TY  - JOUR
AU  - Yang, Weiren 
AU  - Wang, Ping 
AU  - Jing, Yuanqiang 
AU  - Yang, Zaibin 
AU  - Zhang, Chongyu 
AU  - Jiang, Shuzhen 
AU  - Zhang, Guiguo 
PY  - 2010
TI  - Effects of Vitamin A on Growth Performance, Antioxidant Status and Blood Constituents in Lactating Grey Goat
JF  - American Journal of Animal and Veterinary Sciences
VL  - 5
IS  - 4
DO  - 10.3844/ajavsp.2010.274.281
UR  - https://thescipub.com/abstract/ajavsp.2010.274.281
AB  - Problem statement: It is regarded that vitamin A protects cells from damage by radicals which are believed to contribute to certain chronic diseases and regulates immune function of animals by protection of mucosal epithelium acting as the first defense barrier. All these properties of vitamin A may be attributable to its antioxidant activity. This study was to evaluate the effects of different levels of vitamin A on growth performance, antioxidant status and blood constituents of lactating ewes. Approach: Thirty-two multiparous lactating ewes of Grey goat (BW = 35.1 ± 1.1 kg) were divided into four groups of eight with four different supplementing levels of vitamin A (0, 2000, 3000 and 5000 IU kg−1 DM). Ewes were fed in individual lot at ad libitum intake and had free access to water. Average daily feed intake and average milk yield of ewes were measured weekly. Blood was obtained every 14 days to evaluate activities of antioxidant enzymes, blood constituents and vitamin A levels in serum. Results: In general, feed intake, milk yield and feed efficiency were not affected by vitamin A supplementation. However, supplementation of vitamin A increased (p