This study aimed to investigate the effect of supplementing Isochrysis galbana (I. galbana) at levels of 0 (control), 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 (g/100 g DM) of the diet on the gas production kinetics, methane production, rumen fermentation parameters, and relative microbial population in vitro. Supplementation of I. galbana at high level (5 g/100 g DM) caused a significant decrease in total gas production (p < 0.05). High supplementation rates (4 and 5 g/100 g DM) decreased CH4 production relative to the control by 18.4% and 23.2%, respectively. Although rumen ammonia nitrogen (N-NH3) and total volatile fatty acids (VFA) concentrations were affected by dietary treatments, but the VFA profile did not changed. The relative proportion of protozoa and methanogenic archaea as well as Anaerovibrio lipolytica, Prevotella spp., Ruminococcus flavefaciens, and Fibrobacter succinogenes were decreased significantly as a result of microalgae supplementation. However, the relative abundance of Ruminococcus albus, Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens and Selenomonas ruminantium were significantly increased (p < 0.05), related to the control group. As well, the pH was not affected by dietary treatments. It was concluded that I. galbana reduced in vitro CH4 production and methanogenic archaea that its worth to be investigated further in in vivo studies.
Dietary Supplements , Haptophyta , Animals , Dietary Supplements/analysis , Rumen/metabolism , Fermentation , Diet , Fatty Acids, Volatile/metabolism , Archaea , Methane/metabolism , Animal Feed/analysis , Digestion
This study was conducted to determine the chemical composition and nutritive value of sunflower residues silage (SRS) and effects of its substitution with alfalfa hay and corn silage on lactation performance, feed intake, nutrient digestibility and some blood parameters of Mohabadi dairy goats. Four experimental diets were formulated to gradually replace alfalfa hay and corn silage with SRS as follows: Control (no inclusion of SRS, group 1) and groups 2 to 4, representing 15, 30 and 45.00% replacement of common forages in the diet with SRS, respectively. Sixteen multiparous dairy goats weighing 60.00 ± 3.00 were divided into two 4 × 4 latin square design. Ensiling was being able to increase crude protein content, reduce neutral detergent fiber and increase acid detergent lignin in sunflower residues. Daily dry matter (DM) intake and DM and organic matter (OM) digestibility decreased with increasing levels of SRS in the diet. The highest and the lowest digestibility coefficients belonged to 30 and 45.00% embedment levels, respectively. Milk yield decreased with increasing levels of SRS and differences were statistically significant compared to the highest substitution level. Milk composition was similar among diets, but daily production of milk decreased in higher substation levels. Statistically significant differences were found in serum low-density lipoproteins (LDL) concentrations between treatments and LDL levels decreased as dietary levels of SRS increased. According to these results, SRS is an acceptable feed for dairy goats and common dietary forages can be replaced up to 30.00% with SRS without negative effects on milk yield and composition.
Whole soybeans serve as one of the main sources of protein in ruminant nutrition. Different processing methods have been employed for ruminal protein protection. The present study was conducted to determine the effects of microwave irradiation [900 W; 2, 4 and 6 min] on quality, ruminal degradability and estimated in vitro intestinal digestibility of availability soybean crude protein. This experiment was performed in a completely randomized design with seven treatments including control (no processing), along with 2, 4 and 6 min of microwave irradiation on whole and ground soybeans. Protein and carbohydrate fractions were determined according to Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System (CNCPS). Triplicates of the samples were incubated in the rumen of three cannulated Holstein steers for up to 48 hr. Microwave irradiation increased neutral detergent insoluble nitrogen, metabolizable protein content and resulted in a lower effective rumen degradability and in vitro gas production. Nevertheless, longer processing time led to higher unavailable protein and carbohydrate fractions. In the main, microwave irradiation of ground samples for 4 min increased metabolizable protein content, without negative effects on protein and carbohydrate availability.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the feeding of Qizil fattening lambs with different levels of broiler litter (BL) on their weight gain, dry matter intake (DMI), nutrient digestibility, selected blood metabolites and husbandry economics. During an eight-weeks experimental period, 28 male lambs (an average of 42.21 ± 5.63 kg and ages of 7-8 months) were allocated randomly to one of four dietary treatments, including; control diet with no litter (NL, n = 7), diet containing 5% BL (LL, n = 7), diet with 10% BL (ML, n = 7) and diet containing 15.00% BL (HL, n = 7) as dry matter (DM) basis. The lambs were kept in individual pens and had free access to feed and water (ad libitum) throughout the study. In this research, DMI and feed conversion ratio were not influenced significantly by the dietary treatments, while average daily gain (ADG) was found to be significant. The lambs which consumed LL diet (5.00% BL) had the greatest ADG. The DM digestibility significantly influenced by dietary treatments, as the HL diet (15.00% BL) had the least DM digestibility. There were also significant differences in the crude protein and acid detergent fiber digestibility among the treatments. Blood urea nitrogen and glucose levels were significantly affected by the treatments. Low litter treatment had the least FCR and the highest economical advantage. In conclusion, feeding male Qizil lambs with BL can reduce production cost without any negative effects on performance.
