• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.12 no.8
• /
• pp.1222-1227
• /
• 1999

Effect of three major cropping seasons and five fertilizer treatments on botanical composition, nutritional composition and in sacco digestibility of native grasses grown in 30 experimental plots of a medium fertile land was determined. It was observed that all the major grass species were grown in all seasons but their predominancy of growth was different. During the study the predominant grass species were Panicum repens (Angta), Fimvristylis miliacea (Joina), Cyanolis axillaries (Kanainala), Cynodon dactylon (Durba) and Cyperus iria (Phulchaise) which contributed about 27, 20, 13, 11 and 9% of the total grass yield, respectively. Dry matter (DM) contents was higher in dry followed by monsoon and summer seasons (p<0.05). Crude protein (CP) content in the summer and monsoon appeared to be higher (p<0.05) than that of dry season. Organic matter (OM) and neutral detergent fibre (NDF) were higher (p<0.05) in dry and monsoon than in summer season. Application of urea fertilizer and cowdung increased 28.2% of CP content of the grasses, but decreased 19.5 and 9.8% of DM and NDF contents, respectively. The potential degradation of DM and CP of the grasses grown in summer were 4.1 and 8.4% and 3.9 and 5.8% higher than those of monsoon and dry seasons, respectively, and both of these increased (11.3 and 5.9%, respectively) with the application of cowdung and urea fertilizer.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.8 no.3
• /
• pp.267-273
• /
• 1995

The differences in rumen particle pool size, passage rate and rumen degradability in sheep receiving three varieties of orchardgrass hay harvested at pre-heading (H1), early-bloom (H2) and late-bloom (H3) were investigated using four ruminal-cannulated wethers (68 kg) fed 1,300 g of the hay once a day. Representative samples of whole rumen contents were collected at different times after feeding and the quantities of rumen particle pools [large particle pool (LPP), retained on a $1,180{\mu}m$ sieve; small particle pool (SPP), retained on a 47 but passed a $1,180{\mu}m$ sieve; and soluble fraction (SOL), passed a $47{\mu}m$ sieve (SOL)] were determined by a wet-sieving technique. The fullowing results were obtained: 1) The dry weight of whole rumen contents were significantly lower (p < 0.05) for HI than for H2 or H3. The reduction rate of whole rumen contents was slightly but significantly greater for HI that, the other hay varieties. 2) The LPP disappearance rates were 26.2, 25.3 and 21.7 g DM/h for H1, H2 and H3, respectively, and no statistical differences were found among the hay varieties. Appreciable changes were not observed with SPP and SOL throughout measurements for all hay varieties; however the SPP was markedly greater (p <0.05) for H2 and ill than for HI, while SOL did not differ among hay varieties. 3) The SPP passage rate (g DM/h) and effective rumen degradability (%) for HI, H2 and ill were, respectively, 9.7, 56.6; 16.9, 42.3; and 18.0, 28.9. The ruminal tum-over rate for SPP appeared to be higher for HI than for the other hay varieties.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.28 no.10
• /
• pp.1442-1448
• /
• 2015

The objectives of this study were to determine the molecular weight of condensed tannins (CT) extracted from mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana L) peel, its protein binding affinity and effects on fermentation parameters including total gas, methane ($CH_4$) and volatile fatty acids (VFA) production. The average molecular weight ($M_w$) of the purified CT was 2,081 Da with a protein binding affinity of 0.69 (the amount needed to bind half the maximum bovine serum albumin). In vitro gas production declined by 0.409, 0.121, and 0.311, respectively, while CH4 production decreased by 0.211, 0.353, and 0.549, respectively, with addition of 10, 20, and 30 mg CT/500 mg dry matter (DM) compared to the control (p<0.05). The effects of CT from mangosteen-peel on in vitro DM degradability (IVDMD) and in vitro N degradability was negative and linear (p<0.01). Total VFA, concentrations of acetic, propionic, butyric and isovaleric acids decreased linearly with increasing amount of CT. The aforementioned results show that protein binding affinity of CT from mangosteen-peel is lower than those reported for Leucaena forages, however, the former has stronger negative effect on IVDMD. Therefore, the use of mangosteen-peel as protein source and $CH_4$ mitigating agent in ruminant feed requires further investigations.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.26 no.4
• /
• pp.509-516
• /
• 2013

