Methane mitigation and ruminal fermentation changes in cows fed cottonseed and vitamin E

Abstract

Inherently, ruminant production of methane (CH 4), a greenhouse gas (GHG), causes animal energy losses. Cottonseed is a lipid source and is used sometimes to enhance energy density in cattle diets. It also can mitigate enteric CH 4. Lipids release peroxides in the rumen, and antioxidants have the ability to neutralize them. Thus, a lipid and antioxidant source can benefit rumen fermentation. The aim of this study was to evaluate rumen fermentation parameters from cows fed cottonseed and vitamin E. Six cannulated cows were arranged in a replicate 3 × 3 latin square. Treatments were: 1) Control, 2) CS (30 % corn replaced by cottonseed) and 3) CSVitE (30 % corn replaced by cottonseed, plus 500 IU VitE). Results were compared by orthogonal contrast. When compared to the control diet, cottonseed inclusion reduced enteric CH 4 emissions by 42 %. Production of acetate, butyrate and the acetate to propionate ratio were respectively 34 %, 47 % and 36 % lower with the cottonseed treatments. Energy lost in the rumen as CH 4 and energy release as butyrate were reduced by 26 % and 32 % respectively. Propionate and intestinal energy release were, respectively, 43 % and 35 % higher with cottonseed treatments. Furthermore, as a nutritional strategy to mitigate enteric CH 4, cottonseed has positive effects on short chain fatty acid (SCFA) production and gastrointestinal energy release. Vitamin E did not result in improvements in ruminal fermentation. Further studies evaluating levels of vitamin E in association with different amounts and sources of lipids are required.

Feed additives as a strategic approach to reduce enteric methane production in cattle: modes of action, effectiveness and safety

“…In contrast, Duthie et al (2018) did not find significant differences in enteric CH 4 production in steers fed increasing amounts of dietary lipid sourced from maize distillers dark grains, which increased diet ether extract from 24 to 37 g/kg DM for 17 weeks. Supplementation of diets with cottonseed oil has been shown to decrease enteric CH 4 production by~42% (Nogueira et al 2020). These authors suggested that bio-hydrogenation of lipids served as an alternative H 2 sink, and with each percentage point of lipid added to the diet, CH 4 production was reduced by 8%.…”

Effects of Replacing Cottonseed Meal with Corn Dried Distillers’ Grain on Ruminal Parameters, Performance, and Enteric Methane Emissions in Young Nellore Bulls Reared in Tropical Pastures

“…The reduction in acetate over time after supplementation likely occurred as it is a substrate for the production of butyrate via the inverse β-oxidase pathway [49], which also explains the decrease in the acetate:propionate ratio. Nogueira et al [50] observed a similar response in ruminal parameters of cows fed with cottonseed in the successive hours after supplementation (0 to 12 h), where acetate decreased between 3 and 6 h after supplementation, and propionate had a slight increase between 0 and 3 h, and after 3 h remained constant until 12 h after supplementation.…”

Effect of canola oil supplementation level on total tract digestion, ruminal fermentation, and methane emissions of cows grazing Urochloa sp. supplemented with a fixed amount of concentrate

“…Estimated methane emissions in grazing cows in this study reduced linearly according to CO inclusion level in the diet, with the highest inclusion reducing nearly 17% daily methane output. Several studies have reported that lipids reduce CH 4 production in the rumen by different mechanisms (Dohme et al, 2001 ; Machmüller et al, 2001 ; Bayat et al, 2018 ; Muñoz et al, 2019 ; Nogueira et al, 2020 ). Similar to our findings, Moate et al ( 2011 ) showed that lactating cows’ diets (60:40 ratio of forage: concentrate) containing 51, 52, and 65 g fat/kg DM decreased emissions of CH 4 (g/day) in a linear fashion (7.6, 4.5 and 10.2%, respectively), compared to a control diet.…”