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Made available in DSpace on 2021-06-25T15:04:46Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2021-05-11 Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) Context. Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) grain with low tannin content may be suitable as an alternative to maize (Zea mays L.) grain in ruminant diets in terms of input costs and drought tolerance, and effects on growth performance and mitigation of methane (CH4) emissions. Aims. The study aimed to evaluate the effects of substitution of maize with sorghum grain at different rates on ruminal microbial protein synthesis, CH4 formation and liveweight gain in growing ruminants. Methods. Twenty-five Santa Ines lambs (bodyweight 19.0 +/- 1.5 kg) were randomly divided into five dietary treatments. Control diet components (on a dry matter basis) were Tifton-85 hay (400 g/kg), maize (405 g/kg), soybean meal (165 g/kg) and commercial mineral supplement (30 g/kg). Sorghum diets comprised the basal diet with the maize grain proportionately substituted with sorghum grain at 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% (diets S-25-S-100). Lamb feed intake, growth performance, nutrient digestibility, nitrogen balance, microbial protein synthesis and CH4 emission were measured during an experimental period of 70 days. Key results. Negligible variations of chemical composition were observed among the experimental diets, although numerical increases in condensed tannins were observed with increasing levels of sorghum replacement. There was no significant effect of level of sorghum inclusion on feed intake. Partial substitution of maize with sorghum grain increased lamb average daily gain linearly (P = 0.02) and quadratically (P = 0.002) compared with diets based on either grain alone, with the S-50 lambs having the highest values. A linear decrease in dry matter digestibility (P = 0.02), organic matter (P = 0.02) and acid detergent fibre (P = 0.002) was observed for lambs receiving sorghum diets compared with the control. A significant linear (P = 0.023) effect was observed for retained nitrogen (g/day), with lambs fed S-25 and S-50 having higher values than those in other treatments. All partially substituted diets (S-25, S-50 and S-75) reduced CH4 per unit bodyweight gain in a linear trend (P = 0.03), by 35%, 29% and 33%, respectively, and tended to increase (linear effect, P = 0.09) the calculated amounts of absorbed microbial protein compared with the control diet. Conclusions. Low tannin sorghum grains can replace maize grains by up to 75% to maximise ruminal microbial biomass production for optimal lamb growth performance and reduced CH4 emission. Alexandria Univ, Anim & Fish Prod Dept, Fac Agr, Alexandria, Egypt Univ Sao Paulo, Ctr Nucl Energy Agr, Lab Anim Nutr, BR-13418900 Piracicaba, SP, Brazil Fed Univ South Frontier, Dept Agron Engn, Erechim, RS, Brazil Sao Paulo State Univ, Dept Anim Nutr & Breeding, Coll Vet Med & Anim Sci, Botucatu, SP, Brazil Sao Paulo State Univ, Dept Anim Nutr & Breeding, Coll Vet Med & Anim Sci, Botucatu, SP, Brazil

Date kernels (DK) are cheap by-products rich in energy and phenolic compounds. It can be used as an alternative to the conventional sources of energy in ruminant diets while reducing methane (CH4) ...

This study was designed to assess the effects of Moringa oleifera (moringa) leaf ethanolic extract (MLEE), moringa root ethanolic extract (MREE), and ionophore antibiotic monensin on growth performance, hematological variables, blood plasma metabolites and antioxidant indicators, digestibility, and cecal fermentation of growing rabbits. A total of 96 growing rabbits weaned at 35 d of age were randomly assigned to 4 treatments with 12 male and 12 female rabbits/treatment. The first treatment was the control (no additives), the second treatment was a basal diet containing 10 mg monensin/kg dry matter (DM), and the third and fourth treatments were MLEE and MREE, respectively, at concentration of 250 mg/L drinking water. From 35 to 77 d of age, the rabbits were housed in groups (8 cages/treatment, 3 rabbits/cage), and growth performance variables including body weight (BW), feed consumption, BW gain, and feed conversion ratio were recorded. From 78 to 93 d of age, after the end of the growth performance trial, the rabbits were housed individually. At 87 d of age, blood samples were collected from 10 rabbits (5 males and 5 females) that were selected randomly to determine hematological variables and blood plasma metabolites and antioxidant indicators. From 87 to 93 d of age, 8 male rabbits/treatment were selected randomly to determine digestibility, N balance, and cecal fermentation activity. The major chemical compounds in MLEE were α-linolenic acid, glycerine, ascorbic acid, and diethyl phthalate, whereas ascorbic acid, S-phenylmercapturic acid, 2-myristynoyl pantetheine, and 8,11,14-docosatrienoic acid, methyl ester were major compounds in MREE. Both the MLEE and MREE treatments improved (P

