Impact of season of harvest on in vitro gas production and dry matter degradability of Acacia saligna leaves with inoculum from three ruminant species

In vitro gas production (IVGP) and dry matter degradability (IVDMD) of Acacia saligna leaves (ASL) from four seasons were studied under arid Egyptian conditions as a 4×3 factorial experiment (4 seasons×3 ruminant species). Incubations were completed using rumen liquid collected immediately after slaughter from sheep, cattle and buffalo, in order to investigate differences among ruminants in their ASL fermentation capacity. Samples of ASL were collected during the last 2 months of each season, being autumn, winter, spring and summer (between the 5th and 12th week of each season). Dried samples of ASL were incubated for 24 h in each of the three buffered rumen liquors, using a syringe technique, to determine IVGP and IVDMD. The crude protein content of ASL was lower (P<0.01) in summer (143 g/kg DM) than autumn (171 g/kg DM), winter (177 g/kg DM) and spring (182 g/kg DM). In winter, ASL had lower neutral detergent fibre, acid detergent fibre, acid detergent lignin and cellulose than in other seasons (P<0.05), but there were no differences among seasons in ash and hemicellulose contents. Condensed tannin (CT, as quebracho tannin equivalent) contents of ASL were higher (P<0.001) in summer (113 g/kg DM) versus the other seasons, with the lowest value during winter (63 g/kg DM). Gas production after 24 h was higher (P<0.05) with buffalo rumen fluid, versus cattle or sheep, in all seasons except winter. IVGP with buffalo rumen fluid was not affected by season but, with cattle and sheep, IVGP was higher (P<0.01) in winter. IVDMD was higher in winter and spring, and lower in summer and autumn, within all species, and higher (P<0.001) values were general with buffalo versus other species. IVGP was positively (P<0.05) correlated with IVDMD, but there was no consistent relationship between IVGP or IVDMD and chemical composition of ASL. Rumen fluid from buffalo, cattle and sheep have different capacities to ferment A. saligna leaves, and differences among species were smallest in winter, when the fibre and CT contents of ASL were lower. © 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Biochemical parameters in sheep fed diet in presence of mixed Salix babylonica extract and exogenous enzyme as feed additives

The aim of this study was to evaluate the interaction impacts of Salix babylonica L. (SB) extract with exogenous enzyme (EZ) as feed additives on some serum biochemistry parameters in lambs. Suffolk lambs (20), 24±0.3 kg live weight and 6–8 months old were used during 60 days. The lambs were distributed in individual cages of 1.5×1.5 m cages into 4 treatments of 5 lambs each of completely randomized design. All animals were fed a basal diet (BD) of 70% maize silage and 30% commercial concentrate. Treatments were: (i) control; PD without any additives; (ii) EZ; PD plus 10 g of EZ; (iii) SB; BD plus 30 mL of S. babylonica (SB) extract; and (iv) EZSB; BD plus 10 g EZ and 30 mL of SB extract. Blood samples were collected on days 0, 15, 30, 45 and 60 and analyzed for total proteins, glucose, creatinine, blood urea N (BUN), alanin aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), calcium, phosphorus and magnesium. Interactions between treatment×time were occurred in creatinine, BUN and magnesium. The highest values of total proteins were obtained with control and SB animals versus EZ or EZSB. The SB treatment tend to increase the levels of creatinine versus other treatments. The ALP level was highest in SB animals. In conclusion, supplementation with S. babylonica extract, exogenous enzymes and/or their combination did not cause any major health disorders in lambs within 60 days of experimen

Direct-fed microbial: Animal nutrition and reproduction responses

Manipulating the gastrointestinal microbial ecosystem to enhance animal performance and reproductive responses has been one of the main goals of animal science researchers and veterinarians. Recent restrictions to the use of antimicrobials as growth promoters led researchers to seek alternative practices that can show promise both from the standpoint of efficacy as well as from the practical and economic aspects. One of the alternatives that surfaced as very promising in the last few decades is the use of direct-fed microbials (DFM) as a means to modulate the effects of the gastrointestinal microbiome on the host immune status, health and productivity. Direct-fed microbials or probiotics is a term most commonly reserved for live, naturally occurring microorganisms that can be supplemented orally to animals to cause a beneficial effect in the host animal. The main objective of this special focus is to expand the knowledge on the mode of action of different microorganisms used as additives as well as to explore novel species of microorganisms and their potential contributions to enhance animal performance and health in ruminants and non-ruminants

Chemical composition, including secondary metabolites, and rumen fermentability of seeds and pulp of Californian (USA) and Italian grape pomaces

