Zahid Iqbal

This study aimed to determine whether feeding betaine (Bet) to lactating Nili-Ravi buffaloes elevates their production performance during the hot and humid climate. Sixty lactating Nili-Ravi buffaloes were randomly divided into four groups: the control group received a standard concentrates basal diet without Bet, whereas in the treated group the same diet was supplemented with Bet at 0.2%, 0.4%, and 0.6% on dry matter basis for 9 weeks. All animals received ad libitum amount of chopped green maize fodder. Milk production and its fat % were recorded twice daily, whereas for the remaining components samples were collected weekly. Blood samples were collected at the end of the experiment. The results showed that feeding Bet to buffaloes increased (p0.05) increase in performance was noticed with higher doses of Bet. Superoxide dismutase in all three treatments and glutathione peroxidase in Bet 0.2% inclusion level were higher (p<0.05) as compared to the control. However, malondialdehyde was not significantly affected. Inclusion of Bet in the concentrate ration of lactating buffalos at 0.2% level on the dry matter basis is recommended as it positively influenced the production and also improved their antioxidant status during summer.

Parascariasis is the most common disease of horses, which needs strict control to prevent losses in the equine industry. The present study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of locally accessible herbal plants, as natural remedies, in managing Parascaris equorum infection relative to a most efficacious but expensive allopathic medicine Piperazine Adipate (PA). One hundred and ten horses naturally infected with Parascaris equorum were randomly allocated to five treatment groups each having ten animals. The treatments included aqueous extracts of three herbal drugs that is Nigella sativa (N. sativa) seeds, Fumaria parviflora (F. parviflora ) leaves, Flemingia macrophylla (F. macrophylla) leaves, positive control with PA and untreated negative control. Plant extracts were administered through a nasogastric tube, on day 0 and 18 at a dose rate of 0.05, 0.10 and 0.15 g/kg body weight (BW) of horses. Piperazine adipate was given at a dose rate of 0.113 g/kg BW. All of the herbal extracts, at a dosage of 0.15 g/kg BW, showed increased efficacy as indicated by a significant (p<0.01) reduction in eggs per gram (EPG) of faecal samples on day 18 of the first treatment. Further reduction (p<0.01) in EPG was noticed on day 28 of the 2nd treatment. Efficacy was highest for N. sativa on the 28th-day post-treatment which was 86.08% as compared to 82.11% and 73.74% for F. parviflora and F. macrophylla, respectively. Piperazine adipate presented an efficacy of 85.94% and 100% on the 18th and 28th day of the trial, respectively. All of the herbal extracts were found to be potent anthelmintics, however, N. sativa proved to be most effective. Keywords: Horse; Parascaris equorum; Nigella sativa; Fumaria parviflora; Flemingia macrophylla; Piperazine adipate.

This study aimed to determine whether feeding betaine (Bet) to lactating Nili-Ravi buffaloes elevates their production performance during the hot and humid climate. Sixty lactating Nili-Ravi buffaloes were randomly divided into four groups: the Control group received a standard concentrates basal diet without Bet, whereas in the treated group the same diet was supplemented with Bet at 0.2%, 0.4% and 0.6% on DM basis for 12 weeks. All animals received ad libitum amount of Maize fodder. Milk and blood were sampled throughout the experimental period. The results showed that feeding Bet to buffaloes increased (p < 0.05) milk yield at all the three inclusion levels; however, milk composition remained unaffected. There was no difference in production at the three levels. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) in all three treatments and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in Bet 0.2% inclusion level, were higher (p < 0.05) as compared to control. However, malondialdehyde (MDA) was not significantly affected. Inclusion of Bet in concentrate ration of lactating buffalos at 0.2% level on dry matter (DM) basis is recommended as it positively influenced the production and also improved their antioxidant status during summer.

