• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.11 no.2
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• pp.162-170
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• 1998

The dose response effects of different levels of wheat barn (WB) supplementation to a rice straw based diet has been studied in growing native (Bos indicus) bulls of Bangladesh. Twelve bulls of $266{\pm}29.6kg$ live weight and $32{\pm}9.5$ months old were given either of three diets of ad libitum untreated rice straw alone (T1) or straw supplemented with 2 (T2) or 3 (T3) kg WB. Besides, the experimental animals also received a mineral mixture. In 4 weeks, data were recorded on the intake, digestibility, microbial N (MN) yield, N balance (NB) and growth rate (GR). In the three diets, WB was 0 (T1), 29.6 (T2) and 42 (T3) percent of the total DM intake. With the increasing levels of WB supplementation, the total DM and OM intake increased, but the straw intake decreased linearly. WB supplementation increased the digestibilities of DM, OM and N but had no effect on ADF digestibility. The urinary purine derivative excretion and hence the MN yield increased with WB supplementation. The total MN yield were 7.26 and 35 g/d respectively for 0.2 and 3 kg WB supplementation. However, the efficiency of MN yield was highest (13 g/kg DOMR) at 2 kg WB level. Despite the increase DOM intake, the dietary ME content remain below 6 MJ/kg DM even at 3 kg WB supplementation. The NB were -84,467 and 1,620 mg/kg $W^{0.75}/d$ which were reflected on the GR of -186,346 and 554 g/d for 0, 2 and 3 kg WB supplementation respectively. Depending on the cost effectiveness, on an untreated rice straw diet, WB may be supplemented by up to 3 kg/d (42% of the diet) or more. However, if the maximum utilization of roughage is the main concern, the optimum WB level would probably be around 2 kg (30% of the diet) daily.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.16 no.8
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• pp.1137-1142
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• 2003

In a balanced incomplete block design, two dry Holstein cows were used to investigate the effect of $\beta$ 1-4 galactooligosaccharides (GOS) supplementation on nitrogen (N) utilization, rumen fermentation and microbial N supply in the rumen. During the experiment, cows were fed four diets: orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.) silage (OS), OS with GOS supplementation (OSG), OS mixed with alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) silage (MS) and MS with GOS supplementation (MSG). GOS was supplemented at 2% of dry matter intake. Diets were fed at maintenance level of protein and energy. Results showed that N digestion was affected by silage and interaction of silage and GOS supplementation. Cows fed OSG had the highest N digested (p<0.05) followed by MS, OS and MSG. Supplementation of GOS to OS or MS diets tended to improve N utilization through reducing the N losses on dairy cows. There was no effect of GOS supplementation on rumen fermentation parameters (i.e. pH, $NH_3$-N and total VFA) at 1 h and 6 h after feeding. Compared to cows fed MS, cows fed OS silage had higher (p<0.05) allantoin excretion (80.8 vs. 67.1 mmol/d) and higher (p<0.05) total purine derivatives excretion (92.9 vs. 78.5 mmol/d). The microbial N supply in cows fed OSG was higher (p<0.05) than those fed OS, MS and MSG.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.372-377
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• 2016

The objectives of the trial were to investigate the effects of supplementing vitamin E (VE) on nutrient digestion, nitrogen (N) retention and plasma parameters of beef cattle in feedlot. Four growing Simmental bulls, fed with a total mixed ration composed of corn silage and concentrate mixture as basal ration, were used as the experimental animals. Four levels of VE product, i.e. 0, 150, 300, 600 mg/head/d (equivalent to 0, 75, 150, 300 IU VE/head/d), were supplemented to the basal ration (VE content 38 IU/kg dry matter) in a $4{\times}4$ Latin square design as experimental treatments I, II, III and IV, respectively. Each experimental period lasted 15 days, of which the first 12 days were for pretreatment and the last 3 days for sampling. The results showed that supplementing VE did not affect the nutrient digestibility (p>0.05) whereas decreased the urinary N excretion (p<0.01), increased the N retention (p<0.05) and tended to increase the microbial N supply estimated based on the total urinary purine derivatives (p = 0.057). Supplementing VE increased the plasma concentrations of VE, glucose and triglycerol (TG) (p<0.05) and tended to increase the plasma concentration of total protein (p = 0.096) whereas did not affect the plasma antioxidant indices and other parameters (p>0.05). It was concluded that supplementing VE up to 300 IU/head/d did not affect the nutrient digestibility whereas supplementing VE at 150 or 300 IU/head/d increased the N retention and the plasma concentrations of VE and TG (p<0.05) of beef cattle.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.15 no.7
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• pp.992-997
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• 2002

