Effect of dietary supplementation of binahong leaf meal, betel nut meal or their combination on serum albumin and globulin, fecal endoparasites and bacterial counts in milk of Saanen goats suffering from subclinical mastitis

Abstract

The effect was investigated of dietary supplementation of binahong (Anredera cordifolia (Ten.) Steenis) leaf meal, betel nut (Arecha catechu L.) meal or their combination on serum albumin and globulin, fecal endoparasites and bacterial counts in the milk of Saanen goats suffering from subclinical mastitis. The goats were randomly allotted to one of four experimental groups: control diet (diet without binahong leaf meal or betel nut meal; CON), diet supplemented with binahong leaf meal (1 g/kg body weight; BNH), diet supplemented with betel nut meal (1 g/kg body weight; BTN) and diet supplemented with a combination of binahong leaf meal and betel nut meal (both 0.5 g/kg body weight; BNH + BTN). After 14 d treatment, the pH was higher (p < 0.05) in the milk of the CON group compared to the treated groups. The numbers of udders positive for subclinical mastitis were reduced (p < 0.05) following the treatments with BNH, BTN or BNH + BTN. Total viable bacteria were higher (p < 0.05) in the milk of the CON group than in the treated groups. The numbers of oocytes and coccidial oocysts were higher (p < 0.05) in the feces of the CON group than those in the treated groups. There were no differences (p > 0.05) in levels of serum albumin and globulin and milk production across the treatment diets. In conclusion, dietary supplementation of binahong leaf meal, betel nut meal and a combination of both showed potential to reduce the load of endoparasites in the gastrointestinal tract and to reduce subclinical mastitis in lactating Saanen goats.