Carbohydrates are the major source of energy in diets fed to dairy cattle and usually comprised 60 to 70 percent of the total diet. They provide energy for both rumen microbes and the host animal. Sugars, starch, and other reserve carbohydrates such as fructans make up the non-structural carbohydrate (NSC) fraction and are major sources of energy for high producing dairy cattle (NRC, 2001). The fermentation of different NSC sources varies in digestion characteristics and in the profiles of organic acids produced (Hall and Herejk, 2001). Cholesterol is a structural lipid that is not required in the diet, since ample amounts are synthesized in the body. This lipid is a required component of most cells of the body. Cholesterol has received a great deal of attention in the nutritional and biochemical communities because of its strange metabolism in certain regions of the body, for example, the arteries that supply oxygen and other nutrients to the heart muscle (Brody, 1999). The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of diets containing different type of NSC (sucrose or starch) on blood cholesterol and some hepatic enzymes namely serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT), serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase (SGPT), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) in Holstein steers.

Keywords