Two in vivo experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of novel urease inhibitor hydroquinone (HQ) on ammonia release rate from urea hydrolysis, nitrogen balance, nutrient digestibility and efficiency of microbial protein synthesis. In Exp. 1, twelve crossbred cannulated lambs were randomly assigned within initial body weight block to one of four HQ treatments, which included 0 (control), 30, 60 or 80 mg HQ/kg DM intake. Ammonia concentration and pH of ruminal fluid were immediately measured at 0, 2, 4, 6 and 8 h after feeding. Increasing the dose of HQ tended (p<0.15) to linearly decrease NH3 formation. The ammonia peak concentration (2 h post-feeding) in animals receiving HQ was approximately one-half of that in animals not receiving HQ (p<0.01), and a relatively sustained ammonia release could be obtained at the dose of 30 or 60 mg HQ/kg DM. In Exp. 2, sixteen intact crossbred lambs (weight $40{\pm}0.8kg$) were used in a $2{\times}2$ factorial design experiment. The four rations consisting of soybean meal-based (SBM) or urea-based (Urea) nitrogen source with or without HQ (S1, S0, U1 and U0) were fed in digestion and N balance trials. Apparent digestibility of major nutrients except that of ADF was not affected by either nitrogen source or addition of HQ. Regardless of nitrogen source, supplementation of HQ significantly improved ADF digestibility (p<0.05). The various ration had no effects on N metabolism in the presence of HQ. There was significant difference between total purine derivatives (PD), estimated efficiency of microbial N synthesis (p<0.05) and urea-N excretion (p<0.01) in the urine for the SBM ration and for the Urea ration. However, HQ had little influence on efficiency of microbial N synthesis as proportion of daily intake of total tract digestible OM (p>0.05). No interactions between main nitrogen source and HQ were measured throughout the trial. Results of this study suggest that addition of HQ to ration may improve ADF digestion with having no negative effect on N metabolism and microbial protein production.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.506-520
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• 2023

Objective: Japanese Brown (JBR) cattle, especially the Kochi (Tosa) pedigree (JBRT), is a local breed of moderately marbled beef. Despite the increasing demand, the interbreed differences in muscle metabolites from the highly marbled Japanese Black (JBL) beef remain poorly understood. We aimed to determine flavor-related metabolites and postmortem metabolisms characteristic to JBRT beef in comparison with JBL beef. Methods: Lean portions of the longissimus thoracis (loin) muscle from four JBRT cattle were collected at 0, 1, and 14 d postmortem. The muscle metabolomic profiles were analyzed using capillary electrophoresis time-of-flight mass spectrometry. The difference in post-mortem metabolisms and aged muscle metabolites were analyzed by statistical and bioinformatic analyses between JBRT (n = 12) and JBL cattle (n = 6). Results: A total of 240 metabolite annotations were obtained from the detected signals of the JBRT muscle samples. Principal component analysis separated the beef samples into three different aging point groups. According to metabolite set enrichment analysis, post-mortem metabolic changes were associated with the metabolism of pyrimidine, nicotinate and nicotinamide, purine, pyruvate, thiamine, amino sugar, and fatty acid; citric acid cycle; and pentose phosphate pathway as well as various amino acids and mitochondrial fatty acid metabolism. The aged JBRT beef showed higher ultimate pH and lower lactate content than aged JBL beef, suggesting the lower glycolytic activity in postmortem JBRT muscle. JBRT beef was distinguished from JBL beef by significantly different compounds, including choline, amino acids, uridine monophosphate, inosine 5'-monophosphate, fructose 1,6-diphosphate, and betaine, suggesting interbreed differences in the accumulation of nucleotide monophosphate, glutathione metabolism, and phospholipid metabolism. Conclusion: Glycolysis, purine metabolism, fatty acid catabolism, and protein degradation were the most common pathways in beef during postmortem aging. The differentially expressed metabolites and the relevant metabolisms in JBRT beef may contribute to the development of a characteristic flavor.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.10 no.5
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• pp.445-454
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• 1997

