Effects of feeding cooked plantain and sour curd to neonatal Murrah buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) calves suffering from diarrhoea

Forty (40) Murrah buffalo calves were observed for diarrhoea up to first 30 days of age; in addition to the routine treatment, calves were supplemented either cooked plantain (prebiotic) or curd (probiotic) or both in combination (synbiotic).The study also included a control group which received only routine treatment.Response to treatment within the first 12 hours was taken as an indicator of efficacy.Results indicated that recovery was highest in the calves receiving synbiotic with 72% cases recovering within 12 hours of feeding the combination.Recovery rate in calves receiving only cooked plantain pulp was 41%, while curd fed calves recovery was 35%, and 23% calves receiving routine treatment also recovered within first 12 hours.The current study results indicate that combination of cooked plantain and curd as synbiotic, in addition to the routine treatment had resulted in earlier recovery compared to all the other groups.