Efectos de la harina de hojas de brócoli (Brassica oleracea) en los índices productivos y niveles de inmunología A sérica de terneros lactantes

Abstract

The aim of this research was to evaluate the addition of B. oleracea in the diet of lactating calves. Three treatments were applied: control with 0 g (no addition), treatment 1 with 10g, and treatment 2 with 20g. Live weight, weight gain, feed consumption, feed efficiency index, immunoglobulin A in serum, and feces consistency were evaluated to find the treatment with the best performance. Twelve calves were allocated in one of the three treatments, each one ended up with four animals. The research was carried out for six weeks, data was collected once daily for feeding consumption and feces, once per week for weight parameters, and two blood samples for serum IgA (the first and the last day of the experiment). Best results were observed with treatment 2 (addition of 20g of B. oleracea) with live weight at week 7 of 69.38kg (p=0.02), weight gain of 33kg (p=0.04), and feed efficiency index of 5.65 (p=0.05). Besides, serum immunoglobulin A at week 7 was greater than other treatments with a mean value of 95.43mg/dL (p=0.0002), and feces consistency was into category 4 which is the ideal for these animals. In conclusion, the addition of 20g of B. oleracea in the diet of suckling calves can increase serum IgA levels and improve productive parameters.