Acremonium terricola culture supplementation in the diet of pregnant and lactating Ewes can improve the production performance of Ewes and lambs by regulating maternal metabolism and antibody delivery

Abstract

Background: The fungal culture of Acremonium terricola culture (ATC) has been extensively utilized in livestock farming systems due to its demonstrated efficacy in improving productivity and preventing disease outbreaks. However, the effects of dietary ATC supplementation on pregnant and lactating ewes and their offspring remain a critical knowledge gap requiring investigation. Therefore, this study was designed to address two primary objectives: (1) to evaluate the effects of dietary supplementation with ATC on production performance and hematological parameters in ewes; (2) to determine whether maternally ingested ATC can be transmitted to offspring via lactation and subsequently influence lamb growth performance. This study employed eighteen ewes randomly stratified into two groups: a basal diet control (CON, n = 9) and an experimental group receiving basal diet supplementation with 9 g of ATC per ewe daily (ATC, n = 9). The study design comprised a 115-day protocol consisting of a 10-day pre-experimental acclimatization phase with environmental parameter standardization, followed by a 105-day controlled experimental intervention period.

Results: The findings demonstrated that administration of ATC supplemented diets throughout the gestational-lactational period significantly enhanced maternal dry matter intake (DMI) and late-gestation (day 145) body mass (p < 0.05), concurrently attenuating gestational lipolysis compared with control group. Regarding lactation performance, ATC supplementation led to an increase in the average daily milk yield (0.90 vs. 0.78 kg/d), decelerated the decline rate of the lactation peak, and enhanced milk quality by boosting the percentages of milk fat, total solids (Ts), and urea content (p < 0.05). Moreover, ATC supplementation elevated serum levels of immunoglobulin A (IgA), urea, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in pregnant and lactating ewes, while decreasing the interleukin-6 (IL-6) level (p < 0.05). For lambs, the supplementation of ATC in ewes' diets significantly improved the average daily gain (ADG) during the 1-45-day nursing period (p < 0.05) and showed a trend toward increased weaning weight at 45 days of nursing (p = 0.061). Biochemically, lambs from the ATC - supplemented group exhibited significantly higher serum concentrations of urea, IgA, interleukin-4 (IL-4), catalase (CAT), SOD, and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), along with lower serum tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) content (p < 0.05).

Conclusions: Maternal dietary supplementation with ATC demonstrated dual zootechnical benefits, effectively augmenting ovine productive efficiency through enhanced milk synthesis capacity, improving the immune and antioxidant levels of the body, while concurrently stimulating neonatal development of pre-weaning growth velocity.

Keywords: Acremonium terricola culture; Antioxidant; Ewe; Immune; Lamb; Milk ingredients.

Fig. 1

Effects of ATC supplementation in diet of pregnant ewes on milk composition and immunoglobulin during lactation. IgA, immunoglobulin A; IgG, immunoglobulin G; IgM, immunoglobulin M

Fig. 2

Effects of dietary ATC supplementation during pregnancy and lactation on blood biochemical indices of ewes. ¹ ALP, alkaline phosphatase; GLB, globulin; TCHO, total cholesterol; TG, triglyceride; TP, total protein. ²CON = Control group; ATC = Acremonium terricola culture group. The data are expressed as the mean and SEM (n = 6). In the same row, values with different small letters are significantly different (P < 0.05). The same as Tables 7, 8, 9 and 10–12

Fig. 3

Effects of dietary supplementation with ATC during pregnancy and lactation on the immune function of ewes. ¹ IgA, immunoglobulin A; IgG, immunoglobulin G; IgM, immunoglobulin M; IL-1β, interleukin-1 beta; IL-4, interleukin-4; IL-6, interleukin-6; TNF-α, tumor necrosis factor-alpha

Fig. 4

Effects of dietary supplementation with ATC during pregnancy and lactation on the antioxidant performance of ewes. ¹ T-AOC: total antioxidant capacity; GSH-Px: glutathione peroxidase; CAT: catalase; SOD: superoxide dismutase; MDA: malondialdehyde; The same as below

Fig. 5

Effects of ATC supplementation in the diet of ewes on blood biochemical indexes of lactating lambs. ¹"1 d” refers to “1 day of lactation”, “30 d” to “30 days of lactation” and “45 d” to “45 days of lactation”. The same as below

Fig. 6

Effects of ATC supplementation in the diet of ewes on the immune function of lactating lambs

Fig. 7

Effects of ATC supplementation in the diet of ewes on the antioxidant function of lambs