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The use of additives in the diet of ruminants consists of a management protocol that makes the livestock system more productive, sustainable and profitable. In practice, additives promote the balance of the microbial population, and improve the energy balance from food. The use of these compounds becomes advantageous as they reduce energy losses by methanogenic metabolic pathways, and the emission of enteric gases from ruminal fermentation. The short-chain fatty acids which are compounds resulting from rumen fermentation, constitute the main source of energy in the rumen, and therefore, the entire metabolic process can directly reflect the productivity performance of the cattle. Fator P is a natural additive composed of amino acids, minerals, probiotics, prebiotics and fatty acids, which was developed to meet current market needs. The aim of this study was to evaluate the synthesis of short-chain fatty acids from ruminal fluid collected from grazing animals treated with the Fator P additive over a period of 365 consecutive days. The ruminal metabolism work was conducted at Research Center of Premix (Patrocínio Paulista-SP, Brazil), using 3 cattle per treatment, which received a daily dose of 6 g of Fator P additive in the treated group, and 6 g of placebo in the control group. Ruminal fluid samples were collected weekly, and the analysis of short-chain fatty acids were carried out by the method of gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. The results of the difference between means showed an increase of 15.2% (P < 0.0001) in the production of total fatty acids in the group treated with the natural additive Fator P compared with the control group. Notably, there was also an increase in the production of the three main AGCC: 13.3% for acetate (P < 0.0001); 14.7% for propionate (P = 0.0003); and 18.4% for butyrate (P = 0.0001; Table 1). Statistical analyzes were performed using the ANOVA test followed by the Tukey mean test (P < 0.05) in GraphPad PRISM Program 7.00 version. Therefore, the results indicate that the natural additive Fator P improves energy levels through the increase of short-chain fatty acids and directly reflects on the productivity indexes of the cattle. Furthermore, the product reduces the use of growth promoting antibiotics, improve intestine health, immune response of animals, carcass finishing, increase herd weight gain and milk production in a profitable and sustainable way for the cattle breeder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emission of greenhouse gases from the enteric fermentation of ruminants contributes to the worsening of the world climate and has serious consequences for the environment. The use of additives in animal diets modulates the population of rumen microorganisms, reduces metabolic losses through methanogenic pathways, and brings benefits in improving the energy balance of volatile fatty acids in the rumen, but, the traditional antibiotics, increase the risk of contamination to the environment and antimicrobial resistance. Fator P is a natural additive composed of amino acids (lysine, methionine, and tyrosine), choline, minerals, probiotics and essential fatty acids (omega 3 and omega 6). The advantage of using the natural additive Fator P, is that it can reduce the risk of antimicrobial resistance, maintain the balance of the ruminal ecosystem, and avoid possible destabilization of the flora even with constant use of the additive. The aim of this study was to quantify methanogenic microorganisms in grazing animals treated with the additive Factor P, and show that the additive is able to reduce and maintain the methanogenic population stable for a period of 365 consecutive days. The experiment was conducted using 3 cattle per treatment randomized based on the initial methanogenic population, that received a daily dose of 6 g of Factor P additive in the treated group, and 6 g of placebo in the control group. Samples of ruminal fluids from the animals were collected weekly for DNA extraction (Qiagem 51604). The evaluation of the profile of methanogenic microorganisms was performed by the relative quantification method using qPCR with primer sequences for total bacteria and methanogenic (target) bacteria, described in the literature and previously standardized in calibration curves. The statistics analyzes were performed according to the ANOVA test followed by the Tukey mean test (P < 0.05) in GraphPad PRISM Program 7.00 version. These results of the difference between the means of the weekly relative quantifications of the treated group (0.197) and control group (0.279), showed a reduction of 29.9% (P value = 0.0022; Table 1). The results indicate that the natural additive Fator P is an efficient and sustainable product for reducing and maintaining the methanogenic population of the treated group stable throughout the 365 days of the year. In this case, it can be considered as a safe solution to reduce the methanogenic population and has been shown to be effective in increasing the productivity of commercial cattle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects caused by climatic variations in the world, have been attributed to the increase in the emission of greenhouse