Effect of dietary supplementation of antioxidants on growth, serum metabolites and enzymatic activities in Mandya lambs during summer

A study was conducted to assess the effect of dietary supplementation of vitamins on growth, serum metabolites and enzymatic activities in Mandya lambs during summer. Forty- eight lambs (3 months-old, average body weight 10.23 kg) were randomly allotted to four groups as control (Gr-I; basal diet), basal diet supplemented with vitamin E (Gr-II), vitamin C (Gr-III) and vitamin E @ 250 mg+ vitamin C @ 2 g (Gr-IV). The results indicated that the lambs of antioxidant supplemented groups (Gr-II, III and IV) had significantly (p<0.05) higher body weight as compared to the control after 90 days of supplementation. The average daily gain was significantly (p<0.05) higher in Gr-IV (64.44±2.34 g), followed by Gr-I (59.15±1.62 g) and Gr-II (56.66±0.15 g). Significantly (p<0.05) higher levels of glucose, total protein, albumin, triglycerides, total cholesterols and HDLcholesterol and lower levels of urea nitrogen were noticed in supplemented groups as compared to the control group. Significantly (p<0.05) lower levels of superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, catalase activities and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) levels were observed in supplemented groups as compared to the control. These results suggested that dietary supplementation of vitamin C and vitamin E either alone or in combination for 90 days improved growth and reduced the stress in lambs during summer.