مجله پژوهش در نشخوار کنندگان
سال یازدهم شماره 2 (تابستان 1402)

Oak Acorn contains significant amounts of biologically active compounds including tannins. Tannins are plant polyphenolic compounds that affect the rumen microorganism. The effect of tannins depends on the species of microorganism or the source of dietary tannins. Although research has been done on the effect of tannin on the ruminal bacterial population, the effect of oak nutrition on the ruminal bacterial population needs to be investigated. Evaluation of the effects of different levels of oak Acorn on the biodiversity of rumen content bacterial populations was investigated using PCR-SSCP molecular technique in Markhoz goats.

24 Markhz goats (mean weight 16.93 ± 1.25 and mean age 4 to 5 months) were allocated to four diets in a completely randomized design. The duration of feeding with experimental diets was 105 days. Experimental treatments included 1) control diet, 2) diet containing 8% oak acorn, 3) diet containing 17% oak acorn and 4) diet containing 25% oak acorn.

The results obtained from this experiment showed that the use of different levels of oak in the diet of livestock significantly affects the population diversity of rumen microorganisms. The use of oak Acorn in comparison with the control diet increased the diversity of bacterial population containing rumen, but with increasing the level of oak Acorn in the diet, the diversity of bacterial population containing rumen was significantly reduced. The effect of diet on biodiversity of ruminal bacterial population was significant (P <0.001). The lowest value of Shannon index was related to the control treatment which was significantly different from other treatments (P <0.05). The highest value of Shannon index was related to 8% oak treatment which was significantly different from 25% oak treatment and control treatment (P <0.05). Sampling location had a significant effect on biodiversity of ruminal bacterial population (P <0.001). The highest value of Shannon index was related to ventral and ruminal position and the lowest value of Shannon index was related to dorsal ruminal position, which showed a significant difference (P <0.05). No significant difference was observed between other sites (P> 0.05).

The results showed that the use of oak acorn up to 17% in the diet increased the biodiversity of the rumen content bacterial populations, while the use of 25% oak fruit in the diet decreased the biodiversity of the rumen content bacterial populations. Sampling location had a significant effect on biodiversity of ruminal bacterial population. The highest value of Shannon index was related to ventral and ruminal position and the lowest value of Shannon index was related to dorsal ruminal position, which showed a significant difference.

Ruminant feeding systems based on the available by-products of each region, are a useful method to provide animal feed. Among these agricultural wastes is oregano residue, which is the waste of oregano extraction factories. Due to their high moisture, storing such resources under normal conditions is difficult. Ensiling is one of the common methods of storing and processing forages with high moisture. On the other hand, adding easily degradable carbohydrates such as wasted date, improves the nutritional value of silage. The objective of this study was to investigate the chemical composition, ruminal degradability and in vitro gas production of Mentha pulegium L. pulp silage with different percentages of wasted date.

To perform this experiment, 400 kg of Mentha pulegium pulp ensiled with 0, 5, 10 and 15 percent of wasted date in 10 litters buckets. Experimental diets were: 1) dried Mentha pulegium pulp, 2) Mentha pulegium pulp ensiled without additive, 3) Mentha pulegium pulp ensiled with 5% waste date, 4) Mentha pulegium pulp ensiled with 10% waste date, 5) Mentha pulegium pulp ensiled with 15% waste date. Buckets were exposure after 45d and several samples were taken for determining chemical composition, in vitro gas production and ruminal degradability by nylon bag technique.

The results showed that dry matter content of Mentha pulegium pulp increased by ensiling and enhancing the percentage of waste date in silages. The neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and ether extract of Mentha pulegium pulp decreased by ensiling but addition of waste date to silage caused to an increase in their percentages. The lowest volume of gas produced among incubation time, was related to Mentha pulegium pulp silage without additive (100 mL). Gas production potential and gas production rate were reduced by ensiling Mentha pulegium pulp, but addition of waste dates to the silages increased these two components. The partitioning factor was the highest value in ensiled oregano pulp without additives (2.23 mg/mL). Rapidly degradable fraction (a) of dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP) and NDF and also potentially degradable fraction (b) of CP and NDF decreased by ensiling, but adding waste date to silages lead to an increase in the degradability of the soluble fraction. Slowly degradable fraction (b) of DM, increased by ensiling and also by addition of wasted date to silages. The degradation rate (c) of DM and NDF decreased by ensiling, but adding different percentages of wasted date up to 15% cause to a significant increase in this component (0.016 and 0.018 respectively).

The results showed that chemical composition and nutritional value of Mentha pulegium pulp decreased slightly by ensiling, but it seems that the best performance of silage production can be observed by adding 15% of waste dates for ensiling oregano pulp.

Camel breeding is one of the sources of income for people on the edge of arid and desert areas in many parts of the world. Traits related to camel growth, including birth weight, weaning weight, daily weight gain and one-year-old weight are considered as the main economic traits for camel owners. To manage and improve the genetic and phenotypic values of these traits, weight recording of animals is essential. Recording of camels, especially their weight is associated with many difficulties due to their restless temperament and large size. Using efficient mathematical methods can greatly solve this problem. Various approved efficient mathematical methods have been proposed to predict the weight of camels based on their body dimension, and their effectiveness has been proven. So, the present study was conducted to compare the efficiency of the Principal Component Analysis and multiple regressions in estimating the weight of fattening camels from its body dimensions.