This study estimated the fermentation characteristics and nutrient value of corn-lablab bean mixture silages relative to corn silages. The effects of feeding corn-lablab bean mixture silages on nutrient apparent digestibility and milk production of dairy cows in northern China were also investigated. Three ruminally cannulated Holstein cows were used to determine the ruminal digestion kinetics and ruminal nutrient degradability of corn silage and corn-lablab bean mixture silages. Sixty lactating Holstein cows were randomly divided into two groups of 30 cows each. Two diets were formulated with a 59:41 forage: concentrate ratio. Corn silage and corn-lablab bean mixture silages constituted 39.3% of the forage in each diet, with Chinese wildrye hay constituting the remaining 60.7%. Corn-lablab bean mixture silages had higher lactic acid, acetic acid, dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), ash, Ca, ether extract concentrations and ruminal nutrient degradability than monoculture corn silage (p<0.05). Neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) concentrations of corn-lablab bean mixture silages were lower than those of corn silage (p<0.05). The digestibility of DM, CP, NDF, and ADF for cows fed corn-lablab bean mixture silages was higher than for those fed corn silage (p<0.05). Feeding corn-lablab bean mixture silages increased milk yield and milk protein of dairy cows when compared with feeding corn silage (p<0.05). The economic benefit for cow fed corn-lablab bean mixture silages was 8.43 yuan/day/cow higher than that for that fed corn silage. In conclusion, corn-lablab bean mixture improved the fermentation characteristics and nutrient value of silage compared with monoculture corn. In this study, feeding corn-lablab bean mixture silages increased milk yield, milk protein and nutrient apparent digestibility of dairy cows compared with corn silage in northern China.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.17 no.12
• /
• pp.1681-1688
• /
• 2004

Soaked and pasteurised wheat straw was inoculated with five species of Pleurotus fungi (coded P-21, P-30, P-41, P-60 and P-90), packed in polyethylene bags and incubated in a fermentation chamber for 21 days. The chemical composition, in vitro digestibility and in sacco degradability of the treated and untreated straw were estimated using a complete randomised design consisting of six treatments and four replicates. In a feeding trial, in vivo digestibility and voluntary intake were determined in bulls, using a $3{\times}3$change over design. Dietary treatments were: 1) untreated wheat straw (UWS) as control; 2) fungal treated (P-41) wheat straw before mushroom formation (FTWS); 3) spent wheat straw (SPWS) after mushrooms were harvested. Apart from P-90, fungal treatment significantly (p<0.05) increased the crude protein (CP) and reduced the cell wall components of the straw. The in vitro dry mater and organic mater digestibility significantly (p<0.05) increased in the treated straw particularly with the treatments of P-41 and P-60. The in situ degradability and in vivo digestibility of DM and OM were significantly (p<0.05) increased in treated straws with the highest values observed for treatment P-41. The intake of DM, OM and digestible organic mater (DOM) were significantly (p<0.05) increased in cows fed FTWS.

• Animal Bioscience
• /
• v.37 no.1
• /
• pp.74-83
• /
• 2024

Objective: Mitragyna speciosa Korth is traditionally used in Thailand. They have a high level of antioxidant capacities and bioactive compounds, the potential to modulate rumen fermentation and decrease methane production. The aim of the study was to investigate the different levels of microencapsulated-Mitragyna leaves extracts (MMLE) supplementation on nutrient degradability, rumen ecology, microbial dynamics, and methane production in an in vitro study. Methods: A completely randomized design was used to assign the experimental treatments, MMLE was supplemented at 0%, 4%, 6%, and 8% of the total dry matter (DM) substrate. Results: The addition of MMLE significantly increased in vitro dry matter degradability both at 12, 24, and 48 h, while ammonia-nitrogen (NH₃-N) concentration was improved with MMLE supplementation. The MMLE had the greatest propionate and total volatile fatty acid production when added with 6% of total DM substrate, while decreased the methane production (12, 24, and 48 h). Furthermore, the microbial population of cellulolytic bacteria and Butyrivibrio fibrisolvens were increased, whilst Methanobacteriales was decreased with MMLE feeding. Conclusion: The results indicated that MMLE could be a potential alternative plant-based bioactive compound supplement to be used as ruminant feed additives.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.19 no.3
• /
• pp.376-380
• /
• 2006

