Antioxidant status of dairy goats fed diets containing pomegranate seed oil or linseed oil

Twenty-four Mahabadi goats (DIM = 45 +/- 6 d, BW = 38.4 +/- 3.8 kg, average daily milk yield = 1.05 +/- 0.14 kg) were used in a completely randomized design experiment for 42 days to evaluate the effects of pomegranate seed oil and linseed oil on their performance, blood metabolites and antioxidant status. Experimental diets were: 1- control diet (basal diet without added oil, COND), 2- basal diet with 25 g/kg DM pomegranate seed oil (PSOD) and 3- basal diet with 25 g/kg DM linseed oil (LSOD). Dry matter intake (DMI), milk yield, milk protein, milk lactose, ADG and production efficiency in dietary treatments were similar in different groups (P > 0.05), but milk fat increased by addition of linseed and pomegranate seed oils to diet (P < 0.05). Blood metabolites (glucose, total cholesterol, triglyceride, LDH and LDL) were not affected by dietary treatments (P > 0.05). Relative to the COND, PSOD increased total antioxidant capacity (TAC), whereas LSOD decreased TAC of milk and blood (P < 0.05). In contrast, compared with the COND, milk and blood malondialdehyde (MDA) content decreased in goats fed PSOD, whereas LSOD increased MDA content of milk and plasma (P < 0.001). Also, milk somatic cell count decreased with PSOD compared with COND and LSOD (P = 0.001). The highest level of milk total polyphenols was found in goats fed PSOD (P < 0.0001). Results suggest that it is possible to improve antioxidant status and milk fat of dairy goats by feeding pomegranate seed oil (25 g/kg DM) as a natural antioxidants.