Plant extracts may be highly effective as natural dietary supplementation options to alternate the dietary antibiotics as growth promotors in ruminant diets. The current study was conducted to evaluate the dose response effects of the moringa (Moringa oleifera) leaf extract (MLE) as a natural alternative to monensin in sheep diets, on ruminal methane production (CH4), gas production (GP), nutrient degradability and fermentation parameters. The in vitro semi-automatic system of GP was used. The treatments were MLE added to a basal diet (consisted of 50 concentrate: 50 forage) at 0 (control), 50 (MLE low) and 500 (MLE high) mg/ kg dry matter, and the ionophore antibiotic monensin was added at 40 mg/kg dry matter. Abundant quantities of essential amino acids, monosaccharides, glycosides and benzene derivatives phytochemicals components were detected by the GC–MS analysis of MLE. The most effective treatments to decrease (P < 0.05) CH4 were monensin and MLE high, while only MLE high enhanced (P < 0.05) the overall mean of total volatile fatty acids (VFAs) concentrations compared to the other treatments and the molar proportion of acetate compared to monensin. A decline (P < 0.05) in protozoal count was observed by monensin, while such effect did not appear at other treatments. No significant differences were observed among the experimental treatments in the ruminal degradability, ammonia concentrations or GP. This study demonstrated efficiency of MLE as an effective natural intervention to monensin in sheep diets.

As an attempt to prevent transition-period-associated metabolic disorders and/or diseases, the potential benefits of Boswellia sacra (Bs) resin on hematology, immunity, metabolic status, udder and uterus health biomarkers, and milk production were examined in transitioning goats. From 2 weeks prepartum to 7 weeks postpartum, goats (n = 7/treatment) orally received 0 (control, nBS), 2 (BsL), or 4 (BsH) g of Bs resin/goat/day. The results showed that both Bs treatments significantly improved the activity of phagocytes. Both Bs treatments significantly decreased the concentrations of blood plasma urea, non-esterified fatty acids, hydroxybutyric acid, and interleukin-1β, whereas they increased the total antioxidant capacity compared with the nBS treatment. Both Bs treatments significantly decreased the uterine horn diameter and tended to decrease the intrauterine fluid content, indicating improved uterine involution compared with no treatment. Compared with the nBS treatment, both Bs treatments significantly decreased the milk somatic cell count. The lowest milk interleukin-1β content was observed in goats that received the BsL treatment, followed by those that received the BsH and nBS treatments. The BsL treatment significantly increased the concentration of immunoglobulin M (IgM) in the colostrum compared with the other treatments. Both Bs treatments significantly increased the daily milk yield compared with the nBS treatment but did not affect milk composition or the fat-to-protein ratio. In conclusion, supplementing lactating goats in the transition period with Bs resin at a dose of 2 g/goat/day positively affected the body lipid metabolism, udder and uterus health, colostrum IgM content, and milk yield due to its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.

