Mostafa Akbari Alaei; Javad Rezaei; Yousef Rouzbehan
Volume 25, Issue 4 , December 2023, , Pages 357-373
Abstract
This research was conducted to compare the effect of different zinc sources on in vitro microbial populations, hydrolytic enzymes and ruminal fermentation products in sheep. Five diets without zinc supplement (control) or containing ZnSO4, ZnO, nano-ZnO and Zn-methionine were assessed. The 24 and 72-h ...
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This research was conducted to compare the effect of different zinc sources on in vitro microbial populations, hydrolytic enzymes and ruminal fermentation products in sheep. Five diets without zinc supplement (control) or containing ZnSO4, ZnO, nano-ZnO and Zn-methionine were assessed. The 24 and 72-h gas tests were conducted in a completely randomized design where the microbial populations, hydrolytic enzymes, methane, antioxidant activity, organic matter digestibility (OMD), metabolizable energy (ME), truly degraded substrate (TDS), microbial biomass, partitioning factor (PF) and volatile fatty acids (VFA) were determined. Total proteolytic bacteria count and protease activity decreased due to the usage of organic, inorganic and nano-particle sources of zinc (P<0.05). The use of methionine, oxide and sulfate sources of zinc increased alpha-amylase activity (P<0.05). Total protozoa number in the 24-h incubation tended to decrease owing to dietary zinc supplements. Total cellulolytic bacteria, carboxymethyl-cellulase, microcrystalline-cellulase, filter paper-degrading activity, antioxidant capacity, microbial biomass and PF were the same among treatments. Zinc methionine, oxide and sulfate supplements increased OMD, ME, TDS and total VFA, whereas decreased ammonia and acetate:propionate ratio (P<0.05). Also, 24-h methane production decreased with the use of zinc supplements (P<0.05). Overall, the dietary addition of sulfate, oxide and methionine- sources of zinc is recommended with the aim of improving alpha-amylase activity and digestibility and reducing proteolytic activity, ammonia accumulation and methane, but feeding nano-ZnO is not recommended. More research is needed on the effect of zinc sources on rumen microorganisms and enzymes in different dietary conditions.
Sayyed Mohsen Hosseini; Javad Rezaei; Yousef Rouzbehan
Volume 21, Issue 4 , January 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 , February 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.