/kg BW intravenously every week. The THP group was fed the control diet (without PFA) during P1 but fed the PFA-supplemented diet during P2; additionally, the kids were treated with the endotoxin during both the P1 and P2 periods. Two metabolism trials were conducted towards the end of each period. The digestibility of nutrients was similar (P>0.05) in all the three groups during P1. The digestibility of NDF in THP was lower (P=0.016) as compared to PRO and CON during P2. The intake of digestible DM was low (P<0.05) and other digestible nutrients tended to be lower (P=0.06) in THP during P1 whereas, the intake of digestible nutrients was similar during P2. In both the periods, the retention of nitrogen was similar in all the three groups, but kids in THP exhibited a loss in BW during P1 while all the groups showed BW gain during P2. It is concluded that supplementation of the selected phytogenic feed additive at 1.5% in the diet maintains the intake of digestible nutrients, prevents BW loss and restores growth in kids exposed to endotoxin.