This study aimed to evaluate in vitro and in vivo dietary supplementation with different levels of natural or nano-zeolite forms on rumen fermentation patterns and nutrient digestibility. In the in vitro experiment, a basal diet (50% concentrate: 50% forage) was incubated without additives (control) and with natural zeolite (10, 20, 30 g/kg DM) or nano-zeolite (0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 1.0 g/kg DM) for 24 h to assess their effect on ruminal fermentation, feed degradability, and gas and methane production using a semi-automatic system of in vitro gas production (GP). The most effective doses obtained from the in vitro experiment were evaluated in vivo using 30 Barki goats (26 ± 0.9 SE kg body weight). Goats were allocated into three dietary treatments (n = 10/treatment) as follows: control (basal diet without any supplementations), natural zeolite (20 g/kg DM diet), and nano-zeolite (0.40 g/kg DM diet). The in vitro results revealed that only the nano-zeolite supplementation form quadratically (p= 0.004) increased GP, and the level of 0.5 g/kg DM had the highest GP value compared to the control. Both zeolite forms affected the CH4 production, linear, and quadratic reductions (p &lt, 0.05) in CH4 (mL/g DM), consistent with linear increases in truly degraded organic matter (TDOM) (p = 0.09), and propionate molar proportions (p = 0.007) were observed by nano zeolite treatment, while the natural form of zeolite resulted in a linear CH4 reduction consistent with a linear decrease (p = 0.004) in NH3-N, linear increases in TDOM (p = 0.09), and propionate molar proportions (p = 0.004). Results of the in vivo experiment demonstrated that the nutrient digestibility was similar among all treatments. Nano zeolite enhanced (p &lt, 0.05) the total short-chain fatty acids and butyrate concentrations, while both zeolite forms decreased (p &lt, 0.001) NH3-N compared to the control. These results suggested that both zeolite supplementation forms favorably modified the rumen fermentation in different patterns.

Effects of cinnamon, thyme, and peppermint essential oils blend (EOB) on milk production, serum constituents, and energy balance of early lactating does and performance of their kids were investigated. Twenty-seven late pregnant Damascus goats were grouped into two treatments: EOB (

Feeding transition ewes on salt tolerant forages was proposed to enhance the immune response and milk production. Forty pregnant Barki ewes were assigned to four experimental diets (n = 10 each): i.e. control [40% berseem hay (Trifolium alexandrinum) and 60% concentrate mix] or salt tolerant forage diets [40% either cassava (Manihot esculenta), acacia (Acacia saligna) or atriplex (Atriplex nummularia) and 60% concentrate mix] for a period of 4 weeks before the expected lambing date until 8 weeks of lactation. Feeding with cassava resulted in the highest (P

The combination of various active components in essential oils (EO) may be highly effective as a natural dietary supplementation option to manipulate ruminal fermentation and decrease methane (CH4) emissions. Nine rumen cannulated Santa Ines sheep (55 ± 3.7 kg of body weight) were randomly divided into three groups to receive three experimental treatments: control (basal diet without additives); basal diet with 200 (EO200) mg of EO of a microencapsulated blend of essential oils (MBEO)/kg dietary DM offered; and basal diet with 400 (EO400) mg of EO of MBEO/kg dietary DM offered. The experiment was recorded in a triple 3 × 3 Latin Square design. The number of days necessary to observe the manipulation of rumen fermentation with MBEO was determined with an evaluation of nutrient digestibility, CH4 emissions, and microbial protein synthesis. Ruminal samples were collected at day zero (the day before starting the dietary treatments), and on days 1, 2, 3, 7, and 15 after MBEO introduction, while the subsequent 7 days were assigned for the nutrient digestibility trial and CH4 determination. On day 3, propionate concentrations began to increase (P

Two comparative in vitro and in vivo experiments were accomplished to assess the effects of Moringa oleifera root bark (MRB) and ionophore antibiotic monensin as dietary feed additives for ruminants' diets. In the in vitro experiment, the effects of graded levels of MRB (0, 25 and 50 g/kg DM) and monensin (40 mg/kg DM) on ruminal fermentation and degradability parameters were evaluated using the semi-automatic gas production (GP) system. Results were subjected to regression analysis (dose-response analysis) and ANOVA to select the MRB effective dose. In the in vivo experiment, eighteen Barki lambs (BW; 25 ± 3.1 kg) were randomly allotted into three dietary treatments (n = 6/treatment) as: control (basal diet without additive), monensin (40 mg/kg DM) and MRB (25 g/kg DM). The experiment lasted for 70 days to collect ruminal samples and evaluate lamb performance, while the subsequent 7 days were assigned for the nutrient digestibility and nitrogen balance trial. The GC–MS analysis of MRB showed that the most abundant phytochemicals were organosilicons, alkaloids and benzoic acid ester. Results of the in vitro assay showed that both MRB doses inhibited (P

