Dietary supplementation of saffron petal elicits positive effects on performance, antioxidant status, and health of dairy goats

This experiment aimed to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation of saffron petal (SP) on lactation performance, nutrients digestibility, and antioxidant status of dairy goats. Eighteen multiparous Saanen goats were randomly divided into three groups and fed with one of experimental diets containing 0 (control), 1.5, and 3 percent of SP (DM basis). Dry matter intake (DMI) and milk yield were recorded daily. The individual blood samples were collected on days 0, 21, 42 and antioxidant capacity was measured in blood. The milk samples were collected on weeks 1, 3 and 6 of the trial and analyzed for antioxidant status. DMI, body weight (BW) and nutrients digestibility were similar following SP ingestion. Compared with control, supplementation with 3% SP increased milk production (P ≤ 0.05). Of all milk components, only the protein content was increased (P ≤ 0.05) in goats receiving 3% SP diet. Plasma glucose and cholesterol decreased (P ≤ 0.05) in goats fed 3% SP. The plasma malondialdehyde (MDA) was depressed and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) was enhanced in both plasma and milk of goats fed 3% SP. Likewise, the activity of glutathione peroxides (GPx) was enhanced (P ≤ 0.05) with 3% SP supplementation, however, no differences were observed for the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) in the blood. Overall, the findings implied that SP supplementation (up to 3% DM of diet) for lactating goats increased milk yield and improved the antioxidant status of blood and milk without deleterious effects on DMI and nutrients digestibility.