An experiment was conducted to study the effect of temperature and pH on in vitro nutrient degradability, volatile fatty acid profile and methane production. The fermenter used was the semi-continuous system, known as the rumen simulation technique (RUSITEC). Sixteen cylinders were used at one time with a volume of 800 ml, the dilution rate was set at 3.5%/hour, the infused buffer being McDougall's artificial saliva. Basal diet (9.6 g DM) used in RUSITEC consisted of (DM) 6.40 g Timothy hay, 1.86 g crushed corn and 1.34 g soybean meal. The food for the fermentation vessel was provided in nylon bags, which were gently agitated in the liquid phase. The experiment lasted for 17 d with all the samples taken during the last 5 d. Treatments were allocated at random to four vessels each and were (1) two temperature levels of $39^{\circ}C$ and $41^{\circ}C$ (2) two pH levels of 6.0 and 7.0. The total diet contained ($g\;kg^{-1}$ DM) 957 OM, 115 CP and $167MJ\;kg^{-1}$ (DM) GE. Although increase in temperature from $39^{\circ}C$ to $41^{\circ}C$ reduced degradation of major nutrients in vitro, it was non-significant. Interaction effect of temperature with pH also reflected a similar trend. However, pH showed a significant (p<0.05) negative effect on the degradability of all the nutrients in vitro. Altering the in vitro pH from 7 to 6 caused marked reduction in DMD from 60.2 to 41.8, CPD from 76.3 to 55.3 and GED from 55.3 to 35.1, respectively. Low pH (6) depressed total VFA production (61.9 vs. 34.9 mM) as well as acetate to propionate ratio in vitro (from 2.0 to 1.5) when compared to pH 7. Compared to pH 7, total gas production decreased from 1,841 ml to 1,148 ml at pH 6, $CO_2$ and $CH_4$ production also reduced from 639 to 260 ml and 138 to 45 ml, respectively. This study supported the premise that pH is one of the principal factors affecting the microbial production of volatile fatty acids and gas. Regulating the ruminal pH to increase bacterial activity may be one of the methods to optimize VFA production, reduce methane and, possibly, improve animal performance.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
• /
• v.58 no.9
• /
• pp.33.1-33.7
• /
• 2016

Background: The continuing growth of the ethanol industry has generated large amounts of various distillers grains co-products. These are characterized by a wide variation in chemical composition and ruminal degradability. Therefore, their precise formulation in the ruminant diet requires the systematic evaluation of their degradation profiles in the rumen. Methods: Three distillers grains plus soluble co-products (DDGS) namely, corn DDGS, high-protein corn DDGS (HP-DDGS), and wheat DDGS, were subjected to an in situ trial to determine the degradation kinetics of the dry matter (DM) and crude protein (CP). Soybean meal (SBM), a feed with highly degradable protein in the rumen, was included as the fourth feed. The four feeds were incubated in duplicate at each time point in the rumen of three ruminally cannulated Hanwoo cattle for 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 24, and 48 h. Results: Wheat DDGS had the highest filterable and soluble A fraction of its DM (37.2 %), but the lowest degradable B (49.5 %; P < 0.001) and an undegradable C fraction (13.3 %; P < 0.001). The filterable and soluble A fraction of CP was greatest with wheat DDGS, intermediate with corn DDGS, and lowest with HP-DDGS and SBM; however, the undegradable C fraction of CP was the greatest with HP-DDGS (41.2 %), intermediate with corn DDGS (2.7 %), and lowest with wheat DDGS and SMB (average 4.3 %). The degradation rate of degradable B fraction ($%\;h^{-1}$) was ranked from highest to lowest as follows for 1) DM: SBM (13.3), wheat DDGS (9.1), and corn DDGS and HP-DDGS (average 5.2); 2) CP: SBM (17.6), wheat DDGS (11.6), and corn DDGS and HP-DDGS (average 4.4). The in situ effective degradability of CP, assuming a passage rate of $0.06h^{-1}$, was the highest (P < 0.001) for SBM (73.9 %) and wheat DDGS (71.2 %), intermediate for corn DDGS (42.5 %), and the lowest for HP-DDGS (28.6 %), which suggests that corn DDGS and HP-DDGS are a good source of undegraded intake protein for ruminants. Conclusions: This study provided a comparative estimate of ruminal DM and CP degradation characteristics for three DDGS co-products and SBM, which might be useful for their inclusion in the diet according to the ruminally undegraded to degraded intake protein ratio.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
• /
• v.20 no.6
• /
• pp.914-919
• /
• 2007