Two types of modified nano-montmorillonite (MNM) were developed by ion-exchange reactions using two different surfactants, sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CETAB), to prepare MNMSDS and MNMCETAB, respectively. Both MNM types were on the nano-scale and had higher cation-exchange capacity values than NM clay. The MNMCETAB had the highest zeta potential (−27 mV) compared with the other clays. Effects of MNM types on in vitro ruminal batch culture fermentation, nutrient degradability, and methane (CH4) emission compared with monensin were evaluated in vitro using a semi-automatic gas production system. The experimental treatments were the control (0 supplementations), monensin (40 mg/kg DM), and NM (5 g NM/kg DM), and two levels of MNMSDS and MNMCETAB were supplemented at 0.05 (low) and 0.5 (high) g/kg DM to the control basal feed substrate. Among the experimental treatments, the high dose of both MNM types reduced (p &lt, 0.01) CH4 production and ammonia concentrations compared with the control, while only MNMCETAB treatment tended to increase (p = 0.08) the truly degraded organic matter compared with monensin. All MNM treatments increased (p &lt, 0.01) acetate molar proportions compared with monensin. The high MNMCETAB increased (p &lt, 0.01) the in vitro ruminal batch culture pH compared with the control and monensin. The MNMCETAB supplemented at 0.5 g/kg DM is the most efficient additive to reduce CH4 emission with the advantage of enhancing the in vitro nutrient degradability of the experimental feed substrate. These results indicated that MNM could modulate the in vitro ruminal fermentation pattern in a dose- and type-dependent manner.

Background Berseem clover is the main forage crop grown in Mediterranean regions. There are plenty of cultivars that possess variability in their productivity and quality among the different cuts. Therefore, accurate agronomic and qualitative characterization is crucial for selecting the most promising cultivars for breeding and feeding purposes. In the present study, the agronomic characteristics, ruminal degradability and fermentation measures of five cuts of the five most prominent Egyptian beseem clover cultivars (Helaly, Serw, Giza6, Gemmeza1 and Sakha4) were evaluated. Results The Giza6 cultivar produced a significantly higher fresh yield and high whole plant dry matter content on the 3rd cut. Giza6 was among the superior cultivars in crude protein content and had the highest values of gas production at the 3rd cut, and ruminal degraded acid detergent fiber and propionate concentrations at the 2nd cut, at the same time as presenting the lowest ammonia concentrations at the 3rd and 5th cuts. Overall, the 3rd cut produced significantly higher fresh yield across all cultivars, except for Sakha4. The 3rd cut also produced a higher leaf to stem ratio compared to the 4th and 5th cuts. The 1st three cuts had higher degraded neutral detergent fiber than the 4th and 5th cuts. The 1st cut was characterized by low propionate concentration in the Helaly and Gemmeza1 cultivars compared to the other cuts. Conclusion Expanded production of the high-yielding, high-quality cultivar Giza6 is recommended. When harvesting, three cuts is optimal for berseem clover cultivation for breeding and feeding programs. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.

Boswellia sacra resin (BS) is well known for its antimicrobial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties and hence could be used as an efficient dietary feed additive for ruminants during the transition period. This study was conducted to determine the effects of BS by characterizing the ruminal fermentation, nutrient digestibility, milk production, and energy status of early lactating goats fed different levels of BS. A total of 21 late pregnant Nubian goats (initial body weight 26.3 ± 3.9 kg) were stratified using a completely randomized design to the following three dietary treatments (n = 7 does/treatment): control (without supplementation of BS) and BS treatments; low BS and high BS received 2 and 4 g BS/day/animal, respectively. The treatments were started 2 weeks before parturition and continued till 7 weeks postpartum. Constituents with high biological activity (e.g., bisabolene, limonene, α-pinene, and α- and β-amyrins) were the most abundant components found in experimental BS. Linear reductions (P

