Effects of sun-drying and exogenous enzymes on nutrients intake, digestibility and nitrogen utilization in sheep fed Atriplex halimus foliages

This study was conducted to assess effects of sun-drying and/or addition of an exogenous enzyme (ENZ) preparation on intake, digestibility of nutrients and recovery values of secondary metabolites (SM) in the gastrointestinal tract of sheep fed Atriplex halimus (AH) foliages. A randomized block design for 28 d was used for four experimental treatments based on either fresh (AH-F) or sun-dried (AH-S) A. halimus foliages in the absence (−ENZ) or presence (+ENZ) of 10 g/sheep/d of the exogenous of ZADO® enzyme preparation. Three adult sheep weighing 51 ± 2.7 kg were fed for each experimental treatment. The ENZ was added daily with a small amount of concentrate to help balance the dietary metabolizable energy concentration. Nutrient intake and digestibility, N balance and recovery of SM (i.e., total phenolics (TP), saponins (SP), alkaloids (AK), aqueous fraction (AF)) in the gastrointestinal tract were determined. Levels of most nutrients did not differ between AH-F and AH-S foliages, but the AH-S contained less than half of the SM in AH-F. Drying of A. halimus and ENZ addition increased (P=0.001) intake as well as OM and NDFom digestibility (P=0.02). Feed intake and digestibility were higher (P=0.01) in AH-S with ENZ addition. Intake of N by sheep fed the treatment diets depended on DM intake as the dietary concentration of N in the diets was similar. Thus AH-S sheep supplemented with ENZ had higher (P=0.001) N intake. Digestibility of N was similar to DM and OM digestibility, and was higher (P=0.03) in AH-S sheep supplemented with ENZ. Drying and ENZ addition to the diet increased (P=0.004) recovery of all SM. The fate of these compounds in the rumen needs to be evaluated considering that SM have been implicated in fiber and protein degradation in the rumen. The study showed that there are beneficial impacts of sun-drying and/or dietary exogenous enzyme addition for sheep fed A. halimus

Hot red pepper powder as a safe alternative to antibiotics in organic poultry feed: An updated review

Globally, several studies have investigated the utilization and efficacy of promising medicinal herbal plants to enhance livestock and poultry production. The most commonly investigated phytobiotics in broiler ration were oregano, garlic, thyme, rosemary, black pepper, hot red pepper (HRP), and sage. Phytobiotics are classified on the basis of the medicinal properties of plants, their essential oil extracts, and their bioactive compounds. The majority of bioactive compounds in plants are secondary metabolites, such as terpenoids, phenolic, glycosides, and alkaloids. The composition and concentrations of these bioactive constitutes vary according to their biological factors and manufacturing and storage conditions. Furthermore, HRP is one of the most important and widely used spices in the human diet. Capsicum annum, that is, HRP, is a species of the plant genus Capsicum (pepper), which is a species native to southern North America and northern South America and is widely grown and utilized for its fresh or cooked fruits. Moreover, these fruits may be used as dried powders or processed forms of oleoresins. Researches have proven that C. annuum is the only plant that produces the alkaloid capsaicinoids. Approximately 48% of its active substances are capsaicin (8-methyl-N-vanillyl-6-nonemide), the main active compound responsible for the intense effects of HRP varieties and the main component inducing the hot flavor. This review aimed to highlight the effects of HRP as a phytobiotic in broiler nutrition and its mode of action as a possible alternative to antibiotics and clarify its impact on broiler and layer productivity

Influence of Vitamins and Exogenous Enzymes Combination on alleviating Heat Stress in Lactating Ewes under Egyptian Summer Conditions

The present experiment was designed to study the effects of vitamin mixtures and exogenous enzymes ZADO® in alleviaties heat stress in ewes in summer temperatures (25-44°C) compared with winter temperatures (8-22°C). Fifty lactating Ossimi ewes were divided randomly into 5 treatment groups. In summer, the experiment included four treatments: (i) control i.e., normal summer conditions, no supplements (control 2), (ii) ewes supplemented with 10 g/head/day of ZADO® mixed in the concentrate, (iii) ewes supplemented with vitamin AD3E (250 mg/kg BW) and C (45 mg/kg BW) mixture, and (iv) ewes supplemented with ZADO® and vitamin mixture as above. In winter, the treatment comprised of assessments only under normal winter condition (8 to 22°C) without any additives (control 1). Blood and milk samples from each ewe were collected biweekly throughout lactation. Results indicate that plasma total protein, total lipids and glucose, and milk production and composition were decreased (P<0.01) in summer compared with winter. Addition of ZADO® increased plasma total protein, glucose, milk production, protein and lactose as compared with summer control (control 2). Vitamin mixture increased (P<0.01) plasma total protein, milk production and milk protein, but had no effect on total lipids, glucose, milk fat and lactose. Combination of vitamin mixture with ZADO® addition increased the ability of lactating ewes to alleviate hea

