INTRODUCTION
Texas Tech University and The Virginia Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine conducted an experiment to investigate, among other things, the potential to enhance immune response in steers during feedlot finishing period by supplementing the basic diet with Tasco^®.

RESULTS
In the steers challenged with Phytohemagluttinin (PHA), an increase in specific cell immunity was observed in the group supplemented with Tasco^®. In the Tasco^® treated group there was both an increased immune response and longer duration of the increased immune stimulation compared to control treated animals.

CONCLUSION
The results obtained in the steers group fed Tasco^® strongly supported the hypothesis that Tasco^® increased immune responses in beef cattle.

These results have implications for feedlot finishing operations since stress of transportation, exposure to disease, mixing and environmental factors all result in costly losses due to morbidity and mortality. Improvement in immune function could aid in improving productivity and avoiding losses from disease and mortality.