Two in vitro assays were accomplished to assess whether low or high mimosine naturally found in leucaena (Leucaena leucocephala ), contribute to methane (CH 4 ) suppression. The first assay aimed to detect the effects of leucaena samples containing low or high mimosine levels on tannin bioactivity and ruminal CH 4 production. Samples containing 43.9 ± 1.9 g condensed tannin (CT)/kg DM were divided into two groups based on their mimosine contents (n = 4/group): low (2.3 ± 0.1) and high (11.1 ± 1.5) g mimosine/kg DM. Leucaena incubations were made with or without polyethylene glycol (PEG). In the second assay, two leucaena samples similar in CT content and chemical composition were selected from the first assay to examine the effect of level of mimosine naturally found in leucaena, as well as the direct effect of mimosine when added to Tifton ( Tifton 85 ; Cynodon dactylon (L.) and lucerne ( Medicago sativa L.) hays on ruminal fermentation and nutrient degradation. The results of the first assay showed that leucaena containing low mimosine with or without PEG decreased (P 4 (P in vitro assay enhanced GP (P = 0.007) and CH 4 (P 3 N (P = 0.02) concentrations by leucaena containing low mimosine compared with PEG non-supplemented leucaena. However, such an effect did not occur by leucaena containing high mimosine. L-mimosine recorded 27% (P = 0.02) and 10% (P = 0.08) CH 4 reduction when supplemented at a high level with Tifton and lucerne, respectively, while enhanced (P 3 N, compared with zero mimosine supplementation. Forages without any supplementation also affected the ruminal fermentation; similar reduction (P 4 production was found for both leucaena samples compared to Tifton and lucerne. Leucaena containing high mimosine enhanced TDOM (P 3 N (P = 0.05). These results indicated that leucaena containing high mimosine modulated ruminal fermentation in a different way than did the leucaena containing low mimosine.

Propolis is a resinous substance collected by honeybees from buds and leaves of trees and plants, mixing with pollen as well as enzymes secreted by bees. Propolis is known to be active against gram positive bacteria, viruses, fungi, oxidants, inflammation, tumors, and parasites thus recently it have been considered among the natural feed alternative to antibiotics in ruminant diets. Propolis extracts were found to have a promising effect on decreasing energy lost as methane and total N losses, the most significant inefficiencies remaining in ruminant production systems that may limit production performance and contribute to the release of pollutants to the environment. However, these effects are divers among propolis types. In vitro, however alamo and green propolis were extracted with the same method, but alamo propolis presented a higher efficiency to reduce methane production than the green one and both of them had no effect on ammonia concentrations, gas production and ruminal degradability. Red and brown propolis extracted similarly had very different compositions and seemed to act in a similar way in modifying the ruminal degradation of nutrients and mitigating methane formation. In vivo studies involving ruminant metabolism, divers' effects of different propolis samples have been found on the total digestibility, ruminal digestibility, intestinal digestibility. However, similar effects were observed with the different propolis studies on reducing ammonia production and the number of ruminal ciliate protozoa in buffaloes and dairy cows, as well as in in viro trails. The inhibitory activity of different propolis samples were observed on both mature and immature hepatic worms, and intestinal eggs. Red propolis had good impact on general ewe health during critical periods such as flushing and found to have high efficacy against the gastro intestinal helminthiasis. Similar findings in growth performance in a study on feedlot lambs fed a diet supplemented with brown propolis, but the green propolis was not efficient. Often, in most studies, the type or the chemical composition of the propolis is not even specified in publications. The biological activity of propolis may vary, together with its chemical composition, as it comprises numerous constituents together with the method of extraction and concentrations of the solvent and propolis. Thus in order to ensure the propolis quality as feed additive and to be officially accepted by major health agencies, propolis requires a chemical standardization and identify the active component(s) of propolis and subsequently analyze these in commercial batches.

Phytoestrogens, polyphenolic compounds, are one of the major plant secondary metabolites found abundantly in animal diets. However, these phytochemicals play initial important roles in plant growth, development and maintenance. They also have many biological roles in animal body, affecting their productivity. The richest sources of phytoestrogens in animal diets are legumes, particularly, soybeans and clover. These plants often comprise substantial part of animal feed, thus presenting a potential source of phytoestrogens.The interest in these compounds was started earlier, over 50 years ago, when they have been known to affect fertility of an Australian sheep herd, resulting in an economic loss. The putative effects of phytoestrogens are based on their structural similarity to the mammalian estrogen 17β-estradiol (E2) and thus their potency to bind with mammalian estrogen receptors. More attention has been paid to these metabolites since they can act as estrogen agonists or antagonists which make their effects are not expected.. The estrogenic activity of phytoestrogens depends on many factors such as chemical structure of the compound, bioavailability, animal specie, responsive tissue and its estrogen receptor (ER) sub-type (ERα or ERβ) and metabolites resulting from their fermentation and digestion. Reports showed that phytoestrogens could affect animal fertility and growth, quality of animal products and human health. This review illustrates the impacts of phytoestrogens on the livestock production system, focusing on physiology of reproduction, as well as the knowledge obtained from research in laboratory and field scales.

