Investigating of antioxidant activity of different levels of Alhaghi maurorum L on the performance and blood serum metabolites of 9-15 week-old ostrich chicks

Abstract

Introduction: Due to the side effects of chemical drugs, many herbs as sources of natural
antioxidants can be effective in reducing the complications of diabetes. Alhaji maurorum is
rich in antioxidants due to its antioxidant compounds such as quercetin and catechin. The
present study was conducted with the aim of investigating the antioxidant activity and
replacing different levels of Alhaghi maurorum L with alfalfa on the performance and blood
serum metabolites of 9- to 15-week-old ostrich chicks.
Materials & methods: In this research, 36 pieces of ostriches with the age of 9 weeks, from
among the ostriches of the special livestock research institute of Zabul University in the form
of a completely random design with 6 experimental groups including; 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100%
itchy and non-itchy levels (control) and 6 pieces of ostrich in each treatment for 6 weeks. Blood
parameters were measured automatically for the study. The amount of malondialdehyde
(MDA) as an indicator of oxidative stress was determined by the modified Buege and Aust
methods.
Results: That different level of the replacement of Alhagi plant with alfalfa in the basic ration
had no significant effect on yield (P≥0.05). They had more weight gain than the control
treatment and the best nutritional yield was related to the ration containing 80% Alhagi plant.
Based on the obtained results, the blood glucose levels of the studied groups decreased with
the increase in the level of scabies (P≤0.05). Different levels of itch were significant on the
activity of ALT, ALP, LDH and AST enzymes (P≤0.05). The amount of cholesterol,
triglyceride, VLDL-C, LDL-C, and HDL-C was significant compared to the control group
(P≤0.05). The application of experimental treatments showed a 32% decrease in blood serum
albumin and a 16% decrease in total blood serum protein compared to the control (P≤0.05).
Plasma MDA as an index of lipid peroxidation was affected by different levels of scabies
(P≤0.05). Also, with the increase in scabies level, plasma magnesium level was statistically
significant (P≤0.05).
Conclusion: Due to the positive effect of 80% Alhaji level instead of alfalfa in the basic diet
on the performance and Blood serum metabolites of growing ostriches, the use of these Alhaji
maurorum levels in their diets is recommended.