BIOCHEMICAL ENERGY AND HEMATOLOGICAL PROFILE OF SHEEP SUPPLEMENTED WITH SOY MOLASSES

Abstract

and proteins. Despite the great variety of by-products and being potentially beneficial, it is not yet fully understood how the interaction between the nutrients in this product and the physiological changes in sheep occurs. Thus, the objective was to evaluate the effects of supplementation levels with soy molasses under the energy metabolites and hematological parameters of sheep. The treatments consisted of 0, 3, 6, 9, and 12% of inclusion of soy molasses in the dry matter for a basal diet of corn silage, which met the nutritional needs of the sheep in maintenance, distributed in a 5 × Latin square design. 5. The energy metabolites were evaluated: cholesterol, triglycerides, very-low-density lipoproteins (VLDL), and fructosamine. The hematological parameters were red blood cells, hemoglobin, hematocrits, and platelets, in addition to leukocytes, rods, neutrophils, eosinophils, monocytes, and lymphocytes. Supplementation with soy molasses did not significantly alter (P> 0.05) the serum concentrations of cholesterol, triglycerides, VLDL, and fructosamine. There was no significant difference in the blood cell, hemoglobin, hematocrit, and platelet concentrations of sheep with soy molasses supplementation (P> 0.05), which may indicate that the level of inclusion was sufficient to meet the nutritional needs of the animals, without damage. Leukocyte, rod, neutrophil, eosinophil, monocyte, and lymphocyte concentrations did not change (P> 0.05) with the inclusion of soy molasses in the sheep's diet, not indicating the presence of intoxication, diseases, and infections. It is concluded that supplementation with soy molasses does not alter the energy metabolites and hematological parameters of sheep in maintenance.