Sheep farming is the backbone of Pakistan's rural economy and haemonchosis is a major impediment in its way. The objective was to evaluate the efficacy of three medicinal plants Azadirachta indica (Neem), Fumaria parviflora (Shahtra) leaves and Nigella sativa (Kalonji) seeds against Haemonchus contortus (H. contortus) infection in locally bred Rambouillet sheep. One hundred and ten naturally infected female sheep diagnosed on the basis of identification of the parasite and faecal egg count, were selected. The animals were assigned to 11 treatments in a completely randomized (CR) design with 10 animals per treatment. The treatments were Albendazole 7.5 mg/kg BW (positive control), Neem leaves extract (NLE) 50 mg/kg BW, NLE 100 mg/kg BW, NLE 150 mg/kg BW, Shahtra leaves extract (SLE) 50 mg/kg BW, SLE 100 mg/kg BW, SLE 150 mg/kg BW, Kalonji seeds extract (KSE) 50 mg/kg BW, KSE 100 mg/kg BW, KSE 150 mg/kg BW and un-treated infected (Negative control). All the extracts were prepared in aqueous solution. Treatments were administered as single dose orally. Faecal egg count was recorded on zero, 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th-day post-treatment for analysis. Faecal egg count reduction percentage (FECR%) was recorded to assess the efficacy of the drugs. None of the treatments could fully eliminate faecal egg production by the 28th-day post-treatment. Albendazole showed significantly higher FECR% as compared to Shahtra and Kalonji treated groups (p≤0.01). FECR% on day 28 showed no significant difference between Albendazole, NLE 100 and NLE 150 (p>0.05). The three medicinal plant extracts showed a limited efficacy against H. contortus indicated by FECR% when compared with untreated animals. However, the efficacy of NLE 100 was closest to Albendazole showing its potential as an anthelmintic (p>0.05). Keywords: Haemonchus; Sheep; Neem; Shahtra; Kalonji.

Sheep farming is the backbone of a rural economy in developing countries, and haemonchosis is a major impediment in the way of its progress. Haemonchus contortus (H. contortus) infection persists all over the world particularly in the tropical and sub-tropical regions. Various review articles have been published to substantially cover one or more aspects of its morphology, prevalence, pathogenesis, symptoms, diagnosis, immune response, drug resistance, treatment, and control measure. The objective of this paper is to briefly review past and present information available in the aforementioned areas in one place to enable the readers to fully understand the problem from a broader perspective. H. contortus parasite harbours in abomasum of affected animal and feeds on its blood, producing mild to severe symptoms and even death in acute form. The parasite thus inflicts heavy production losses and is of economic importance. H. contortus has developed diverse characters over the years leading to limited success in the production of vaccines. Indiscriminate use of the anthelmintics has produced drug resistance against almost all conventional products. Efficacy of medicinal plants and non-conventional chemicals has been reported under controlled experiments; however, research on their adverse effects on growth and fertility is yet to be studied. Research on molecular tools for identification and introduction of resistant genes into the flock is also underway but still a long journey to find its field application. Crossbreeding may compromise the production traits of the existing flock. In given circumstances, a targeted selective treatment approach along with selective breeding, culling of more susceptible animals, and maintaining a good body condition score through the provision of a balanced diet remains a workable strategy to control haemonchosis in sheep.

This study evaluated the effects of hay-based total mix ration (TMR) in pelleted or unpelleted form on intake, weaning age, performance parameters, blood metabolites, and cost-effectiveness in crossbred dairy calves during the preweaning period under hot climatic conditions. Thirty calves (4 ± 1 days (d) old), were assigned to one of the three dietary treatments in a randomized complete block design. Treatments assigned were: (1) conventional calf starter (CCS); without hay (2) TMR containing 85% calf starter and 15% chopped oat hay (OH) and (3) pelleted TMR (PTMR) containing 85% calf starter and 15% OH. Colostrum-fed calves were offered four liters (L) of whole milk each, during the first week, followed by six L daily. Calves were weaned off milk gradually on the basis of targeted starter intake of 200, 600, and 800 grams, after which they were considered weaned. Environmental temperature, feed intake, and health scores were recorded daily. The calves experienced heat stress with an average temperature-humidity index (THI) of 80.06 ± 3.42. Results revealed that average daily dry matter intake (DMI), average daily gain (ADG), and feed efficiency (FE) were not different (P > 0.05) among the treatments. Changes in body measurements, rumen development parameters, and blood metabolites were also not affected by the treatments (P > 0.05). Average weaning age in PTMR was 5.4 d earlier as compared to CCS. Feed cost per unit gain tended to be lower for PTMR compared with CCS-fed (86%) calves. Feeding pelleted TMR containing 15% OH tended to reduce the weaning age and feed cost per unit gain without affecting growth performance, intake, FE, and health parameters in crossbred calves under heat stress conditions.