Increasing milk production and milk chemical composition in dairy cows by a supplementation of Moringa oleifera leaf (mol) powder block

Abstract

Lower milk productivity of dairy cows might be correlated with the low milkconsumption in Indonesia. This problem might be adversely affected by low quality and quantity of food intake. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the milk production of dairy cows supplemented with "Moringa oleifera leaf (MOL) powder block". There were 20 suckling Friesh Holland dairy cows used in this study. All animals were fed with roughage of natural elephant grasses and rice bran. They were divided into two groups of treatments. The first group supplemented with MOL powder block 500 g/head/day for 21 days and the second group has remained without a supplementation. Hand milking was performed twice a day. Daily milk production and milk concentrations of fat, protein, lactose, calcium and phosphorus were recorded. The data were compared, between the two treatments by using student's t-test. The supplementation of MOL powder block significantly (p<0.05) increased milk production compared to that without supplementation (14.25 vs 11.51 litre/head/day). Protein in milk was significantly (p<0.05) higher in the treated group in compared to that in control group (3.89 vs 3.43 %, respectively). This study concluded that milk production and protein concentration in milk could be increased by supplementation of MOL powder block.