Rumen Function and In Vitro Gas Production of Diets Influenced by Two Levels of Tannin-Rich Forage

Abstract

The aim of this research was to evaluate the effect of the inclusion of Acacia mearnsii (AM) at different levels of inclusion on ruminal digestion and in vitro gas production. A. mearnsii forage was incorporated in the diet at different levels of 0 (AM0), 20 (AM20), and 40 (AM40) %. In situ degradation of dry matter (DM) and organic matter (OM) showed differences between treatments (P < 0.05), obtaining the highest value of the degradation of soluble fraction (A), insoluble but potentially degradable fraction (B), degradation rate in % per hour (c), potential degradation (A + B), and effective degradation for all passage rates in % h (0.02, 0.05, and 0.08) in AM0 with respect to AM20 and AM40. The in vitro digestibility of DM and OM was higher (P < 0.05) in AM0 with approximately 23.6% and 22.8% of DM and OM, respectively, compared to treatments AM20 and AM40. Cumulative gas production (PG) and gas production asymptote (B) were lower at AM0 and AM20 versus AM40; however, gas production rate (c) and total CH4 production were lower at AM40 with about 40.1 mL CH4/0.500 g fermented DM versus AM0 and AM20. Under the conditions of this study, it is concluded that the incorporation of A. mearnsii (20% and 40%) in the feed of ruminants negatively affected the digestion of nutrients; however, it reduced the production of CH4, which may be associated with the low activity of microorganisms toward the substrate due to the possible tannin/nutrient complex. This shows that in animals with little history of consuming plants rich in tannin, more than 3% of tannin could not be incorporated into the diet.

Utilization of marigold leaves (Tagetes erecta L.) in rations and their effect on rumen enzyme activity, fermentation parameters, methane emission, and nutrient digestibility in vitro

“…The current research employs an equation model to measure gas production’s kinetics. This model is commonly used for analyzing the patterns and rates of gas production in ruminal fermentation experiments [39] .…”

Fermentation of rain tree (Samanea saman) seed meal using mixed microbes to improve its nutritional quality

“…Maranatha et al (2020) fermented corn cobs and moringa leaf flour using EM4, resulting in dry matter and organic matter digestibility of 67.94 and 66.77%, respectively. Vargas-Ortiz et al (2022) reported that using Acacia mearnsii (AM) in feed yielded a dry matter digestibility of 69.5% and an organic matter digestibility of 66.9%. Those different results are due to different types of substrates and enzymes.…”

“…The role of mixed microbes in tannin degradation Tannins are polyphenolic compounds that bind proteins, inhibit protease enzymes, and form complex proteins that cannot be digested. They limit protein availability and reduce digestibility (Olawoye and Gbadamosi 2017); therefore, tannins content in fish feed should not exceed 3% (Vargas-Ortiz et al 2022).…”

Potential Effect of Dietary Supplementation of Tannin-Rich Forage on Mitigation of Greenhouse Gas Production, Defaunation and Rumen Function

“…Ruminant production in tropical and subtropical areas is generally based on pasture grazing with a predominance of grasses [1][2][3][4], characterized by low amounts of protein (<7%), a high proportion of structural carbohydrates (60-80%) [5,6] and low digestibility (<50%) [7]. Characteristics that affect the productivity of animals, in response to the consumption of poor quality forage and the subsequent production of greenhouse gases (GHG) (mainly methane (CH 4 ), carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and nitrous oxide (N 2 O)), as a result of the metabolism of structural carbohydrates, gases that are later eliminated through burping or flatulence and generate considerable energy losses in the animal (2 to 12%) [8][9][10][11]. Ruminants are responsible for producing approximately 47% of CH 4 , 29% of N 2 O, and 27% of CO 2 of total GHG (14.5%) of anthropogenic origin from livestock activity, so the search for possible solutions is very important [12][13][14][15].…”