This study determined the chemical composition and metabolizable energy (ME) value for ruminants of seeds and pulps from grape pomaces (GP), which were produced from white and red Vitis vinifera cultivars in Italy and California (USA). Six Italian (i.e., three white and three red) and five California red cultivarswere collected after the crush of grape juice had been completed and were ensiled in micro-silos for 45 d. Fresh and ensiled sampleswere manually sieved to separate seeds from the pulp plus skin fraction and an overall inventory of 44 samples was obtained from the 24 Italian and 20 California samples (i.e., seeds and pulp fractions, fresh or ensiled from 6 or 5 cultivars, respectively). Both in seeds and pulp, the red Italian samples had higher organic matter (P<0.01), ether extract (P<0.05), neutral detergent fiber (aNDF, P<0.01), acid detergent fiber (ADF, P<0.01), lignin(sa, P<0.01) and Cu (P=0.02 and P<0.01, respectively) relative to the California red samples. In addition, K (P<0.01), Fe (P<0.01) and Zn (P=0.03 and P<0.01, respectively in seeds and pulps) were higher in red samples from California versus those from Italy. Italian white samples had higher saponins in pulp (SAP, P<0.05) and tended to have higher total extractable phenolics both in seeds and pulps (P=0.07 and P=0.10, respectively) than did Italian reds. Both in seeds and pulps, ensiling increased concentrations of aNDF (P<0.01 and P=0.08, respectively), ADF (P<0.01) and lignin(sa) (P<0.01 and P=0.03, respectively), had no impact on mineral levels and decreased concentrations anthocyanins (P=0.05) and SAP (P=0.01), respectively in seeds and pulp. Samples were fermented in diluted rumen fluid to measure in vitro rumen fermentability in terms of gas production, which was used to predict ME. Gas production from seeds of different origin were similar, with the exception of higher values at 48 h in red California cultivars with respect to those from Italy (19.2 ml versus 18.0 ml, P<0.05). In pulps, Italian reds did not differ from Italian whites, but had lower gas production than the red California samples (9.2 ml versus 12.2 ml, 16.6 ml versus 21.3 ml, 26.3 versus 32.7, P<0.01, at 4, 24 and 48 h respectively). Ensiling reduced gas production in seeds at 24 and 48 h of incubation (P<0.01) and in pulps at 48 h (P=0.09). Seeds from Italian red samples were lower (P<0.01) in ME than Italian whites (6.23 MJ/kg DM versus 6.89 MJ/kg DM, P<0.01) and higher (P<0.01) than the California samples (5.58 MJ/kg DM). There were no differences between ME of the groups of pulps, but ensiling reduced estimated ME content in seeds (5.94 MJ/kg DM versus 6.54 MJ/kg DM, P<0.01), but not in pulps. On the basis of our results, and in agreement with other recent papers and/or textbook data, the potential to use de-seededGP as a feed in diets of high producing ruminants is limited

Nutritive evaluations of some browse tree foliages during the dry season: Secondary compounds, feed intake and in vivo digestibility in sheep and goats

Four browse tree foliages (Cassia fistula, Schinus molle, Chorisia speciosa and Eucalyptus camaldulensis), native to the semi-arid region of north Egypt, were harvested during the dry season and evaluated for nutritional quality by determination of levels of nutrient and secondary compounds, as well as feed intake and apparent digestibility in sheep and goats. The study consisted of four experiments conducted in sequential 28-day periods that were the same in all respects, except that a different foliage was evaluated in each experiment which used six adult male Rhmani sheep (35±2.3 kg body weight (BW) at the start of the study) and six crossbred goats (30±1.56 kg BW). Sheep and goats were randomly divided into two groups of three and offered foliage at a level equal to 1.3 of the previous days voluntary intake of fresh matter and a commercial concentrate, with or without 10 g/animal/d of PEG, at 10 g/kg of BW to meet 0.7 of maintenance metabolizable energy requirements. Foliage crude protein (CP) content ranged from 124 (S. molle) and 128 (C. speciosa) to 185 g/kg DM (C. fistula). Ether extract was highest (97 g/kg) in S. molle. C. fistula had the lowest neutral detergent fiber (NDFom), acid detergent fiber (ADFom) and acid detergent lignin (lignin(sa)), while E. camaldulensis had the highest values. Total phenolics (TP), condensed tannins (CT), saponins (SAP), alkaloids (ALKA), the aqueous fraction (AF) of lectins, polypeptides and starch, and essential oils (EO) were lowest in C. speciosa (29, 21, 3, 0, 4 g/kg DM and 0.40 ml/kg DM, respectively) and highest in E. camaldulensis (102, 68, 15, 5, 3 g/kg DM and 15 ml/kg DM, respectively). Levels of TP, CT, SAP, ALKA and EO were highly positively intercorrelated among foliages, although AF was weakly negatively correlated to all others. Goats consumed 3.9% more foliage dry matter (DM) than sheep per kg BW0.75, and their digestibility was about 8% higher, probably reflecting their better capacity to detoxify secondary compounds in the rumen than sheep. Levels of CT (and due to its correlations, also TP, SAP, ALKA and EO) was a strong predictor of DM intake of PEG unsupplemented foliages within both sheep and goats. PEG increased (P<0.05) intake of DM and its components in sheep and goats. Digestion of DM and NDFom were not affected by feeding PEG, although digestion of OM, EE and CP were higher (P<0.05). TP in tree foliages (and due to its correlations, also CT, SAP, ALKA and EO) was not a predictor of the proportional increase in DM with PEG feeding, which was best predicted by level of CP within foliage. Overall, C. speciosa, had the highest nutrient value for both sheep and goats, both without and with PEG feeding, S. molle and C. fistula were intermediate and E. camaldulensis had the lowest nutritive value