Rice bran commonly available in Bangladesh is a mixture of rice hulls (60%), bran (35%) and polishing (5%), referred here as rice mill feed (RMF). Dose response effect of RMF supplementation to a straw diet including a zero level was measured on the intake, digestibility, nitrogen balance, microbial N yield and growth rate of growing native (Bos indicus) bulls. Twelve bulls of 33 months old and $272{\pm}31.5kg$ weight were randomly allocated to diets having 0 (T1), 1 (T2) and 2 (T3) kg RMF in addition to 200 g wheat bran, 200 g molasses, 60 g salt and 30 g oyestershe\l powder. Concentrate intake was 5.5, 19.2 and 29.5% of the dietary intake for the T1, T2 and T3 treatment respectively. RMF supplementation had no significant effect on the straw DM intake. However, with the increasing levels of RMF supplementation, total DM & digestible OM intake and the whole gut digestibilities of DM, OM, N & ADF increased but in deminishig return. Total microbial N yield estimated from the urinary purine excretion were 15.35, 26.56 and 38.44 g/d for the treatment T1, T2 and T3 respectively. Both the N intake and the N balance increased linearly in response to increasing level of RMF. Supplementation of RMF linearly increased the energy intake and dietary energy concentration. Growth rate in the T1, T2 and T3 treatments were 112, 125 and 250 g/d respctively. The basal N excretion and the maintenance energy requirement of the experimental animals were estimated to be 615 mg/kg $W^{0.75}/d$ and 447 kJ/kg $W^{0.75}/d$ respectively. The estimated efficiency on N utilization was 0.83 mg/mg of N intake ($r^2=0.997$) while the efficiency of metabolizable energy utilization for growth was 0.15. Since animal refused higher levels of RMF, inclusion up to 2 kg level (about 25% of the total DM intake) appears to have no depressing effect on the performances of animal. However, RMF itself fail to meet the critical nutrient need of the rumen microbes. Therefore response of supplementing RMF after correcting the critical nutrient deficiency need to be studied.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.30 no.5
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• pp.653-659
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• 2017

Objective: This trial was performed to examine the effects of ruminally degradable starch (RDS) levels in total mixed ration (TMR) with low corn-based starch on the milk production, whole-tract nutrient digestibility and nitrogen balance in dairy cows. Methods: Eight multiparous Holstein cows (body weight [BW]: $717{\pm}63kg$; days in milk [DIM]: $169{\pm}29$) were assigned to a crossover design with two dietary treatments: a diet containing 62.3% ruminally degradable starch (% of total starch, low RDS) or 72.1% ruminally degradable starch (% of total starch, high RDS). Changes to the ruminally degradable levels were conducted by using either finely ground corn or steam-flaked corn as the starch component. Results: The results showed that dry matter intake, milk yield and composition in dairy cows were not affected by dietary treatments. The concentration of milk urea nitrogen was lower for cows fed high RDS TMR than low RDS TMR. The whole-tract apparent digestibility of neutral detergent fiber, acid detergent fiber and crude protein decreased, and that of starch increased for cows fed high RDS TMR over those fed low RDS TMR, with no dietary effect on the whole-tract apparent digestibility of dry matter and organic matter. The proportion of urinary N excretion in N intake was lower and that of fecal N excretion in N intake was higher for cows fed high RDS TMR than those fed low RDS TMR. The N secretion in milk and the retention of N were not influenced by the dietary treatments. Total purine derivative was similar in cows fed high RDS TMR and low RDS TMR. Consequently, estimated microbial N flow to the duodenum was similar in cows fed high RDS TMR and low RDS TMR. Conclusion: Results of this study show that ruminally degradable starch levels can influence whole-tract nutrient digestibility and nitrogen balance in dairy cows fed low corn-based starch diets, with no influence on performance.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.19 no.9
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• pp.1305-1313
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• 2006

Five male dairy goats (Saanen), 4.6 month old with a body weight of 21.4 ($SD{\pm}1.6$) kg, were used to examine 5 dietary urea treatments in a $5{\times}5$ Latin Square experimental design. The five levels of urea were 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50 g urea/kg DM of steam-treated oil palm fronds (OPF) and dry matter intake tended (p>0.05) to increase with increasing urea supplementation up to 30 g/kg OPF (77.7 g/kg $BW^{0.75}$), but decreased (p<0.05) with 40 and 50 g urea/kg OPF (67.4 and 63.7 g/kg BW0.75, respectively) supplementation. Similarly, dry matter, organic matter, crude protein, neutral detergent fiber and hemicellulose digestibilities increased (p<0.05) with the addition of urea to 30 g/kg OPF but thereafter decreased (p<0.05) with 40 and 50 g/kg OPF. Ruminal pH, ruminal $NH_3$-N concentration and plasma urea concentration increased linearly (p<0.01) and quadratically (p<0.01) as a consequence of addition of urea to the diet. Excretion of total purine derivatives (PD) by goats fed 30 g of urea/kg OPF was highest (p<0.05) followed by goats fed 20, 40, 10 and 50 g of urea/kg OPF. Microbial N (g N/day) and efficiency of microbial N supply expressed as g N/kg organic matter apparently digested in the rumen were higher (p<0.05) in goats fed 30 g of urea/kg OPF (5.5 g N/day and 22.0 g N/kg DOMR, respectively) than in goats on 10 and 50 g of urea/kg OPF treatments. However, the former did not differ from goats fed 20 g of urea/kg OPF (3.9 g N/day and 16.6 g N/kg DMOR, respectively). Ruminal VFA concentration, protein/energy ratio, N absorption and N retention increased (p<0.05) with the addition of urea to the diet up to 30 g/kg OPF but decreased (p<0.05) with 40 and 50 g/kg OPF. This implies that the optimal level of urea supplementation in an OPF based diet was about 30 g urea/kg OPF.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.26 no.8
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• pp.1127-1136
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• 2013