The effect of the addition of exogenous fibrolytic enzymes (mainly xylanase and cellulase activities, 15 ml/15 kg of fresh forage), on intake, total tract digestibility and nylon bag degradability of a chopped fresh Digitaria decumbens grass was studied at 2 stages of regrowth ( 21 and 56-day old grasses). Moreover, comparisons between ground and chopped grass were done using the nylon bag degradability method. DM intake (g/kg $BW^{0.75}$) and organic matter total tract digestibility for control and enzyme treatments respectively were 69.1 vs. 65.9 (p>0.05) and 0.723 vs. 0.727 (p>0.05) with the 21-day old regrowth. Based on the same parameters, values for the 56-day old grass were 58.1 vs. 52.7 (p>0.05) and 0.621 vs. 0.591 (p>0.05). Nylon bag degradation at 24 h of the dry matter for control versus enzyme treatments were 0.653 vs. 0.70 (p<0.05) and 0.644 vs. 0.733 (p<0.0001) for the 21-day old chopped and ground forage respectively, whereas with the 56-day old grass, corresponding values were 0.321 vs. 0.392 (p<0.0001) and 0.463 vs. 0.481 (p>0.05). The positive impact of exogenous fibrolytic enzymes (EFE) on degradability of the young and ground pangola grass may suggest that in some cases, enzyme accessibility to potentially digestible cell wall is a limiting factor in their digestion.

• Animal Bioscience
• /
• v.35 no.3
• /
• pp.422-433
• /
• 2022

Objective: Two follow-up studies (exp. 1 and 2) were conducted to determine the effects of L-glutamine (L-Gln) supplementation on degradation and rumen fermentation characteristics in vitro. Methods: First, rumen liquor from three cannulated cows was used to test L-Gln (50 mM) degradation rate and ammonia-N production at 6, 12, 24, 36, and 48 h after incubation (exp. 1). Second, rumen liquor from two cannulated steers was used to assess the effects of five levels of L-Gln including 0% (control), 0.5%, 1%, 2%, and 3% at 0, 3, 6, 12, 24, 36, and 48 h after incubation on fermentation characteristics, gas production, and degradability of nutrients (exp. 2). Results: In exp. 1, L-Gln degradation rate and ammonia-N concentrations increased over time (p<0.001). In exp. 2, pH was reduced significantly as incubation time elapsed (p<0.001). Total gas production tended to increase in all groups as incubation time increased. Acetate and propionate tended to increase by increasing glutamine (Gln) levels, whereas levels of total volatile fatty acids (VFAs) were the highest in 0.5% and 3% Gln groups (p<0.001). The branched-chain VFA showed both linear and quadratic effects showing the lowest values in the 1% Gln group particularly after 6 h incubation (p<0.001). L-Gln increased crude protein degradability (p<0.001), showing the highest degradability in the 0.5% Gln group regardless of incubation time (p<0.05). Degradability of acid detergent fiber and neutral detergent fiber showed a similar pattern showing the highest values in 0.5% Gln group (p<0.10). Conclusion: Although L-Gln showed no toxicity when it was supplemented at high dosages (2% to 3% of DM), 0.5% L-Gln demonstrated the positive effects on main factors including VFAs production in-vitro. The results of this study need to be verified in further in-vivo study.