Sayyed Mohsen Hosseini; Javad Rezaei; Yousef Rouzbehan
Volume 21, Issue 4 , Winter 2020, , Pages 461-473
Abstract
The present study was conducted to determine the chemical composition of Echinophora sibthorpiana and Pulicaria dysenterica and the effect of dietary inclusions of these plants on in vitro ruminal fermentation parameters and digestibility. Chemical composition of the experimental plants was determined ...
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The present study was conducted to determine the chemical composition of Echinophora sibthorpiana and Pulicaria dysenterica and the effect of dietary inclusions of these plants on in vitro ruminal fermentation parameters and digestibility. Chemical composition of the experimental plants was determined using standard methods and different levels of each plant were included in the diet. In vitro gas production technique was performed with seven treatments (control diet, diets containing 15, 30 or 45 percentage of Echinophora and diets containing 15, 30 or 45 percentage of Pulicaria) and three replicates. Results indicated that crude protein and organic matter digestibility (OMD) of Echinophora (10.4 and 61.8 percentage, respectively) were higher than Pulicaria (7.85 and 52.5 percentage, respectively) (P<0.05). Inclusion of Echinophora in the diet increased OMD and metabolizable energy, while using Pulicaria reduced these parameters (P<0.05). Ruminal ammonia decreased with inclusion of Echinophora in the diet (P<0.05), but it was not affected by Pulicaria. Dietary inclusions of Echinophora and Pulicaria decreased protozoa population and methane production (P<0.05). The ruminal antioxidant capacity was improved by inclusions of Echinophora and Pulicaria in the diet (P<0.05). Based on the results, theuse of Echinophora up to 45 percentage and Pulicaria up to 30 percentage of diet dry matter is recommended in ruminants. However, the forage to concentrate ratio should be reduced when feeding Pulicaria in high-performance animals. On the other hand, using Echinophora and Pulicaria improves ruminal antioxidant capacity and reduces methane release to the environment.
Sayedeh Forough Hosseini Vardanjani; Javad Rezaei; said dehkordi; Yousef Rouzbehan
Volume 20, Issue 4 , Winter 2019, , Pages 539-551
Abstract
In this study, the effect of different levels of ZnO, nano-ZnO and Zn-methionine, in pre- and post-partum diets, on feed intake, Zn absorption, microbial protein, as well as metabolites and IgG, IgM and IgA in the blood and colostrum of ewes and suckling lambs were investigated. Experiment was conducted ...
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In this study, the effect of different levels of ZnO, nano-ZnO and Zn-methionine, in pre- and post-partum diets, on feed intake, Zn absorption, microbial protein, as well as metabolites and IgG, IgM and IgA in the blood and colostrum of ewes and suckling lambs were investigated. Experiment was conducted from 50 days before to 30 days after lambing. Sixty pregnant Khorasan-Kurdish ewes were divided into six experimental groups (10 replicates) in a randomized complete block design. Experimental diets contained ZnO, nano-ZnO and Zn-methionine to meet NRC recommendation, or higher than NRC-recommended level. Replacing ZnO with nano-ZnO or Zn-methionine had no effect on different variables in ewes, but increasing Zn level in the diet of ewes resulted in an increment of daily Zn intake, a decline of Zn absorption coefficient and an increase of fecal Zn excretion (P<0.05). Feeding mother ewes with different Zn sources had no effect on blood metabolites and immunoglobulins of the suckling lambs. Overall, nano-ZnO had no positive or negative effects on ewes and suckling lambs and using Zn-methionine instead of ZnO did not improve the metabolic condition of the animals. On the other hand, the increasing dietary Zn concentration increased zinc excretion in the environment. In practice, using the conventional ZnO at the NRC recommendation level is sufficient to provide the requirement, and to maintain the immunity of pre- and post-partum ewes and there is no need for additional Zn from other sources.