Effect of Echinacea purpurea extract on immunological, biochemical and reproductive performance of male Egyptian buffaloes

The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of Echinacea purpurea extract (EPE) supplementation on immunological and biochemical aspects, as well as the reproductive performance of male Egyptian buffaloes. Ten adult male buffalo weighed 300-340 +/- 5.25 kg and aged 2-3 years were divided into two comparable groups (5 each). The 1st group received a basal diet and was given two pellet/ head/d by dosing gun orally and served as a control. While the 2nd group received the basal diet and were given 1 g of EPE in the form of capsules (2 capsules / head /d) by dosing gun orally. Each capsule of the immulant contains 500 mg of dry EPE. Blood and semen samples were collected biweekly from all animals before morning feeding during the experimental period. The post-thaw quality of buffalo semen was done for the assessment of motility, viability and intact acrosome of spermatozoa. The current results declared that treated buffaloes with EPE showed a performance improvement, whereas live body weight showed a significantly higher value than that of the control group. Serum immunoglobulins (IgG & IgM) concentrations were highly significantly (P<0.01) affected by EPE supplementation in the treated group than in the untreated one. Pro-inflammatory cytokines and all acute-phase proteins studied were significant (P< 0.05) reduced in the supplemented group compared to the non-supplemented group in all experimental months. In association with that, there was a significant increase in hematological parameters, including RBCs, Hb, Ht, and neutrophils, by EPE treatment. While leucocyte count and most of its fractions showed significantly (P< 0.05) higher values in the untreated group compared to the treated one. Analysis of blood serum constituents revealed that the treated group had greater concentrations of total protein, glucose, triiodothyronine, thyroxin, and testosterone levels. No significant variations (P> 0.05) were noted in AST and creatinine between groups, but a significantly lower ALT was observed in the treated group than that was found in the control group. Malondialdehyde level decreased and antioxidant biomarkers improved significantly (P< 0.01) with EPE treatment. Testicular parameters, libido, and most physical semen properties were enhanced significantly (P< 0.01) by the beneficial effect of EPE supplementation. Higher conception rate of buffaloes artificially inseminated with thawed-semen produced from animals treated with EPE.