Effects of Supplemental Chinese Herbs on Growth Performance, Blood Antioxidant Function and Immunity Status in Holstein Dairy Heifers Fed High Fibre Diet

Two experiments were carried out to investigate the effects of supplemental Chinese herbs, Fructus Ligustri Lucidi (FLL), Radix Astragali (RA) and Radix Codonopsis (RC) on growth performance, blood antioxidant and immune function in Holstein dairy heifers fed high fibre diet. Experiment 1 indicated that the supplementation of the three herbs had no effect on dry matter intake. FLL Supplementation increased heifers average daily gain (ADG), final body weight and feed efficiency. Experiment 2 indicated that FLL supplementation improved the blood antioxidant function with higher concentration of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and lower concentration of malondialdehyde (MDA), and improved immune function with lower concentrations of prostaglandin E 2 (PGE 2 ) and immunoreactive fibronectin (IFN-γ). Addition of FLL increased apparent digestibility of diet's dry matter and organic matter than the other groups. It was demonstrated that FLL supplementation improved nutrient digestion, feed efficiency, blood antioxidant function, immune and growth performance for Holstein dairy heifers.