Exogenous Enzymes in Animal Nutrition- Benefits and Limitations

The use of exogenous enzymes in animal nutrition dates back to the mid-1920s, however, nowadays the development of interdisciplinary sciences exploiting molecular methods create new opportunities and deliver new tools to assess effectiveness of their utilization. The proper use of enzymes in animal nutrition allows to obtain maximum benefit from their action not only for the animals, but also for the environment

Plant bioactive compounds in ruminant agriculture – Impacts and opportunities

This preface outlines the reasons for undertaking the special issue, comments on the review process and provides a brief summary of the papers included. It also discusses some of the currently used, and potential, plant based bioactive compounds in ruminant agriculture and their applications in promoting animal growth, mitigating enteric methane emissions as well as possible applications as antiparasite agents. The final section provides a brief comment on future perspectives for use of plant based bioactive compounds in ruminant agriculture

Effect of urea supplementation in diet based on barley grain or corn silage on performance, digestion, rumen fermentation and microbial protein synthesis in Holstein bull calves

This study was aimed to evaluate the effect of non-protein nitrogen source of urea with barley grain (BG) or corn silage (CS) based diet in Holstein bull calves. Nutrient digestibility, rumen fermentation activities, microbial nitrogen yield (MN) and blood metabolites were determined. Holstein bull calves (14), weighing 126 ± 4.2 kg were allocated in 2 different diets based on BG or CS for 9 weeks. Diets were based on rolled barley grain (BG) and on finely chopped corn silage (CS). Both diets were supplemented with 7.5 g/kg urea on DM basis. Intake and performance of animal did not differ between diets, whereas digestibility of neutral detergent fiber (NDF) decreased in BG diet. Ruminal concentration of propionate and blood glucose concentration increased in BG calves, whereas ruminal pH and acetate concentration increased in CS fed calves. The ruminal NH3-N was increased in CS diet, while excretions of allantoin, purine derivatives and estimated MN yield through urine were greater in BG diet vs. CS diet. In conclusion, the results suggested that increased urinary PD excretion and consequently increased estimated MN yield value for BG diet presented more potential for this diet to be synchronized with urea in calves’ rumen digestion

Milk yield and composition of crossbred Sahelian × Anglo-Nubian goats in the semi-intensive system in Mali during the preweaning period

The aim of this study was to evaluate milk yield and its composition during the preweaning period for Sahelian goats (SG) and Anglo-Nubian (AN) crossbred depending on some factors. The experiments were conducted from January to December 2008 for 44 suckled and hand-milked does, randomized, and divided into two equal groups: SG (n022) and F1 Anglo-Nubian × Sahelian goats (1/2AN; n0 22). The does and their offsprings were kept in a pen where they stayed indoors for 45 days before they were allowed outdoors when the weather was suitable. Each category received supplemental feeds depending on the season (rainy season, dry cold season, and dry hot season). The average daily milk yield was recorded weekly from parturition to 100 days of age. Individual milk samples were taken for chemical analysis in connection with the yield measurements twice per month from the fourth week of lactation throughout the different seasons (rainy, cold dry, and hot dry). The daily milk yield differed between breed types (P0 0.001) during the preweaning, while the effect of kids' sex on daily milk production was not significant. Litter size affected milk yield up to day 60 (P00.032) where does with twins producing more milk than those with single kid. However, at day 100, both groups had similar (P00.001) milk production. Total milk yield at weaning increased by 103 % in 1/2AN over SG. The highest concentration of total solids of milk was (12.76 %) recorded in the hot dry season. The results of this study indicate that crossbreeding native Sahelian goats with high potential Anglo-Nubian buck improved milk production and its composition