Effect of malic acid supplementation on haemato-biochemical and reproductive parameters of lactating kankrej cows

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of supplementation of malic acid on haemato-biochemical and reproductive parameters of lactating Kankrej cows. Twenty-four lactating Kankrej cows (15 days post- partum) were assigned randomly into four groups (6 animals in each) and on the basis of their standard lactation milk yield of previous lactation and parity of animals. The four treatment groups were as T₁: Basal diet, in T₂, T₃ and T₄ groups basal diet was supplemented with 30, 60 and 90 g/d of malic acid, respectively. The duration of experiment was of 120 days. The blood samples were collected at the end (on 120^th day) of experimental feeding. The mean concentrations of haemoglobin, haematocrit, red and white blood cells count were comparable (P>0.05) among the treatment groups. The serum concentrations of total protein, albumin, globulin, urea, creatinine, cholesterol, ALT, and AST were not influenced (P>0.05) due to supplementation of malic acid. There was an increase (P<0.05) in serum glucose concentration (mg/dL) in T₂ (78.17), T₃ (79.83) and T₄ (78.67) groups as compared to the T₁ (73.67) group. In reproductive parameters, the first heat after calving, services period and number of services per conception in malic acid supplemented groups showed improvement than the control. It may be concluded that malic acid supplementation in lactating Kankrej cows had beneficial effect on reproductive performance Moreover, dietary malic acid did not have any adverse effect on haemato-biochemical parameters of Kankrej cows.