In vitro fermentation of mixed rumen microorganisms on molasses-based substrates

A fermentor consisting of two compartments (called inner and outer) separated by a dialysis membrane was developed for studying the digestion pattern in vitro of rumen microorganisms of sheep fed a molasses-urea based diet. A bout 35 ml of strained rumen liquor withdrawn from Merino weathers adapted to a molasses-urea diet (100 g oaten chaff and molasses containing 3% urea and 0.135% mineral mix fed ad libitum) was used as the initial fermenting inoculum in the inner compartment. Molasses-urea substrate (8.333% molasses and 0.277% urea, w/v) prepared in artificial saliva was infused at 3 ml h-1 into the fermenting medium and artificial saliva at 30 ml h-1 into the outer compartment. Incubation was carried out in a specially constructed water bath maintained at 39°C and filled with CO2 gas. With these flow rates, pH of fermenting fluids was maintained within physiological range with volatile fatty acids (VFA) production at 30 - 40 μmole ml-1 h-1. Using the fermentor, the effect of partial substitution of tryptone for urea as a nitrogen source on rumen microorganisms adapted to a molasses-urea based diet was studied with infusion solution consisting of 8.333% molasses, 0.208% urea and 0.202% tryptone (w/v) prepared in artificial saliva. Factors related to cell yield studied were, VFA and ammonia (NH) productions, dry matter (DM) and CP yields. However, no positive effects of protein supplementation (when compared to molasses-urea substrate) were observed in VFA productions, DM and CP yields. Only NH 3 levels of fermentors infused with molasses-urea substrate were significantly higher (P<0.05) than protein supplemented fermentors

Comparative Studies In Rumen Activities And Urea Kinetics Between Cattle And Buffaloes

Studies in rumen activities and urea kinetics were conducted to compare the digestion between cattle and buffaloes fed fibrous diets. On straw-based diets , buffaloes demonstrated higher rate of rumen fermentation . The rumen pH of buffaloes ( 6.46+0.02) was lower than cattle (6.78+0.02) , while the VFA concentration was higher than that of cattle (98.0+2.2 versus 85.5+1.6 romo1/1 ) . The rumen ammonia was also found to be higher in buffaloes (4.00+0.08mg N/100ml) than in cattle (3.55+0.08mg N/ 100 ml ) . The rate of degradation of straw-1 was also faster in buffaloes (0.018 ± 0.003 h ) than in cattle-1 (0 . 010 + 0.004 h ) . A similar trend was observed when the animals were fed guinea grass. Voluntary feed intake and water consumption were similar for both species fed grass, but when fed fed straw, cattle showed higher feed intake and lower water consumption than buffaloes. There was no difference between cattle and buffaloes in the rate of passage of small feed particles from the rumen and rumen fluid volume based on liveweight was also not significantly different between the two animal species. However, the fluid outflow rate from the rumen was slower in the buffaloes (1.06 +0.9 1/h) than in the cattle (1.55 ± 0. 01 1/h)

The role of rumen fungi in fiber digestion

Since the anaerobic rumen fungi were discovered in the rumen of a sheep over two decades ago, they have been reported in a wide range of herbivores fed on high fibre diets. The extensive colonisation and degradation of fibrous plant tissues by the fungi suggest that they have a role in fibre digestion. All rumen fungi studied so far are fibrolytic. They produce a range of hydrolytic enzymes, which include the cellulases, hemicellulases, pectinases and phenolic acid esterases, to enable them to invade and degrade the lignocellulosic plant tissues. Although rumen fungi may not seem to be essential to general rumen function since they may be absent in animals fed on low fibre diets, they, nevertheless, could contribute to the digestion of high-fibre poor-quality forages

Micorbial colonization and digestion of feed materials in cattle and buffaloes II. rice straw and palm press fibre

Degradation of rice straw was observed to be higher (p<0.01) in the buffaloes than in cattle. At 48 h, the dry matter (DM) loss of straw for buffaloes was 53.6 ± 0.8% and that for cattle was 48.7 ± 2.6%. Palm press fibre (PPF) was poorly degraded in the rumen of both animal species. A loss of about 21% DM was observed in both cattle and buffaloes after 48 h of incubation in the rumen. The pattern of bacterial and fungal colonization of straw and PPF seemed to be similar in both cattle and buffaloes. Microbial colonization was restricted by plant structures like the silica crystals in both straw and PPF. The predominant bacteria colonizing both straw and PPF fragments were the rods. Eroded zones and digestion pits were pronounced in straw fragments after 1 h of incubation. The PPF fragments appeared undergraded even after 6 h of incubation. Fungal colonization of straw was rapid and extensive in both cattle and buffaloes. The sporangia observed in straw were mainly spherical or oval in shape, but fusiform sporangia with acuminate tip were predominantly seen in PPF fragments

