Nutritional evaluation and utilisation of an aquatic plant, Posidonia australis (seagrass) in sheep / by Nourmohammad Torbatinejad.

Includes bibliographical references (leaves 290-333).xxiv, 333 leaves : ill. (chiefly col.) ; 30 cm.Describes research into the nutritional value of aquatic plants as novel or non-conventional feedstuffs for ruminants in general and for sheep in particular, with especial reference to those which are available in high amount in southern Australia, such as the seagrass, Posidonia australis.Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Animal Science, 1996

Nutritive value of range Frankenia hirsuta as fodder resource for ruminant

Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the nutritive value of Range, Frankenia hirsuta via proximate analyses and rumen degradation of dry matter. Methods: Samples of chemical component and disappearance of dry matter (DM) of range plant were collected at three different growth stages (i.e. vegetative, flowering and seed production) of Incheh-borun salty pastures in Golestan province (northeast of Iran). The chemical composition of feed was determined using AOAC method. The rumen degradation of dry matter was evaluated in this study using the nylon bag technique with four cannulated Zel rams (1 yr old).Results: Results showed that the mean estimates for crude protein (CP), digestible DM and ether extract (EE) of the vegetative stage are higher (P≤0.05) than the two other stages. Neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF) and Ash of seed production stage were higher (P≤0.05) than the vegetative stage. DM disappearance after 8, 48 and 72 h of incubation of vegetative stage was higher (P≤0.05) than the two other stages. The maximum DM disappearance was recorded after 48 h (P≤0.05) incubation in all three phonological stages. The effective degradability (ED) of DM decreased with increase in outflow rates and the maximum ED in three outflow rates was recorded in the vegetative stage.Conclusions: The findings of this study showed that the biomass at the vegetative stage had higher nutritional values and DM disappearance than the other two stages. The information thus provided by this study could be useful in the planning of ruminant diets particularly in the salty pastures

Comparing the Effect of Ionizing Radiations of Electron Beam and Gamma Ray on Ruminal Degradation Kinetics of Soybean Meal Protein and Amino acids

This research was conducted to compare effects of electron beam (EB) and gamma ray (GR) treatments at doses of 25, 50 and 75 kGy on soybean meal (SBM) ruminal degradation kinetics of crude protein (CP) and amino acids (AA). The nylon bag and sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) techniques were used for this aim. Ionizing radiations decreased washout and degradation rate fractions and increased potentially degradable fraction of CP. GR had more effects on degradability parameters of CP than the EB. Irradiation processing caused decreasing in AA degradation after 16 h of ruminal incubation significantly. GR irradiation was more effective than EB irradiation in lessening the ruminal degradability of AA. In unirradiated SBM, subunits ά, α and β of β-conglycinin protein disappeared after 4 h, and basic and acidic subunits of glycinin protein disappeared after 16 h of rumen incubation. The 50 and 75 kGy doses of EB and GR maintained and preserved the subunits of β-conglycinin until 16 h and 48 h for glycinin subunits. The results of this study showed greater effects of GR than the EB in reducing the ruminal degradation of CP and AA, while the ruminal disappearance of the protein subunits in the SBM was equally affected by these ionizing radiations

Structural constituents of the seagrass Posidonia australis

Copyright © 2007 American Chemical SocietyLarge amounts of seagrass, Posidonia australis, wash onto beaches in South Australia each year, causing substantial environmental problems. It was of interest to assess the potential for an economic use of this seagrass-such as for animal nutrition. Structural constituents of P. australis (green, freshly deposited, and both washed and unwashed samples from dried deposits on the beach) were examined and compared. Glucose, galactose, and mannose were the dominant sugars (>10 g kg-1 of dry matter) in the soluble fraction of nonstarch polysaccharides in all seagrass forms. The content of the insoluble constituents of the nonstarch polysaccharides was significantly higher than soluble nonstarch polysaccharide constituents (P < 0.01). Data showed that the major constituents of the Posidonia cell wall are cellulose and lignin (190-209 and 145-154 g kg-1, respectively). The crude protein content of Posidonia ranged from 54 to 61 g kg-1. Results showed no biologically significant compositional differences between the four different forms of seagrass tested. Dry, unwashed seagrass, which is readily available in large quantities and easily harvested, may have potential as a foodstuff for ruminant animals

Effects of Processing of Starter Diets on Performance, Nutrient Digestibility, Rumen Biochemical Parameters and Body Measurements of Brown Swiss Dairy Calves

In order to investigate the effect of physical forms of starter diets on performance, weaning age, nutrient digestibility and rumen biochemical factors, 24 female of neonatal Brown Swiss calves (average body weight of 39.5±1.2 kg) were randomly assigned to three treatments. Dietary treatments were mashed (MS), pelleted (PS), and texturized (TS) starter using 8 calves from birth till 90 days of age in each treatment. Diets were formulated to be iso-nitrogenous with 21% crude protein. Based on the experimental results, calves that received PS and TS diets, had significant higher average daily gain (ADG) than those receiving MS (p0.05). Ruminal pH was higher (p<0.01) in MS than the other groups, but ruminal ammonia (g/dl) concentration was not different among the treatments. Body measurements such as body length, pin width, hip width, pin to hip length, size of metacarpus and metatarsus bones, hip height, wither height, stomach size and heart girth were not significantly different among the treatments. Overall, it is concluded that starter diets in the form of pellet and texture can improve performance in neonatal Brown Swiss calves compared to the mashed form