Seasonal effects of Searsia lancea, Celtis africana and concentrate supplementation on weight changes, serum and urine metabolites in South African Nguni goats

Abstract

<title>Abstract</title> The study evaluated the seasonal impact of <italic>Celtis africana</italic>, <italic>Searsia lancea</italic>, and concentrate supplementation on male Nguni goats’s health based on serum and urine metabolite concentrations. The goats received a basal diet of <italic>Eragrostis</italic> hay, supplemented with one of the following: i) <italic>S. lancea</italic>, ii) <italic>C. africana</italic>, iii) a 1:1 combination of <italic>S. lancea</italic> and <italic>C. africana</italic> (SL:CA), or iv) a control diet. The study involved twenty male goats weighing 15 ± 1.6 kg in a 2 x 4 (season x diet) factorial experimental design. There were season x diet interactions on urobilinogen (URO), urine bilirubin (UBIL), urine protein (UPRO), and urine calcium (UCAL). Urobilinogen and UBIL in goats fed the control diet were higher than those on <italic>C. africana</italic>, <italic>S. lancea</italic>, and SL:CA during the two seasons (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.05). In the wet season, goats reared on <italic>S. lancea</italic> had higher (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.05) UPRO than those on the SL:CA diet. Goats on <italic>C. africana</italic> had higher (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.05) serum gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) than those on control or SL:CA diet during the dry and wet seasons. There were significant (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.05) diet effects on goats’ serum GGT, albumin, alkaline phosphatase, urea nitrogen, creatinine, cholesterol, glucose, and inorganic phosphate across seasons. Urinalysis showed diet-related kidney dysfunction and imbalanced serum metabolites. It was concluded that <italic>C. africana</italic> and <italic>S. lancea</italic> supplementation negatively affected the renal and hepatic health of the goats and should be investigated further.