Studies in fibre digestion and passage rate of liquid and solid in cattle and buffaloes

Rumen liquor characteristics and disappearance rate of dry matter were studied in Kedah-Kelantan cattle and swamp buffaloes fed grass of rice straw-based diet. Cobalt-EDTA and chromium mordented fibres prepared from the faecal material were used to determine the liquid and solid particles movement in both animal species fed with rice straw. Swamp buffaloes showed a more intense rumen fermentation activity than Kedah-Kelantan cattle when both species were fed straw-based diet. The buffaloes also demonstrated faster rates of grass and straw degradation in situ. The fluid outflow rate from the rumen of buffalo (1.06 0.19 1/h) was observed to be slower than that of cattle (1.55 0.01 1/h). No significant differences between cattle and buffaloes were observed in rumen fluid volume and passage rate of small particles from the rumen

Investigation of The Antioxidant Activity of Cinnamon Bark Extracted with Different Solvents

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of methanol, ethyl acetate, and hexane for the extraction of cinnamon bark (Cinnamomum burmanni) (CB) on the contents of the total phenolic, total flavonoid and its 1,1,-diphonyl-1-picryl-hydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity. CB samples were ground with grinder machine in one mm sieve and extracted with treatments to determine parameter measured. All CB samples were extracted using different treatments. Parameter measured were total phenolic, total flavonoid and DPPH. CB was ground and extracted by using three treatments, data collected was statistical analysis and followed with Duncant Test, The highest total phenolic content found when CB extracted with methanol with the value of 111.43 mg gallic acids equivalent (GAE)/g DW while the lowest amount detected in hexane with the amount of 57.23 mg GAE/g dry weight (DW). It was significantly different (P&lt;0.05) from those extracted with ethyl acetate and hexane. There was significant (P&lt;0.05) different for the content of flavonoid among all treatment groups. Methanol was the highest solvent and hexane was the lowest with the amount of 286.27 and 64.73 mg rutin equivalent (RE)/g DW respectively. There was significantly different (P&lt;0.05) for scavenging activity among all treatment. Using methanol in extracting CB showed the highest scavenging activity of 69.59 % among all other treatment groups. It could be concluded that Methanol was the best solution in extracting C

Micorbial colonisation and degradation of some fibrous crop residues in the rumen of goats

An investigation was carried out to study the microbial colonization and degradation of five crop residues, viz., sago waste, rice straw, oil palm trunk shanings, untreated palm press fibre and palm press fibre teated with 3% ammonium hydroxide in the rumen of goats. Colonisation by rumen bacteria and fungi was already established on all the five crop residues 8 h after incubation. However, the extent of colonization varied among the crop residues. Microbial colonization was poor on palm press fibre(treated and untreated) but more extensive on sago waste, oil palm trunk shavings and rice wtraw. By 24 h, most of the soft-walled tissues in sago waste, rice straw and oil palm trunk shavings were degraded leaving the thick-walled tissues extensively colonized by bacteria and fungi. Degradation on palm press fibre was still limited. At 48 h, the thick-walled tissueds of sago waste, oil palm trunk shavings and rice straw showed various degress of degradation - from small erosion zones gto large digested areas. Bacterial growth was similar to that at 24 h but fungal growth was less. On palm press fibre, microbial colonization was more extensive than at 24 h but degradation of the fibres was still limited. Degradation of all the five crop residues at 72 h was somewhat similar to that at 48 h. Overall, microbial colonization and degradation were the most extensive on sago waste, follwed by rice straw and oil palm trunk shavings, and the least on palm press fibre(treated and untreated). Dry matter loss of the five crop residues at the various incubation periods also showed the same order of degradation

Energy requirement for maintenance of growing and adult male lesser mouse deer (Tragulus javanicus) in captivity.