Late pregnancy is one of the most critical stressed periods of reproductive lives of ewes that can effectively affect the whole animal subsequent productive life. Propolis is considered as an effective enhancer of rumen fermentation and the whole animal health conditions in growing and dairy cattle; however no study has confirmed these positive effects in late pregnant ewes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the beneficial effects of supplementing red propolis extract (RPE) on apparent digestibility, purine derivatives, methane (CH4) emission and blood metabolites of late pregnant ewes. Eighteen Santa Ines ewes (52.5 ± 2.50 kg body weight) were kept individually in indoor pens. The trail lasted for 44 d of which 14 d were for adaptation and 30 d for data collection. Ewes were allotted into a randomized complete block design (9 blocks × 2 dietary treatments). The treatments were: control diet (CTL); the basal diet without supplementations and propolis diet (RPE); the basal diet supplemented with 3 g RPE/ ewe/ day. The GC/MS analysis of RPE showed 20 different components all belonging to the flavonoids class were detected. Propolis supplementation increased (P = 0.02) organic matter and crud protein digestibility compared to the control. Higher intake of nitrogen (P = 0.03) and body N retention (P = 0.01) were observed with RPE supplementation compared to CTL, also, the retained N expressed as g/g N intake tended to increase (P = 0.063). The administration of RPE increased (P

a b s t r a c t The current study was conducted to compare the effects of ethanolic extracts of Brazilian red propolis (BRP) and Egyptian brown propolis (EBP) characterized by different individ- ual compounds on the ruminal degradation of nutrients and methanogenesis. The utility of propolis as a natural alternative to the ionophore antibiotic monensin, which was used as a positive control, was also tested. The propolis extract was incubated with 0 (neg- ative control), 125, 250, or 500 g per 500 mg of dietary dry matter. A semi-automatic in vitro gas production (GP) system was operated with three batches of rumen fluid in three replicates per batch for each treatment. The major compounds of the BRP extract were isoflavonoids and chalcones, which represented 0.43 of the total. Isoflavonoids and saturated fatty acids made up 0.53 of the EBP extract. Extract of BRP25 g enhanced the true organic matter degradability (TDOM) (P

Nitrate can be a source of NPN for microbial growth at the same time that it reduces ruminal methane production. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of 2 encapsulated nitrate products used as urea replacers on blood and rumen constituents, methane emission, and growth performance of lambs. Eighteen Santa Ines male lambs (27 ± 4.9 kg) were individually allotted to indoor pens and assigned to a randomized complete block design with 6 blocks and 3 dietary treatments: control (CTL) = 1.5% urea, ENP = 4.51% encapsulated nitrate product (60.83% NO3(-) in the product DM), and ENP+CNSL = 4.51% ENP containing cashew nut shell liquid (60.83% NO3(-) and 2.96% cashew nut shell liquid [CNSL] in the product DM). Diets were isonitrogenous with 60:40 concentrate:forage (Tifton 85 hay) ratio. The experiment lasted for 92 d and consisted of 28 d for adaptation (a weekly 33% stepwise replacement of CTL concentrate by nitrate-containing concentrates) and 64 d for data collection. The ENP and ENP+CNSL showed greater (P 0.05) among treatments, with mean values within normal range and remaining below 1.1% of total hemoglobin. There was an increase (P 0.05) were observed on acetate to propionate ratio. Methane production (L/kg DMI) was reduced (P 0.05) in further reduction of methane production when compared with ENP. Final BW, DMI, ADG, and feed efficiency were similar (P > 0.05) among treatments. Values for DMI were 1.11, 1.03, and 1.04 kg/d and for ADG were 174, 154, and 158 g for CTL, ENP, and ENP+CNSL, respectively. In conclusion, encapsulated nitrate products showed no risks of toxicity based on MetHb formation. The products persistently reduced methane production without affecting performance. Inclusion of cashew nut shell liquid in the product formulation had no additional benefits on methane mitigation.