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

Chemical Composition and In Vitro Digestibility of Pleurotus ostreatus Spent Rice Straw

The nutritive value of rice straw (RS) and Pleurotus ostreatus spent rice straw (SRS) was studied by analyzing its proximate composition, fiber fractions, in vitro digestibility, amino acids content and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The possibility of replacing berseem clover (BC; Trifolium alexandrinum) with SRS at different levels also was studied. Results showed higher protein content for SRS compared to RS (3.4 to 11.7%) while, DM, OM, NFE, CF, NDF, ADF, ADL, hemicellulose and cellulose were less for SRS than for RS. Highest concentration of amino acids (mg/100 g) was in SRS compared to RS. The SEM showed an extensive damage of SRS when compared to RS. Data also showed that SRS had higher in vitro dry matter disappearance (DMD) and in vitro organic matter disappearance (OMD) compared to RS. Results of in vitro study also, indicated that the levels of 50 and 90% replacement had the highest values of DMD and OMD compared to the other levels. It could be concluded from this study that treatment of RS with Pleurotus ostreatus improved the potential feeding value of the resultant substrates (i.e. SRS) as feed resources for ruminants and possibility of replacing BC with SRS at high levels of up to 50 or 90% from diets

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

Effect of exogenous enzymes and Salix babylonica extract or their combination on haematological parameters in growing lambs

The aim of this study was to compare the use of exogenous enzyme preparations (EZ) and/or Salix babylonica extract (SB) or their combination as feed additives on some haematological parameters in growing lambs. Twenty Suffolk lambs of 6 to 8-months-old with 24±0.3 kg body weight were used in the study. Lambs were divided into 4 groups of 5 animals each in a completely randomized design and the treatments were: 1.control: fed a basal diet of concentrate (30%) and maize silage (70%); 2. EZ: fed the basal diet plus 10 g of enzyme; 3. SB: fed the basal diet plus 30 ml of S. babylonica extract, and 4. EZSB: fed the basal diet plus 10 g enzyme and 30 ml of S. babylonica extract. Lambs were housed in individual cages and the experiment was conducted for 60 days. The SB was given orally while the EZ was mixed with a small amount of the concentrate and maize silage and was offered ad libitum. Blood samples were collected from each animal on days 0, 15, 30, 45 and 60 of experiment and analysed for haematological parameters. The treatments of EZ, SB or EZSB did not affect any of the measured blood parameters. Day of sampling modified concentrations of red blood cells (P=0.001; linear effect), haematocrit (P=0.01; quadratic effect), haemoglobin (P=0.01; linear effect), mean corpuscular volume (P=0.01; linear effect), monocytes (P=0.004; quadratic effect) and plasma protein (P=0.0002; linear effect). It could be concluded that Salix babylonica extract, exogenous enzymes and their combination as feed additives had not a negative effects on the blood parameters measured and therefore on the health of the lambs

Effects of exogenous enzymes on in vitro gas production kinetics and ruminal fermentation of four fibrous feeds

This study was conducted to investigate effects of increasing doses: 0 (control), 6 (low), 12 (medium) and 24 (high) mg/g DM of ZADO® enzyme preparation mixture (ENZ) on in vitro gas production (GP) and some ruminal fermentation parameters of the fibrous feeds Saccharum officinarum (leaves), Andropogon gayanus (leaves), Pennisetum purpureum (leaves) and Sorghum vulgare (straw). Rumen liquor was obtained from two Brown Swiss cows fitted with permanent rumen cannulae fed a total mixed ration of a 500:500 commercial concentrate and alfalfa hay ad libitum. The GP was recorded at 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 24, 48, 72 and 96 h of incubation. After 96 h, the incubation was stopped and the pH of the mixture was determined and filtrate used to determine dry matter degradability (DMD), partitioning factor (PF96), gas yield (GY24), in vitro organic matter digestibility (OMD), metabolizable energy (ME), short chain fatty acids (SCFA), and microbial crude protien production (MCP). In general, the crude protein (CP) content of the fibrous feeds was low and ranged from 23 g/kg DM (S. officinarum) to 44 (A. gayanus). The fibre contents (i.e., NDFom and ADFom) were highest (P<0.05) in S. officinarum. Increasing ENZ dose linearly increased (P<0.05) GP of all fibrous feeds and had a quadratically increased (P<0.05) asymptotic gas production in P. purpureum and S. vulgare and rate of gas production in S. officinarum and S. vulgare. Addition of ENZ also quadratically increased (P<0.05) GP at all incubation times in S. officinarum and S. vulgare, and A. gayanus, but only at 72 h in A. gayanus. The parameters of ruminal fermentation of OMD, ME, GY24 and SCFA linearly increased (P<0.05) and MCP linearly decreased (P<0.05) with the ENZ addition. Addition of enzyme affected ruminal fermentation of our feeds differently, mainly dependent on their fibre content, although dosage of enzyme was also important as impacts generally increased at higher dosages of ENZ