Digestion, growth performance and caecal fermentation in growing rabbits fed diets containing foliage of browse trees

[EN] This study aimed to evaluate the effect of feeding dried foliage (leaves and petioles) of Acacia saligna, Leucaena leucocephala or Moringa oleifera on the performance, digestibility, N utilisation, caecal fermentation and microbial profiles in New Zealand White (NZW) rabbits. One hundred weaned male NZW rabbits weighing 819.2±16.6 g and aged 35±1 d were randomly allocated into 4 groups of 25 rabbits each. Rabbits were fed on pelleted diets containing 70% concentrate mixture and 30% Egyptian berseem (Trifolium alexandrinum) hay (Control diet) or one of the other 3 experimental diets, where 50% of berseem hay was replaced with A. saligna (AS), L. leucocephala (LL) or M. oleifera (MO). Compared to Control diet, decreases in dry matter (DM; P=0.004), organic matter (P=0.028), crude protein (CP; P=0.001), neutral detergent fibre (P=0.033) and acid detergent fibre (P=0.011) digestibility were observed with the AS diet. However, DM and CP digestibility were increased by 3% with the MO diet, and N utilisation was decreased (P<0.05) with AS. Rabbits fed AS and LL diets showed decreased (P=0.001) average daily gain by 39 and 7%, respectively vs. Control. Feed conversion was similar in Control and MO rabbits, whereas rabbits fed AS diet ate up to 45% more feed (P=0.002) than Control rabbits to gain one kg of body weight. Caecal ammonia-N was increased (P=0.002) with LL, while acetic acid was decreased (P=0.001) with AS diet vs. other treatments. Caecal E. coli and Lactobacillus spp. bacteria counts were decreased with MO by about 44 and 51%, respectively, vs. Control. In conclusion, under the study conditions, tree foliage from M. oleifera and L. leucocephala are suitable fibrous ingredients to be included up to 150 g/kg in the diets of growing rabbits, and can safely replace 50% of berseem hay in diets of NZW rabbits without any adverse effect on their growth performance. Foliage from M. oleifera had a better potential as a feed for rabbits than that from L. leucocephala. Although foliage from A. saliga may be also used at 150 g/kg in the diets of growing rabbits, this level of inclusion may result in reduced feed digestibility and growth performance.Abu Hafsa, S.; Salem, A.; Hassan, A.; Kholif, A.; Elghandour, M.; Barbabosa, A.; Lopez, S. (2016). Digestion, growth performance and caecal fermentation in growing rabbits fed diets containing foliage of browse trees. World Rabbit Science. 24(4):283-293. doi:10.4995/wrs.2016.4359.SWORD28329324

Anaerobic ensiling of raw agricultural waste with a fibrolytic enzyme cocktail as a cleaner and sustainable biological product

The increasing expansion of agricultural activities have resulted in an unending production of agricultural waste which constitutes environmental nuisance, if not properly disposed. In most developing countries, this waste is burnt causing environmental problems and health challenges. The utilization of biodegraded ensiled agricultural waste, as an energy source, in livestock nutrition is proposed as a viable solution of reducing pollution. Agricultural waste such as straws is carbohydrate-rich materials that have a large potential as a dietary energy source for ruminants. This study aimed to determine the effect of anaerobic ensiling of raw agricultural waste with a fibrolytic enzyme cocktail as a cleaner and sustainable biological product for animal feed. Ten samples of 1 kg each of wheat straw, corn stalks and sugarcane bagasse were ensiled with enzyme cocktail at 0, 1 or 3 mL/kg dry matter of feed. Before ensiling, feed samples were chopped at 5 cm and moistened to a relative humidity of approximately 50% and then kept for 30 d in plastic bales. Feed type enzyme level interactions were observed (P < 0.01) for nutrient contents and fermentation kinetics. Increasing the level of enzyme cocktail increased (P < 0.01) crude protein and ether extract contents but decreased organic matter and non-structural carbohydrates contents of the three feeds. The enzyme cocktail also decreased (P < 0.01) neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber, cellulose and hemicellulose contents of corn stalks and sugarcane bagasse. The high level of the enzyme cocktail increased (P < 0.05) methane production from corn stalks but decreased it from sugarcane bagasse. Fermentation parameters response to ensiling differed among the ensiled feeds. It can be concluded that anaerobic fermentation of enzyme-treated agricultural waste and feeding it to livestock is one of the viable ways of utilizing this waste which otherwise could have constituted nuisance and pollution to the environment, if incinerated or improperly disposed

Sustainable anaerobic rumen methane and carbon dioxide productions from prickly pear cactus flour by organic acid salts addition

Worldwide, agricultural byproducts produced during different agricultural practices are nutrients-rich feed ingredients with a large potential to be used for ruminants nutrition (Ahmed et al., 2015; Elghandour et al., 2016a); however, in many developing countries, agriculture byproducts always cause environmental problems resulting from their burning in the field. Such feeds can be used as a cleaner product of animal feed and environment (Elghandour et al., 2016b). Moreover, as the global population is increasing, the conventional feed for animal production, such as grains, legumes, etc. is in shortage and highly priced in many parts of the world.Ruminal fermentation is accompanied by production of methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) which are greenhouses making the Earth warmer. Therefore, the sustainable production of CH4 and CO2 as well as fermentation kinetics when corn grain (CG) was replaced with prickly pear cactus flour (PC) was investigated. Besides, the effect of different levels of organic acid salts (OAS) was studied. Three total mixed rations used as substrates were prepared where CG was replaced with PC at three levels (/kg): 0 g (Control), 75 g (PC75) or 150 g (PC150). The OAS was used at three levels: 0, 5 and 10 mg/g dry matter (DM) of substrates. Asymptotic gas (GP), CH4, and CO2 productions as well as lag time had linear responses (P < 0.05) as PC level increased in the ration. Fractional rate of GP (P ¼ 0.007), GP, organic matter degradability, short chain fatty acid, and microbial biomass production (P < 0.001) were increased with increasing level of PC. Fermentation pH (P < 0.001), and DM degradability (P ¼ 0.0448) were linearly decreased as the PC level increased in the rations. Ration OAS interaction did not affect fermentation kinetics, GP, CH4 production and fermentation parameters. Prickly pear cactus flour at 150 g/kg DM inclusion level in ruminant ration has the potential to replace 60% of corn grain with enhanced fermentation and biodegradation efficiency in vitro; however, it increased CH4 production, which cannot be an environmental friendly way of feeding livestock

Influence of Exogenous Enzymes on In Vitro Ruminal Degradation of Ensiled Rice Straw with DDGS

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of exogenous enzymes (ENZ) on nutrient profile and ruminal degradability of rice straw (RS), distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) and their mixture (RS with 10% DDGS). Ten samples of each fibrous feed were mixed with ZAD® (mixture of cellulases, xylanaxes, proteases and alpha amylase). ENZ was added at 0, 1 and 3 L to one ton of the fibrous feeds and the mixture was ensiled for 30 days. Feed samples were incubated for 72 h in rumen liquor of sheep to determine the degradability of DM, NDF and ADF. Pretreatment of feeds and their mixture (RS and DDGS) with ENZ at 3 L were increased (P<0.01) the degradation of NDF and ADF. Degradation fractions (a, b, (a+b) and c) of feeds were improved (P<0.01) at 3 L of ENZ, except the c of NDF and ADF of RS which were not affected by ENZ treatment. The results suggested a strong potential in improving digestion of RS and DDGS as well as their mixture with the pretreatment with ENZ. The dose of 3 L/ton of fibrous product improved the DM, NDF and ADF degradability

Influence of Exogenous Enzymes on In Vitro Gas Production Kinetics and Dry Matter Degradability of a High Concentrate Diet

This study was conducted to evaluate the influence of an exogenous enzyme mixture on in vitro gas production (GP), in vitro dry matter degradability (DMD), metabolizable energy (ME) and short chain fatty acid (SCFA) production in growing lambs fed a high concentrate diet. ZADO® (ENZ) is a powdered, commercially available multi-enzyme feed additive produced from Ruminococcus flavefaciens. Four levels of ENZ (i.e., 0, 5, 10 and 20 mg/g DM; or EO, E5, E10 and E20, respectively) were applied directly to the substrate inside the incubation bottles before addition of buffer medium and rumen fluid, and the treatments were assayed in triplicate runs. Addition of ENZ linearly increased (P<0.05) GP at 6 and 96 h of incubation and tended (P=0.08) to linearly increase GP at 12, 48 and 72 h of incubation. Asymptotic GP was increased linearly (P=0.05) as the level of ENZ increased and the lag time decreased linearly (P=0.003). Concurrently, DMD increased linearly (P<0.001) as the level of ENZ increased, but level of ENZ had no effect on SCFA and ME. Finally, level of ENZ had no influence on rate of gas production. Results suggest that this enzyme preparation has potential to improve efficiency of utilization of high concentrate diets fed to growing lambs

Effects of Schizochytrium microalgae and sunflower oil as sources of unsaturated fatty acids for the sustainable mitigation of ruminal biogases methane and carbon dioxide

Biogases produced during ruminant production needs to be reduced. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimated CH4 production from livestock to contribute about 18% of all greenhouse gas emissions, while carbon dioxide (CO2) accounted for about 9% of the emission (FAO, 2006). Besides, these gases including CH4, CO2, and H2 are produced during ruminal fermentation and cause losses amounting to 2e12% of dietary energy in ruminants (Johnson and Johnson, 1995). Furthermore, these emissions have been implicated in causing climate change. Yeast, organic acids salt, exogenous enzymes, and essential oils have been used as new strategies to mitigate the production of ruminal methane from ruminants (Elghandour et al., 2016, 2017; Hernandez et al., 2017).Mitigation of methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions as well as ruminal fermentation parameters of a total mixed ration in the presence of Schizochytrium microalgae (SA) and sunflower oil (SO) or their mixture (SASO) as unsaturated fatty acid sources was investigated. Rumen liquor from two rumen cannulated Holstein steers and two rumen cannulated Creole goats was used as inoculum. Interactions between inoculum source additive type, and inoculum source additive type dose were observed for gas, CH4 and CO2 production and fermentation parameters. Additives affected the fermentation parameters in a dose-dependent manner. With goats’ inoculum, the inclusion of SO (1, 2, 4, 5%), SA (2, 3, 5%) and SASO (1, 3%) increased gas production (GP) and decreased the rate of GP, while with the steer inoculum, SO at 1 and 4% increased GP and the rate of GP. All levels of SA and SASO decreased the asymptotic GP and increased the rate of GP. The goat inoculum decreased CH4 at different doses of SO, SA and SASO whereas the steer inoculum decreased CH4 production. At all doses, additives decreased fermentation pH, protozoal counts, and increased ammonia-N, DM degradability and total bacterial counts. Sunflower oil (i.e., SO) at 1e3%, SA at 1e2%, and SASO at 1e2% were the most efficacious in the nutrition of goats, compared with SO at 1 to 2 in steers. The results suggest that Schizochytrium microalgae and sunflower oil could be a valuable means of sustainably mitigating CH4 and CO2 emissions for improved environmental conditions

Influence of Trichoderma reesei or Saccharomyces cerevisiae on performance, ruminal fermentation, carcass characteristics and blood biochemistry of lambs fed Atriplex nummularia and Acacia saligna mixture

The aim of this study was to evaluate whole substitution of Egyptian berseem hay (. Trifolium alexandrinum) with a mixture of Atriplex nummularia and Acacia saligna (1:1 DM) in the diet of Barki lambs for 70 days. Thirty six lambs (27.0±0.89. kg initial BW) were divided into four treatment groups of nine lambs each and fed: (1) the Control group with no substitution (70% concentrate mixture and 30% berseem hay, DM basis), (2) A. nummularia and A. saligna mixture without fungal treatment (treatment group AU), or (3) Trichoderma reesei treated A. nummularia and A. saligna mixture (treatment group AF), or (4) A. nummularia and A. saligna mixture supplemented with Saccharomyces cerevisiae at 0.5. g/kg DM of feed (treatment group AS) replaced 100% of berseem hay in the diet. Live-weight change, rumen fermentation parameters, blood chemistry, carcass characteristics and intestinal histology were investigated. Significant (.

Influence of the addition of exogenous xylanase with or without pre-incubation on the in vitro ruminal fermentation of three fibrous feeds

