Effects of eucalyptus oil and anise oil supplementation on rumen fermentation characteristics, methane emission, and digestibility in sheep1

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate antimethanogenic activity of eucalyptus oil (EUC) and anise oil (ANI) in vitro and in vivo using sheep as a model. In vitro study was conducted using batch culture technique, each of EUC and ANI were added at 0, 50, 100, 200, or 400 mg/L of fermentation media with substrate containing 60% corn-based concentrate and 40% hay (DM basis). Total gas production (GP) linearly (P < 0.01) decreased with increasing ANI, whereas the GP was not affected with EUC addition. Supplementation of ANI and EUC linearly (P < 0.01) decreased total methane production and methane proportion in total gas. Total VFA and ammonia-nitrogen (NH3-N) concentration linearly (P < 0.01) decreased with increasing ANI supplementation. For the in vivo study, a replicated 3 × 3 Latin square design was carried out using six ruminal cannulated Du Han hybrid sheep (BW, 64.5 ± 8.56 kg) with 22 d of periods. Three treatments were control diet (consisted of 60% corn-based concentrate and 40% Chinese wildrye hay), EUC (control diet supplemented with 0.5 g EUC/d per head), and ANI (control diet supplemented with 0.5 g ANI/d per head). Each period consisted of 14 d for adaption and 8 d for sampling and data collection. Supplementation of EUC and ANI had no effects on feed intake and apparent nutrient digestibility. Ruminal NH3-N concentration was greater with EUC (P < 0.01) and ANI (P = 0.03) than control. Urinal allantoin output was less (P < 0.05) in sheep fed EUC and ANI than control animals. Methane emission was less (P = 0.03) in sheep fed ANI than sheep fed EUC, and a tendency of decrease for an eduction in this parameter was found for sheep fed with ANI (P = 0.08) compared to control. The in vitro results indicated a reduction of methane production with both EUC and ANI but in a dose-dependant manner. Supplementation of ANI tended to reduce ruminal methane production without adversely affecting rumen fermentation characteristics, nutrient intake, and digestibility, suggesting potential inhibition of ruminal methane emission in sheep supplemented with ANI.

Supranutritional selenium level minimizes high concentrate diet-induced epithelial injury by alleviating oxidative stress and apoptosis in colon of goat

“…Concomitantly with increased total SCFA concentrations, the digesta pH decreased in colon of goats fed HC and HC-SY diets. Previous studies have reported that feeding HC diets enhanced fermentation rates and decreased digesta pH in colon of goats [ 3 ] sheep [ 32 ] and cattle [ 33 ]. Moreover, linear increase in SCFA concentrations and the decrease in pH with number of days fed HC diet suggests that long term feeding with HC diet severely increase the fermentation [ 32 ].…”

“…Previous studies have reported that feeding HC diets enhanced fermentation rates and decreased digesta pH in colon of goats [ 3 ] sheep [ 32 ] and cattle [ 33 ]. Moreover, linear increase in SCFA concentrations and the decrease in pH with number of days fed HC diet suggests that long term feeding with HC diet severely increase the fermentation [ 32 ]. Nevertheless, colonic fermentation pattern in goats fed Se supplemented HC diet showed no significant difference compared with those fed HC diet without Se supplementation.…”

Inhibition of Rumen Methanogens by a Novel Archaeal Lytic Enzyme Displayed on Tailored Bionanoparticles

“…However, rape may comprise a much higher nitrogen and sulfur content than rye grass, possibly leading to elevated nitrous oxide emissions of the ruminants through fecal matter, depending on seasonal variations and growth conditions. Alternative feed additives, such as tannins, oils or fats may reduce methane emissions by up to 18 – 20% but must be carefully monitored to avoid negative health effects due to sudden introduction or over ingestion and availability may be limited or seasonal ( Liu et al, 2011 ; Kolling et al, 2018 ; Wang et al, 2018 ). Another promising feed additive is the seaweed Asparagopsis that has been shown to reduce methane emissions by up to 80% ( Machado et al, 2014 ).…”

Ameliorative effects of supranutritional selenium on TLR‐4‐NF‐kB‐TNF‐α‐mediated hepatic oxidative injury and inflammation in goats fed high concentrate diet

“…It is very well established that feeding high concentrate (HC) diets enhance fermentation rate which causes an increase in concentrations of fermentative acids with simultaneous decrease in digesta pH in rumen and hindgut of mammals (Tao et al, 2017;Wang et al, 2018).…”