Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Nov 21;12(22):3220.
doi: 10.3390/ani12223220.

Hazelnut Skin in Ewes' Diet: Effects on Colostrum Immunoglobulin G and Passive Transfer of Immunity to the Lambs

Irene Viola  1 , Paolo Tizzani  1 , Giovanni Perona  1 , Carola Lussiana  2 , Antonio Mimosi  2 , Patrizia Ponzio  1 , Paolo Cornale  2
Affiliations

Hazelnut Skin in Ewes' Diet: Effects on Colostrum Immunoglobulin G and Passive Transfer of Immunity to the Lambs

Irene Viola et al. Animals (Basel). .

Abstract

Passive immunity transfer has a pivotal role in newborn lambs, where the colostrum represents the primary source of immunoglobulins. This study hypothesized that the high content in polyphenolic compounds, mono- and poly-unsaturated fatty acids, and vitamin E of hazelnut skin affects blood and colostrum immunoglobulin G (IgG) concentration and related gamma-glutamyl-transferase (GGT) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) levels in sheep and their lambs. In the last 45 days of pregnancy, ewes were divided into a control (CTR) and a hazelnut skin supplemented group (HZN). Blood and colostrum were collected from ewes and lambs before the first suckling, at 24 and 48 h after birth, then IgG concentration, GGT and LDH activity levels were measured. IgG concentration in the colostrum and in lamb's serum were significantly greater in HZN than CTR. No significant difference was detected for ewe's blood. A significant positive correlation was found between IgG and GGT in lambs' serum and colostrum, between IgG and LDH, as well as between GGT and LDH in lambs' serum and colostrum. Our results suggest that hazelnut skin supplementation influences IgG colostrum concentration, with improved immune passive transfer to the suckling lambs. The transfer of maternal derived immune factors is confirmed by the GGT and LDH enzyme activity levels.

Keywords: antioxidants; colostrum; hazelnut skin; immunity; sheep; welfare.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
(A) IgG (g/L) concentration in ewes’ serum at birth (A), 24 h (B), and 48 h (C) after lambing for control (CTR) and hazelnut skin (HZN) group. (B) IgG (g/L) concentration in lambs’ serum at birth (A) and 24 h (B), 48 h (C), and 10 days (D) after lambing for the control (CTR) and hazelnut skin (HZN) group. (C) IgG (g/L) concentration in colostrum collected at birth (A), 24 h (B), and 48 h (C) after lambing for control (CTR) and hazelnut skin (HZN) groups.
Figure 1
Figure 1
(A) IgG (g/L) concentration in ewes’ serum at birth (A), 24 h (B), and 48 h (C) after lambing for control (CTR) and hazelnut skin (HZN) group. (B) IgG (g/L) concentration in lambs’ serum at birth (A) and 24 h (B), 48 h (C), and 10 days (D) after lambing for the control (CTR) and hazelnut skin (HZN) group. (C) IgG (g/L) concentration in colostrum collected at birth (A), 24 h (B), and 48 h (C) after lambing for control (CTR) and hazelnut skin (HZN) groups.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Correlation-chart IgG (g/L), GGT (UI/L), and LDH (UI/L) concentration in sheep and lambs blood serum and colostrum. The correlation value is represented for each pair of correlations. The asterisk indicates the significance level: <0.001 (***), <0.01 (**), <0.05 (*). The frequency distribution for each variable is represented by grey histograms, and their correlation by the plots on the left side of each group of figures.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Lanza M., Bella M., Priolo A., Barbagallo D., Galofaro V., Landi C., Pennisi P. Lamb meat quality as affected by a natural or artificial milk feeding regime. Meat Sci. 2006;73:313–318. doi: 10.1016/j.meatsci.2005.12.006. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Hernández-Castellano L.E., Suárez-Trujillo A., Martell-Jaizme D., Cugno G., Argüello A., Castro N. The effect of colostrum period management on BW and immune system in lambs: From birth to weaning. Animal. 2015;9:1672–1679. doi: 10.1017/S175173111500110X. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Cabral R.G., Chapman C.E., Aragona K.M., Clark E., Lunak M., Erickson P.S. Predicting colostrum quality from performance in the previous lactation and environmental changes. J. Dairy Sci. 2016;99:4048–4055. doi: 10.3168/jds.2015-9868. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Loste A., Ramos J.J., Fernández A., Ferrer L.M., Lacasta D., Verde M.T., Marca M.C., Ortín A. Effect of colostrum treated by heat on immunological parameters in newborn lambs. Livest. Sci. 2008;117:176–183. doi: 10.1016/j.livsci.2007.12.012. - DOI
    1. Weaver D.M., Tyler J.W., VanMetre D.C., Hostetler D.E., Barrington G.M. Passive Transfer of Colostral Immunoglobulins in Calves. J. Vet. Intern. Med. 2000;14:569–577. doi: 10.1111/j.1939-1676.2000.tb02278.x. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources