  The objective of the current study was to assess the effect of dietary
supplementations of mannan-oligosaccharide, live yeast, and a combination of
these two additives on growth performance, histo-morphology of the rumen, and
muscle morphometric attributes in buffalo calves. A total of twenty buffalo
calves (average weight of 25 kg) having 3 months of age were distributed
according to a complete randomized design. All animals were individually
stalled in the shed and were fed ad-libitum. Experimental animals were divided
into four groups for 67 days: Control group(without the inclusion of dietary
supplementation); MOS group (Mannan oligosaccharide 5 g/clave/day; Yeast group
(Live yeast 2g/calve/day) and Mixed group (MOS + Live Yeast 2.5g + 1g
)/calve/day. Experimental results revealed that combined supplementation of MOS
and Yeast and MOS alone resulted in an increased number of short-chain fatty
acids in the rumen as well as ruminal pH (P<0.05). Results showed a significant
improvement in average daily gain and FCR of MOS and Mixed supplemented groups
(P<0.05). Histomorphological evaluation of rumen mucosal epithelium showed a
significant improvement in the mixed-supplemented group (P<0.05) as compared to
the yeast-supplemented and control groups. Muscle quality parameters such as
meat texture showed significant improvement in MOS and mix-supplemented groups.
Histological examination of longissimus dorsi muscle cross-section showed a
significantly higher(P<0.05) muscle fiber and muscle fascicle diameter in both
MOS and mix-supplemented calves groups. In conclusion, the results of this
experiment revealed that the dietary addition of MOS, Live yeast, and their
combination have positive effects on growth performance, rumen histology
indices, and muscle morphometric features in buffalo calves.