Indigestible neutral detergent fibers (iNDF) accurately predict forage digestibility when measured in situ. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of rumen incubation times on the estimated concentrations of iNDF for four forages (alfalfa hay, corn silage, wheat straw and orchard grass), four concentrates (barley grain, soybean meal, beet pulp and wheat bran) and two total mixed ration samples in dairy cows. The iNDF contents of the samples were evaluated in 10 feeds using three ruminally cannulated Holstein cows in a completely randomized design. Five grams of the samples were incubated up to 240 hr. The iNDF fraction was significantly affected by incubation time for all of the tested samples, but the potentially digestible NDF fraction (pdNDF) was not affected for wheat straw, barley grain and wheat bran (32.32, 10.11 and 20.60 g per 100 g of dry matter, respectively). For most of concentrates feedstuffs, the iNDF fraction could be measured after 120 hr of incubation, while for forages ruminal incubation should be lasted up to 240 hr. Statistically significant differences (p < 0.01) were observed between forage samples regarding fragility and NDF digestibility (NDFD). Also, a positive correlation was observed between fragility and NDFD. In some of the cases, it appears that NDFD can be a more helpful index in adjusting pdNDF values than direct fragility measurements.
To evaluate the effects of garlic on some blood metabolites in pre-partum dairy goats, the ration was supplemented with raw garlic at the doses of 0, 30, 50 and 70 g kg(-1) of Dry matter (DM) in eight pregnant Mahabadi breed goats (59 ± 1 kg initial live weight) in a replicated Latin square design during the last two months of pregnancy. Each experimental period lasted 14 days with the first 12 days used for diet adaptation and two days of data collection with a 3-days wash-out period between treatments. The results revealed a beneficial increasing effect of garlic (at the level of 70 g kg(-1) of DM) on serum glucose concentration (p < 0.05). No effects of garlic supplementation on blood non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA), ß-hydroxybutyrate (BHB), total triglycerides, total protein, and albumin concentration were observed, except for serum cholesterol concentration, which was reduced (p < 0.05) with 70 g kg(-1) of DM of garlic supplementation. Dry matter intake was the same between the different treatment groups and throughout the trial period. Concerning the blood indicators of negative energy balance, no significant effects were found for NEFA and BHB in pre-partum goats however, serum glucose was improved significantly, which showed that garlic supplementation may improve the efficiency of feed utilization. In conclusion, garlic, as feed additives in ruminant nutrition, holds promise for improving feed efficiency and controlling the negative energy balance.
The effect of inclusion of garlic essential oil (EO) at 33, 66 and 100 µg mL(-1), raw garlic (GAR) at 5, 10 and 15 mg mL(-1) and monensin (MON) at 7.5 µg mL(-1) of incubation medium on organic matter digestibility (OMD) was studied with in vitro gas production, ANKOM daisy(II) and conventional in vitro (IVOMD) methods. The material was incubated with sheep ruminal fluid and the experimental design was a completely randomized design. Cumulative gas production was recorded at 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 24, 36, 48, 72 and 96 hours of incubation. Conventional in vitro OMD was determined after 48 hours incubation in acid and pepsin solutions. Samples for Daisy(II) OMD prepared according to the operating instructions supplied by ANKOM(®) Tech. Co., Fairport, USA. Compared to in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD), Daisy(II) and gas production techniques overestimated (P < 0.05) OMD. The addition of EO and MON reduced (P < 0.05) the organic matter (OM), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid-detergent fiber (ADF) digestion, and gas production volume. The potential of gas production and rate of gas production for EO and MON were the lowest; however, these variables were higher for GAR supplemented groups. It was concluded that raw garlic could be of great interest for its usage as a modulator of ruminal fermentation.
