Abstract Goat and sheep production is essential for global food security and is predominantly managed under extensive systems. In such systems, animals often face recurring challenges such as poor nutrition and gastrointestinal parasite burdens, both of which limit nutrient and energy availability. The interaction between inadequate nutrition and compromised health reduces reproductive efficiency and imposes strong genetic pressure on survival. Bee pollen, a nutrient-dense supplement (rich in proteins, lipids, sterols, vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, and bioactive compounds), has been proposed as a dietary strategy to improve energy metabolism, particularly in environments with scarce resources or variable environmental conditions. Short-chain fatty acids (SCFA; acetate, propionate, butyrate, valerate, and hexanoate) are central metabolites of microbial fermentation and play a key role in ruminant energy homeostasis. This study evaluated the effects of bee pollen supplementation on plasma SCFA concentrations in crossbred Boer × Spanish goats maintained on a maintenance diet. Crossbred does (n = 30) were randomly allocated into two treatments: (1) bee pollen supplementation (T-BP; n = 15) or (2) control (T-CTL; n = 15). Goats were stratified by live weight and housed in one pen per treatment. The T-BP group received 10 g/d of bee pollen, administered individually in a milking parlor to ensure accurate intake, along with 50 g/d/hd of concentrate (12% CP; 2.96 MJ/kg; Producer’s Pride®). The T-CTL group received the same concentration without bee pollen. Both groups were offered a maintenance diet (8.3% CP; 2.03 Kcal/kg ME) with limited physical activity. Blood samples were collected at baseline (D -8), during the experiment (Days 13 and 24), and at the end of the trial (D 55). Plasma was isolated by centrifugation and analyzed for SCFA concentrations. Individual animals were considered experimental units, and data were analyzed using mixed models with repeated measures. Bee pollen supplementation did not significantly affect plasma SCFA concentrations (mean ± SEM, mmol/L) compared with controls: acetate (22.5 ± 2.45 vs. 20.6 ± 1.86), propionate (0.58 ± 0.06 vs. 0.48 ± 0.09), butyrate (0.38 ± 0.07 vs. 0.38 ± 0.06), valerate (0.02 ± 0.002 vs. 0.02 ± 0.002), and hexanoate (0.05 ± 0.01 vs. 0.09 ± 0.01) (P 0.05). In conclusion, daily supplementation with 10 g of bee pollen did not affect plasma SCFA profiles in crossbred goats on a maintenance diet, indicating no detectable effect on energy metabolism. As SCFAs reflect only part of metabolic regulation, future studies using metabolomics, varied doses, and longer supplementation periods may better define bee pollen’s impact.
Bianca V Trochez Vargas (Wed,) studied this question.