gases and as a consequence of worsening global warming. The improper handling of animals can contribute to the emission of gases of enteric origin, which are harmful to the environment. The use of additives in the diet of animals tends to be more advantageous as it will equilibrate the ruminal microbial flora, modulate the ruminal metabolism, and reduce the emission of greenhouse gases to environment. Fator P is a natural additive that was developed to attend the current needs of the livestock market, and make the management system more productive and sustainable, and reduce impacts on the environment. The aim of this work was to evaluate the profile of methanogenic microorganisms by the method of relative quantification by qPCR in animals treated with the natural additive Fator P. The experiment was carried out in triplicate, with a total of six animals, in pasture, receiving 6 gr of the Fator P additive and control. Over 28 days of experiment, the ruminal liquid was collected in days 0, 2, 4, 7, 10, 14, 21, 28, and the DNA was extracted using the Qiagem 51604 kit. The reaction of qPCR was realized using a primers sequence of total bacteria and methanogenic bacteria. The population profile of microorganisms over the days, Factor P showed a statistically significant reduction (p < 0,05) on days 2 (55,7%; p = 0,0188), 7 (72,08%; p = 0,0445), 14 (56,31%, p = 0,0123), 21 (46,62%, p = 0,0049), 28 (53,28%, p = 0,0499). The result indicates that the reduction in the population of methanogens can reduce the emission of gases of enteric origin and shows the efficiency of the additive in management system more productive and sustainable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve production without affecting the environment, the objective of this research was to evaluate a natural additive to replace the conventional growth promoters in finishing beef cattle diets. 160 Nellore bulls were assigned into two treatments, where the only difference was the additive used: natural additive (Fator P - 600 mg/kg DM) and conventional growth promoters (25 mg/kg DM of monensin + 20 mg/kg DM of virginiamycin). The Fator P® is an organic additive certificated by IBD, which is a blend of the compounds; amino acids (lysine, methionine, and tyrosine), choline, minerals, probiotics and essential fatty acids (omega 3 and omega 6). The diet contained 14% CP and 76% TDN. Nellore young bulls (n = 160), weighing 433 ± 7 kg, with an average age of 24 months, were used. The feedlot facilities contained 16 collective pens, in which 10 animals were allocated. The animal performance was evaluated for 84 days, with 21 days of adaptation. Means were compared with 5% of significance. The conventional growth promoters reduced the dry matter intake. Natural 11.33 kg/day and 10.9 kg/day for the conventional. The conventional growth promoters reduced in 0.43 kg of dry matter intake (P = 0.042) or 0.1% of body weight (P = 0.001; 2.26% to 2.16%). No difference in average daily gain (P = 0.58). 1.655 kg/day for natural and 1.625 for the conventional. The feed efficiency ratio wasn't different (P = 0.71), natural 146 g / kgMS- and 148 g / kgMS-for conventional. There were no difference in carcass yield (P = 0.89), mean 56.3%. The natural additives can improve the dry matter intake and can be used as an alternative to antibiotics in high concentrate diets for beef cattle in feedlot system. Thus, finishing beef cattle in the feedlot can be environmentally friendly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Brazil beef cattle production is one of the most important activities in the agricultural sector and has an important impact on environmental and resources consumption. In this study assessed greenhouses gases (GHG) impacts from on farms representative productive system and the possible improvements of the production chain. Primary data from animal production index and feeding were collected from 17 farms, which covers 300.000 animals and 220.000 hectares. Emissions of methane, nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide were made using intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC) guidelines for national inventories. The GHG inventory included emissions from animals, feeds and operations for animal operation from "cradle to farm gate". Emissions of each farm were converted to carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2eq) and divided by carcass production. Regression analysis between carbon dioxide equivalent and productive index was run to identify possible hotspot of GHG emissions. A large variation between farms were observed. The GHG yield ranged from 8.63 kg to 50.88 CO2eq kg carcass-1. The productive index age of slaughtering (P < 0.0001), average daily gain (P < 0.0001) and productivity (P = 0.058) per area were positive correlated to GHG yield. While no correlation was found with stocking rate (P = 0.21). Improvements of the production chain could be realized by accurate animal management strategies that reduce the age of slaughtering (feeding and genetic improvements) and gain individual or per area using strategic animal supplementation and pasture management, in order to obtains reduction of GHG emissions of beef cattle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]