The effect of ginger (Zingiber officinale L.) liquid extract supplemented with whole milk on growth, immune response, antioxidant defence mechanism, and general health of Holstein's calves

Abstract This study was carried out to examine the effects of the supplementation of ginger liquid extract (GLE) to whole milk on the growth, immune response, antioxidative defence mechanism, and general health of Holstein’s calves. Sixteen calves (4-d old) were included in the experiment and randomly assigned to groups, and they were fed whole milk containing GLE at a rate of 0, 0.50, 0.72, and 1% of the milk amount consumed. Calves consuming 1% GLE milk were weaned at an earlier age and gained better body weight (BW) compared to the other groups. The group fed with 0.50% GLE milk consumed less daily starter than the other groups. The supplementation of GLE decreased the fecal score (FS), the number of days with diarrhea (DDN), and illness (IDN) of calves non-significantly. Supplementation of 1% GLE significantly suppressed the growth of E. coli, but its effect on the growth of other pathogenic bacteria was not significant. No negative effect of GLE supplementation on hemogram and biochemical blood parameters was observed. Supplementation of 1% GLE decreased malondialdehyde (MDA), total oxidative status (TOS), and oxidative stress index (OSI) values insignificantly, however, it supported the antioxidative defence mechanism and immune response at non-significant. The results obtained study show that 1% GLE supplementation can be effective in raising healthy calves by improving their immune level and antioxidant capacity.