Four rumen-fistulated crossbred beef cattle (Brahman native) were randomly assigned according to a $4{\times}4$ Latin square design experiment to be fed plant herb supplements in their concentrate mixture. The treatments were: without herb supplementation (Control), lemongrass meal supplementation at 100 g/d (L), lemongrass meal supplementation at 100 g/d plus peppermint powder at 10 g/d (LP), and lemongrass meal supplementation at 100 g/d plus peppermint powder at 10 g/d with garlic powder 40 g/d (LPG), respectively. Based on the present study, the DMI and apparent digestibility of DM, OM, aNDF and ADF were not affected by dietary herb supplementation while CP digestibility tended to be decreased by herb supplement. Moreover, $NH_3$-N and BUN were decreased in all herb supplemented treatments and there was a tendency to an increase in ruminal pH in all herb supplemented groups. While there was no change in TVFA and C4 among lemongrass treatments, C2 was decreased in all herb supplemented treatments while C3 was increased. Methane production by calculation was the lowest in the LP and LPG groups. Population sizes of bacteria and protozoa were decreased in all herb supplemented groups, but not fungal zoospores. In all supplemented groups, total viable and proteolytic bacteria were decreased, while amylolytic and cellulolytic bacteria were similar. More importantly, in all herb supplemented groups, there were higher N balances, while there was no difference among treatments on purine derivative (PD) excretion or microbial N. Based on the results above, it could be concluded that there was no negative effect on ruminal fermentation characteristics and nutrient utilization by plant herb supplement, but protozoal population and $CH_4$ production were reduced. Thus, lemongrass alone or in combination with peppermint and garlic powder could be used as feed additives to improve rumen fermentation efficiency.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.220-228
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• 2007

The nutritive value and the effect of tannins on the utilization of foliage from three commonly used legumes, Acacia nilotica, Albizia procera, and Sesbania acculeata, were determined. Three mature rumen-fistulated bullocks were used to study in sacco degradability and twelve adult sheep were randomly allocated on the basis of live weight to 4 groups of 3 in each to study the in vivo digestibility of the foliages. In all foliages, the contents of crude protein (17 to 24% of DM) were high. Fibre was especially high in Albizia (NDF 58.8% of DM vs. 21% in Sesbania and 15.4% in Acacia). Contents of both hydrolysable (4.4 to 0.05%) and condensed tannins (1.2 to 0.04%) varied from medium to low in the foliages. Acacia contained the highest level of total phenolics (20.1%), protein precipitable phenolics (13.2%) and had the highest capacity to precipitate protein (14.7%). Drying in shade reduced the tannin content in Acacia and Albizia by 48.6 and 69.3% respectively. The foliages ranked similarly for each of the different methods used to estimate tannin content and activity. Acacia and Sesbania foliage was highly degradable (85-87% potential degradability of DM in sacco), compared to Albizia (52%), indicating a minimal effect of tannins in Acacia and Sesbania. Yet, in vitro, the tannins in the Acacia inhibited microbial activity more than those in Albizia and Sesbania. Following the addition of polyethylene glycol to neutralise the tannins, gas production and microbial growth increased by 59% and 0.09 mg RNA equiv./dg microbial yield respectively in the Acacia, compared to 16-17% and 0.06 mg RNA equiv./dg microbial yield in the other foliages. There was a trend for low in vivo apparent digestibility of N in the Acacia (43.2%) and Albizia (44.2%) compared to the Sesbania (54.5%) supplemented groups. This was likely to be due to presence of tannins. Consistent with this was the low N retention (0.22 and 0.19 g N/g NI) in sheep supplemented with Acacia and Albizia compared to that for the Sesbania (0.32). Similarly, a trend for poor microbial N yield was observed in sheep fed these foliages. Across the foliages tested, an increase in tannin content was associated with a reduction in ruminal fermentation, N digestibility and N retention. For overall nutritive value, Sesbania proved to be the superior forage of the three tested.