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It has been shown that addition of fennel in the diets of domestic animals has positive and beneficial effects on growth and meat production traits. Thus, the purpose of current study was to investigate the effect of adding fennel in the ration on growth characteristics and on insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) gene expression in muscle tissue of Kermani lamb. Feeding of animals were performed with three levels of fennel including zero, 10 and 20 g/kg dry matter (DM) for 90 days. After slaughter, small pieces of tissues were removed and rapidly transferred to a nitrogen tank. Then, total RNA extracting and the Real-Time PCR reaction was performed. Results showed that as the level of fennel in the diet increases the amount of IGF1 gene expression also increases significantly in humeral muscle and femur (leg) muscle tissues (p < 0.05). In animals fed with fennel, femur muscle weight, back muscle weight, lean meat weight, final weight, warm carcass weight and live daily gain were greater than in animals fed with diet without fennel (p < 0.05). According to the findings of this investigation, it can be concluded that fennel, by creating positive effects on IGF1 gene expression can be used to improve muscle structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and objectives: Today, medicinal plants and phytobiotics that contain flavonoids, alkaloids, and essential oils are widely used in animal feed. These additives have many benefits, including increasing liver function and preventing certain diseases. The liver is one of the organs that plays a key role in insulin-mediated regulation of metabolism as well as in glucose, whole-body, and lipid homeostasis. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) seed powder consumption on insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) gene expression in the liver tissue of growing lambs. Methods: Three groups (including 0, 10, and 20 g/kg dry matter of fennel) of animals, with 10 animals in each group, were studied. The Pfaffl method was applied to assess the real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) output. Results: Mixing fennel into the feed of lambs increased the weights of their testis and gallbladder and decreased the weight of their liver in comparison to feed without fennel. It was also found that by increasing the fennel level in the feed, the expression level of IGF1 in the liver increased significantly (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Fennel had a useful effect on the expression of IGF1 in the liver tissue of sheep and may be applied to their diet to attain better liver function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• First investigation of the effect of fennel on DLK1 gene expression in Kermani lambs. • The fennel increases DLK1 gene expression in the femur muscle and in the rumen muscle. • Maximum gene expression rate was related to 2 % fennel in comparison to 0% in all studied tissues. • Fennel can be used for increasing DLK1 gene expression in some tissues. DLK1 (protein delta homolog 1) plays an important role in production of adipocytes, muscle development, wound healing, pancreas, liver and lung cells development and also in the development of meat quality, digestion and growth performance. Therefore, the goal of this research was to investigate the effects of different levels of fennel seed power in the diet on growth performance and on DLK1 gene expression in brain, adipose, femur (leg) muscle and rumen muscle tissues of Kermani lambs. Dietary treatments including different levels of fennel seed powder (0, 1 and 2 % of diet DM) were fed to 3 groups of lambs (each group contained 10 animals) for three months. Some physiological parameters relating to muscle and adipose development were measured. Tissues including brain, adipose tissue, femur (leg) muscle and rumen muscle were collected for expression analysis of the DLK1 gene. In this study, increasing the level of fennel seed powder in diets of lambs, increased the amount of DLK1 gene expression in the femur muscle and rumen tissues. Feeding 2 % fennel in comparison to the control diet (0 %) resulted in a significant difference in the amount of DLK1 gene expression in the femur (leg) muscle and in the rumen muscle (P < 0.05). Maximum gene expression rate was observed in all studied tissues of lambs fed diets with 2 % fennel in comparison to 0%. On the other hand, final weight, live daily gain, dry matter intake, warm carcass weight, weight of back muscle (loin), weight of femur (leg) muscle, weight of lean meat and eye muscle area were higher for animals fed with 2 % fennel than those fed control diet, but weight of liver was lower in animals fed with 2 % fennel than those fed control diet. In regards to the results of this investigation, it can be concluded that fennel can be used for increasing DLK1 gene expression in some tissues, like muscle, and consequently for increasing animal growth and muscle mass, which is important in the sheep industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]