These by-products could be used as animal feedstuffs, but their use is limited by their high fibre content, which invariably lowers the efficiency of digestive utilization (Khattab et al. 2013; Kholif et al. 2014). Fibrous feeds are characterized by high lignocellulose content, low crude protein (CP) content, poor palatability, and low nutrient digestibility (Kholif et al. 2014; Togtokhbayar et al. 2015). The structural carbohydrates of the fibre are less digestible than other nutrients, and the cell wall (mainly the lignin) may be a physical barrier for the bacterial attachment and the access of ruminal enzymes resulting in limited ruminal degradability (Karunanandaa et al. 1995)The effects of the exogenous fibrolytic enzyme (ENZ) commercial preparation Dyadic® xylanase PLUS (Dyadic International, Inc., Jupiter, USA), containing endo-1,4-β-d-xylanase, on ruminal fermentation of maize stover, oat straw, and sugarcane bagasse were examined using the in vitro gas production (GP) technique. The ENZ commercial preparation was added at 0 (control), 60 (low), 120 (medium), and 240 (high) μg/g dry matter of substrate, and at two times of application (direct addition just before fermentation or with a 72-h pre-incubation before fermentation). Ruminal GP volumes were recorded at 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 24, and 48 h of incubation, and substrate degradability and concentration of fermentation end-products (volatile fatty acids, ammonia, methane) in the cultures were determined at 48 h of incubation. Increased (P < 0.05) GP volume was observed in fibrous feeds treated with ENZ compared with untreated substrates. The pre-incubation vs the direct addition of ENZ resulted in greater GP volume (P < 0.05) with the three tested feeds. Enzyme addition decreased (P < 0.05) rumen pH compared to control when maize stover and sugarcane bagasse were incubated. Ammonia-N and total volatile fatty acids (VFA) were not affected (P > 0.05) by ENZ application in maize stover and oat straw. However, total and individual VFA concentrations, and CH4 and CO2 volumes were greater (P < 0.05) when sugarcane bagasse was incubated with 240 μg ENZ/g (P < 0.05). It can be concluded that the application of endo-1,4-β-d-xylanase enhances rumen fermentation of roughages, although the magnitude of the effects depends on the fibrous substrate fermented, the time of application, and the amount of enzyme added

Addressing sustainable ruminal methane and carbon dioxide emissions of soybean hulls by organic acid salts

Agriculture wastes are carbohydrate-rich feeds with a large potential source of dietary energy for ruminants, but in developing countries, they always constitute environmental problems when burnt in the field, and can be used as a cleaner product of animal feed and environment (Kholif et al., 2014). However, intensive ruminant production requires high concentrate diets to assure high productivity and fast growth. Cereals, such as barley, wheat and corn, are commonly used for intensive ruminant production.emissions as well as ruminal fermentation kinetics by replacing dietary corn grain (CG) with soybean hulls (SH) in the presence of organic acid salts (OAS). Three total mixed rations were prepared where CG was replaced with SH at three levels (/kg DM): 0 g (Control), 75 g (SH75) or 150 g (SH150). The OAS was used at three levels (dose): 0, 5 and 10 mg/g DM of substrates. Increasing SH level increased (P < 0.05) the fractional rate of gas production (GP) and lag time. The SH75 and SH150 rations quadratically decreased (P < 0.001) the asymptotic CO2 production and the lag time of CO2 production. Moreover, the high level of OAS quadratically decreased (P 0.05) CO2 production. The OAS inclusion increased (P < 0.05) CH4 production (expressed as mL/g incubated DM and mL/g degraded DM). Increasing SH in the rations increased (P < 0.05) proportional CH4 production. Inclusion of OAS also increased proportional CH4 production. Replacing corn grain with soybean hulls could be a valuable means of sustainable mitigation of CH4 and CO2 emissions and improvement of the environmental conditions as well as provision of good feedstuff for ruminant livestock due to its in vitro fermentation characteristics. The organic acid salts did not affect ruminal gas production but decreased CO2 emissions; thus its supplementation when soybean hulls replace corn grain is perhaps redundant, though may be considered as environmental friendly way of feeding livestock

Environmental efficiency of Saccharomyces cerevisiae on methane production in dairy and beef cattle via a meta-analysis

8 páginas, 2 tablas, 4 figuras.The objective of the present study is to examine the effect of yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) on reduction of methane (CH) production in dairy and beef cattle using meta-analytic methods. After compilation of relevant scientific publications available from the literature between 1990 and 2016, and applying exclusion and inclusion criteria, meta-analyses of data from dairy and beef cattle were applied for the pooled dataset or for each animal category (dairy or beef). The results of meta-analysis of all three datasets (all cattle, dairy cattle, or beef cattle) suggested that effect size of yeast either on daily CH production or on CH production per dry matter intake (CH/DMI) was not significant. The results of Q test and I statistic suggest that there is no heterogeneity between different studies on CH production and CH/DMI. The results of meta-analysis suggest that use of yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) as feed additive does not offer significant results in terms of reduction of CH production in dairy and beef cattle. Further research on the effects of different doses of yeast, use of yeast products, different strains, and experimental designs is warranted to elucidate the effects of yeasts on methane production in the rumen