Comparative Study of the Water-Soluble Antioxidants in Fodder Additives and Sheep Blood Serum by Amperometric and Biochemical Methods

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Feed additives are widely used to enrich animal diets in order to optimize digestive and metabolic processes. However, variations in the technology of preparation of even single-component compositions can play a significant role in the effects of their use. The effects of chitosan as a feed additive for animals on various digestive processes are important to study because of the animal nutrition and production quality, healthcare and farming, etc. We studied the antioxidant activity of various feed components: chitosan from various manufacturers and a high protein microbiologic synthesis concentrate by amperometric method. The antioxidant activity values in the rumen content and sheep blood were then examined and evaluated using these feed additives in the diet. The animal experiments were carried out on six rumen-fistulated ewes (in three groups). The particular tendencies of correlation value changes of the antioxidant activity vs. major biochemical parameters of a blood serum of rumen-fistulated ewes (in three groups) or some indicators of the rumen content were obtained for the first time. These data and correlations can be useful for understanding of the features of the sheep antioxidant status and for the evaluation of the feed additives and factors in sheep nutrition. ABSTRACT: The effects of chitosan as feed additive for animals (FAFAs) on various digestive processes are an important to study because of the animal nutrition and production quality, healthcare and farming. The aims of this study were to evaluate the total amount of water-soluble antioxidants (TAWSA) of chitosan and high protein microbiologically synthesized concentrate as FAFAs; to assess the effect of these FAFAs on TAWSA values, parameters of sheep blood serum and rumen content by biochemical, physical and chemical methods. The laboratory studies of TAWSA values of feed components based on chitosan from different manufacturers or/and a high-protein concentrate were implemented. The animal experiments were carried out on six rumen-fistulated ewes (in three rounds of 14 days each, i.e., three groups) to confirm the results of the laboratory studies. The particular differences of the TAWSA of sheep blood by using both FAFAs by amperometric method were determined. A strong negative correlation −0.67 (or −0.86) was observed between TAWSA and the total protein (globulin’s) content in the blood for the Group 3 of animals. A moderate (0.40) or strong (0.73) positive correlation between TAWSA and total protein content in the blood for the Group 2 of animals than weak correlation 0.23 (or 0.26) for the control Group 1. In conclusion, the correlations between the value changes of TAWSA vs. major biochemical parameters of a blood serum of rumen-fistulated ewes (Group 3 > Group 2 > Group 1) or some indicators of the rumen content (ingesta pH, total content of volatile fatty acids, etc.) were found for the first time.