In a previous study, we showed that access to willow fodder decreased somatic cell counts (SCC) in the milk of local Mamber goats grazing in brushland at the end of lactation. To test whether the consumption of willow affects the cells of the immune system, Alpine crossbred dairy goats grazing in the same environment were either offered free access to freshly cut willow fodder (W, n = 24) or not (C, n = 24) for 2 weeks. The willow fodder contained 7.5 g/kg DM of salicin. The other major secondary compounds were catechin, myricitrin, hyperin and chlorogenic acid (2.2, 2.6, 1.0 and 0.75 g/kg DM, respectively). Udder health status was determined before the experiment, and each of the two groups included five (W) or six (C) goats defined as infected, as established by microbial cfu in milk, and 19 (W) or 18 (C) non-infected goats. Goats ingested, on average, 600 g of DM from willow (25% of food intake), resulting in minor changes in dietary quality compared to the controls, as established by faecal near-IR spectrometry. Throughout the 2 weeks of experiment, differences between groups in dietary CP contents were minor and affected neither by infection nor by access to willow; the dietary percentage of neutral detergent fibre (NDF) decreased in C and increased in W; dietary acid detergent fibre (ADF) increased; and the dietary tannin contents decreased for both treatments. However, milking performance and milk quality attributes in both W and C goats were similar. Initial SCC and milk neutrophil (cluster of differentiation (CD)18+ and porcine granulocyte (PG)68) cell counts were higher in infected than in non-infected goats; counts decreased significantly in W but not in C uninfected goats. The percentage of CD8+ T-cells increased in all C goats, while in the W group, a significant increase was found only for infected goats. The consumption of willow mitigated an increase in CD8+ in blood and triggered an increase in CD8+ in milk, suggesting an immune-regulatory effect independent of udder status. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a direct nutraceutical effect of fodder ingestion on the immune status of goats.

在先前的研究中，我们表明，在哺乳期结束时，进入灌木丛中放牧的本地Mamber山羊的牛奶中，接触柳树的饲料减少了体细胞计数（SCC）。为了测试柳树的摄入量是否会影响免疫系统的细胞，在相同环境下放牧的高山杂交奶山羊可以免费获得新鲜切制的柳树饲料（W，n = 24）（C，n= 24）2周。柳树饲料中含有7.5 g / kg DM水杨素。其他主要的次要化合物是儿茶素，杨梅素，金丝桃素和绿原酸（分别为2.2、2.6、1.0和0.75 g / kg DM）。在实验前确定乳房健康状况，两组中的每组都包括通过牛奶中的微生物cfu确定为感染的五只（W）或六只（C）山羊，以及19（W）或18（C）个非山羊被感染的山羊。山羊平均从柳树中摄取了600克DM（占食物摄入量的25％），与粪便近红外光谱法确定的对照组相比，其饮食质量发生了细微变化。在整个2周的实验中，各组之间饮食中CP含量的差异很小，并且既不受感染也不受柳树的影响。中性洗涤剂纤维的饮食百分比（NDF）在C中减少而在W中增加；膳食酸洗涤剂纤维（ADF）增加；两种处理的日粮中单宁含量均下降。但是，W和C山羊的挤奶性能和牛奶品质属性相似。受感染的山羊的初始SCC和乳中性粒细胞（分化簇（CD）18 +和猪粒细胞（PG）68）的细胞计数高于未感染的山羊；W未感染的山羊中W的数量显着下降，而C没有下降。在所有C山羊中，CD8 + T细胞的百分比均增加，而在W组中，仅受感染的山羊才发现显着增加。柳树的消耗减轻了CD8 +的增加会导致血液中的CD8 +增加，提示免疫调节作用与乳房状态无关。据我们所知，这是首次发现饲料对山羊免疫状态的营养保健作用。