Moringa oleifera as a concentrate replacer for enhancing immune status and ameliorating stress of Barbari goats during thermal stress

To evaluate the effect of replacing 50% of concentrate feed with Moringa oleifera on immune status and reducing levels of stress markers, ten healthy Barbari goats were selected and divided equally into two groups (control and treatment) based on average body weight (~200.2kg).Various environmental parameters were recorded to calculate the Temperature-Humidity Index (THI) during different seasons.Blood samples were collected to estimate stress biomarkers and immune parameters.Findings revealed that plasma cortisol levels were significantly lower (p<0.05) in the treatment group compared to the control group during all the season.Furthermore, plasma levels of triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4) were significantly higher (p<0.05) in the treatment group during winter than in the control group and during the hot dry season.Plasma catalase and leptin levels were also significantly higher (p<0.05) in the treatment group during the hot dry and winter season compared to the control group respectively.In terms of immune parameters, plasma interleukin-2 (IL 2) levels were significantly lower (p<0.05) in the treatment group than in the control group, while interleukin-10 (IL 10) levels showed an opposite trend.Overall, the results of the study indicate that replacing 50% of concentrate feed with Moringa oleifera is beneficial for alleviating the adverse effects of thermal stress and enhancing the immune status of Barbari goats.