A study was conducted to determine the energy requirement for maintenance of eight lesser mouse deer, consisting of four growing males (6–8 months of age) with average body weight of 1.4 ± 0.2 kg and four adult males (>2 years of age) with average body weight of 1.6 ± 0.2 kg. The animals were from the colony reared at the Department of Animal Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia. The experiment was based on a 2 × 4 factorial arrangement in Latin-Square design. The animals were kept in single pens and fed with different levels of feed (70%, 80%, 90% and 100% of ad libitum intake). The feed was made up of 95% pellet and 5% ‘kangkong’ (Ipomoea aquatica) leaves. The energy requirement for maintenance was determined by using the regression equations between metabolisable energy intake and energy retention or body weight change. Energy retention was calculated as the difference between metabolisable energy intake and heat production. The results showed that the metabolisable energy requirements for maintenance when calculated based on energy retention were 420.1 and 422.9 kJ kg−0.75 d−1 for growing and adult mouse deer, respectively, and when calculated based on weight change the values were 435.1 and 436.9 kJ kg−0.75 d−1, respectively. The efficiency of utilization of metabolisable energy for maintenance (km) for growing mouse deer was 0.58 and that for adult mouse deer was 0.54

In vitro and in vivo enzymatic dephosphorylation of phytate in maize-soya bean meal diets for broiler chickens by phytase of Mitsuokella jalaludinii.

The efficacy of Mitsuokella jalaludinii phytase to dephosphorylate phytate in maize–soya bean meal diets was evaluated by two in vitro simulation procedures and an in vivo balance study in which the difference between the total phosphorus (P) intake and total P in the total excreta collected was determined. Using the first in vitro method, which was a three-step procedure simulating the physiological parameters of the intestinal tract (crop, stomach and intestine), a quadratic (P<0.001) increase of released P was observed in diets containing 2.4 g available P (aP)/kg and 4.6 g aP/kg when 250–2500 U M. jalaludinii phytase/kg were added to the feed. Using the second in vitro method, which consisted of the three-step simulation procedure described above plus an additional dialysis step under conditions simulating gradient absorption in the small intestine, P was also released from the feed quadratically (P<0.001) when 250–2500 U M. jalaludinii phytase/kg were added to the diet containing either level of aP. The results from the in vivo study showed that M. jalaludinii phytase supplementation increased the coefficient of total tract apparent digestibility (CTTAD) of P (P<0.001), crude protein (CP; P=0.004) and dry matter (DM; P<0.001) in the diet of 42-d-old broiler chickens. After the Hanes transformation [i.e. the in vivo response measurement divided by the in vitro released P was treated as the dependent variable (Y), and in vitro released P was treated as the independent variable (X), in the regression analysis], the P released following simulation of digestion in the crop using the first in vitro method or the P released using the second in vitro method, correlated to in vivo CTTAD of P (R2 = 0.70, P=0.0027; or 0.71 P=0.0024, respectively), CP (R2 = 0.89, P<0.0001; or 0.88, P<0.0001, respectively), DM (R2 = 0.93, P<0.0001; or 0.89, P<0.0001, respectively) and apparent metabolizable energy (AME; R2 = 0.92, P<0.0001; or 0.88, P<0.0001, respectively). About 75.0–95.8% of the supplemental M. jalaludinii phytase activity was found in the contents of the crop of broiler chickens and only 5.6–18% of the activity was found in the stomach. It is concluded that M. jalaludinii phytase supplementation significantly increased the dephosphorylation of phytate both in vitro and in vivo. The responses in vivo of P, CP, DM and AME digestibility to M. jalaludinii phytase supplementation could be predicted by the P released in vitro by M. jalaludinii phytase supplementation. The M. jalaludinii phytase was mostly active in the crop of broiler chickens and its activity was not affected in vivo by the aP level of the feed

Implementing Knowledge Management in the Palestinian Public Sector Institutions: Empirical Study on the Presidency of the Palestinian Government

This paper focuses on bridging the theoretical and empirical approaches of KM key enablers in the Palestinian public sector, which are essential to facilitate and ensure a successful implementation of KM; these key enablers are: Organizational Culture, Leadership, Personnel, Information technology. For this purpose, a questionnaire was personally distributed to all (46) technical, administrative, and supervisory employees working at the Presidency of the Palestinian Government. Total of (44) fully answered questionnaires were received. The results showed a significant positive relationship between KM key enablers and the level of performance in the Palestinian Ministers’ Council by 0.829. It also indicated that 70% of the variation in the performance level has been significantly explained and influenced by KM key enablers. The recommendations proposed by this paper will provide a strategic direction for the Palestinian public administration to act more effectively with KM practices, and pay a focused attention to its key enablers