The impact of saponin and tannin on performance, blood constituents, and carcass fatty acids in Baluchi lambs

AbstractThe aim of this experiment was to study the effect of pure saponin and tannic acid on feed intake, weight gain, immune metabolites, blood lipids, and fatty acid profiles of lamb carcass. In this experiment, 18 lambs with an average weight of 17±1.5 kg were used in a completely randomized design (3 treatments with 6 replications) for 60 days. Treatments consisted of a basal diet consisting of forage (30%) and concentrates (70%), and diets containing saponin (150 mg/kg dry matter) or tannic acid (15 g/kg dry matter). Dry matter intake, weight gain, feed conversion ratio, packed cell volume and blood concentrations of hemoglobin, glucose, urea nitrogen, total proteins, and triglycerides were not affected by the experimental treatments.  Concentration of saturated fatty acids and unsaturated fatty acids with a double bond did not show a significant difference between the experimental treatments, but the sum of unsaturated fatty acids with several double bonds was highest in the tannic acid treatment (P<0.05).