Leucaena (Leucaena leucocephala), a leguminous shrub promising to cope with feed scarcity in the tropics, may help in mitigating ruminal methane (CH4) emission in the tropics as well. Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of Leucaena and major secondary compounds of this plant in ruminants. At first, effects of Leucaena tannins and mimosine on ruminal CH4 and nutrient degradability were tested in vitro. Incubations were made with Leucaena without or with polyethylene glycol (PEG) to exclude the tannins effects, as well as with Bermuda grass (Tifton) and lucerne hays, both either untreated or supplemented with mimosine at the same concentration that has been provided by the tested Leucaena (6.52 mg/g DM). Furthermore, in an in vivo experiment a control diet (per kg DM 700 g Tifton hay) and Leucaena diets (per kg DM 350 g Tifton hay and 350 g Leucaena), either with or without 20 g PEG/d per head, were evaluated in six Santa Inês sheep following a double Latin square design. In vitro, Leucaena resulted in the lowest (p0.05) gas and CH4 production and the highest (p0.05) partitioning factor, a measure for microbial efficiency, whereas the amount of truly degraded organic matter (TDOM) was lowest (p0.05) with Tifton among the experimental forage plants. Mimosine addition to lucerne and Tifton as well as PEG addition to Leucaena had no effect on ruminal CH4 and TDOM. In vivo Leucaena, compared to the Tifton diet, enhanced (p0.05) intake, faecal nitrogen excretion, body nitrogen retention and the excretion of urinary purine derivatives as an indicator for microbial protein synthesis and availability. This was independent of PEG addition. Leucaena also decreased (p0.001) CH4 emission per unit of digested organic matter by 14.1% and 10.8%, without and with PEG, respectively. No significant diet differences were observed in total-tract nutrient digestibility. The study demonstrated efficiency of Leucaena to mitigate in vivo methane emission of sheep, but did not reveal which constituent of Leucaena was primarily responsible for that since no clear efficiency of either tannins or mimosine could be demonstrated.

Two experiments in vitro were conducted to evaluate four Egyptian forage legume browses, i.e., leaves of prosopis (Prosopis juliflora), acacia (Acacia saligna), atriplex (Atriplex halimus), and leucaena (Leucaena leucocephala), in comparison with Tifton (Cynodon sp.) grass hay for their gas production, methanogenic potential, and ruminal fermentation using a semi-automatic system for gas production (first experiment) and for ruminal and postruminal protein degradability (second experiment). Acacia and leucaena showed pronounced methane inhibition compared with Tifton, while prosopis and leucaena decreased the acetate:propionate ratio (P

Twenty Santa Ines ewes used to evaluate effects of oral administration of Brazilian red propolis extract on blood metabolites, milk production, and lamb performance were randomly grouped (n = 10 ewes/group) to control without propolis administration and propolis treated (3 g red propolis extract/ewe/day) 21 days before expected lambing date. Blood samples were collected weekly, and daily milk yield was recorded twice weekly until 7 weeks postpartum. Propolis administration increased (P

Brazilian red propolis was administered orally to Santa Ines ewes, and evaluation was made of general health and hematological, biochemical, and parasitic responses during and after flushing. Thirty mature, nonlactating, nonpregnant Santa Ines ewes (40 ± 2 kg and 2.5 years old) were grazing tropical pasture (Brachiaria decumbens and Pennisetum purpureum) and, as flushing after synchronization, were supplemented with a concentrate–roughage mixture at a rate of 4 % body weight (BW). Ewes were divided according to BW and fecal egg count (FEC) into two groups (n = 15 each): control and propolis that received propolis ethanolic extract at rates of, respectively, 0 and 3 g/ewe/day. The treatments lasted 21 days until the end of flushing period. BW and body condition score (BCS) were recorded, and blood and fecal samples were taken weekly for 8 weeks. Mean values of BW and BCS were not (P > 0.05) affected by propolis administration. Propolis increased (P