In order to compare the efficiency of principal components analysis and multiple regressions in estimating the weight of fattening camels based on body dimensions, the records of 220 fattening camels of Bafgh station in Yazd were used. For this purpose, new born camels were fed for a 9 months period using standard diets. During the period, each of the fattening camels was weighed and different body sizes including body length(BL), whither height(WH), breast girth(BG), abdomen with(AW), hump height to the ground(HH), muzzle girth(MG), neck length(NEL), whither to pin length(WPL), tail length(TL), pelvic width (PW), abdomen to hump height (ABH) and the head length(HL) were measured. The body dimensions of the camels were recorded using a tape measure and their body weight was recorded using a scale. Then, the data were analyzed using the principal component analysis and multiple regressions. In order to fit the predictive models, body weight of camels was introduced as dependent variable and body size of camels as independent variables. Analysis of regression models was done using one and multivariable linear models and the best model were selected to estimate the weight of camels based on their body dimensions by Stepwise method. The performance of the above models was evaluated using comparison of the coefficient of determination (R2) of them.

According to the results, the correlation between the body weight of camels with their different body dimensions including BL, WH, BG, AW, HH, MG, NEL, WPL, TL, PW,ABH and HL were 0.93, 0.89, 0.89, 0.89, 0.94, 0.73, 0.89, 0.90, 0.80, 0.85, 0.89 and 0.79 ,respectively. The results showed that among the 6 multiple regression models fitted to estimate the weight of fattening camels, model No. 6 in which head length, body length, breast girth, neck length, muzzle girth and whither height were used as predictive variables had the least error (12.06) and the highest accuracy (0.92) compared to other models. The results showed that the use of the first and second principal component , and both of them in the model could explain 82.1%, 3.73% and 85% of the variance of body weight, respectively. The weight of fattening camels was determined using principal component analysis with an accuracy of 0.93 and an error of 11.54.

The results of the present study showed that in order to estimate the weight of fattening camels, the use of principal component analysis, in addition to simplifying predictive models, has higher efficiency and accuracy as well as less error compared to multiple regressions, and this method can be a suitable alternative to the multiple regression method in predicting the weight of camels.

Sources of protein are the most expensive part of animal feed, and every year a large amount of these sources are imported from abroad for use in animal husbandry industry. One of the important steps in reducing the cost of feed is the optimal use of available resources and the recognition of new foods and their use in animal rations. On the other hand, every year, a huge amount of agricultural product residues are obtained, which can be used in animal nutrition. Optimum use of agricultural by-products and processing industries in feeding ruminants is important from economic and environmental aspects. Pea (Pisum sativum L.) is a cool-season crop and one of the most important legumes, in the temperate climatic regions and it has been widely consumed as a legume or vegetable throughout the world for the purpose of both human nutrition and animal nutrition. Peas are cultivated with the aim of producing green seeds, but after harvesting the pods containing seeds, its waste can be used by ruminants as high-quality bulk feed. The by-product after the harvesting of chickpeas (green chickpeas) which can be extracted and separated manually is the parts of the stem, leaves and pods that are free of green seeds. This research was conducted in order to investigate the effect using organic acid (acetic acid) and fibrinolytic enzyme and molasses on chemical composition, fermentation characteristic, gas production and digestibility parameters of pea silage.

Whole crop pea silage was harvested and chopped with a conventional forage harvester under farm condition to length of 2-3 cm. Representative of pea forage sample was packed manually, in triplicate into plastic bags. The filled silos were stored at ambient temperature and allowed to ensile for 45 days. The following treatments were applied to the forage samples: 1) pea forage without any additives (control), 2) control + fibrinolytic enzyme(2 grams per kg of dry matter), 3) control + organic acid(2%), 4) control + molasses(8%) and 5) control + (fibrinolytic enzyme+ molasses). Additives diluted in deionized water and applied with a hand held sprayer while forage samples were stirred manually. A similar quantity of deionized water was sprayed on the control forage. After designated ensiling times, silos were opened and the ensiled forage was mixed thoroughly and then were dried at a 60°C in oven for 48 h and then ground to pass through a 2 mm screen for later analysis.

Results showed that there were significant differences among treatments on NDF, CP and pH (P>0.05). Enzyme treated silages had lowest NDF content (46.50%) compared with other treatments (P<0.05). The lowest pH was related to treatment containing molasses. silage treated with organic acid improved aerobic stability, significantly. There were significant differences among treatments on gas production parameters(P<0.05) and molasses and enzyme treated pea silage had highest and lowest gas production potential than others (199.1 and 183.3 ml/g DM, respectively). Results showed that there were no significant differences among treatments on DMD and partitioning factor (P>0.05). Organic acid treated silages had lowest effect on DMD and OMD compared with other treatments (P<0.05).

Overall, results showed that using molasses and molasses + enzyme as additive can be improwed nutritive value of pea silage better than others. Anyway, green pea forage according to the appropriate level of crude protein similar to corn forage and its silage characteristics, has the potential of silage and can be used in livestock feeding.

There are various methods to decline the nutrient loss in corn silage. One of these ways is adding lactic acid producing bacteria to silage. Lactic acid-producing bacteria prevent the growth of undesirable bacteria in silage by rapidly reducing the pH, and as a result, the nutritional value of the silage is preserved. Therefore, this research carried out to investigate the effect of Lactobacillus plantarum on the chemical composition, fermentation characteristics and in vitro digestibility of corn silage using of gas production method in corn fodder cultivated in Bardsir city of Kerman province at different time of harvesting.

The sampling was done randomly from six corn fields being harvested in the first and last decade of September to November in Bardsir city. After determination of dry matter, samples were ensiled with and without Lactobacillus plantarum additive in mini silo with three replicates for two months. The silage effluent was measured after 72 hours and also on the 10th, 20th, 30th and 60th days of the experiment. After opening the silos, silage pH and aerobic stability along with dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP), neutral detergent insoluble fiber (NDF), acid detergent insoluble fiber (ADF), water soluble carbohydrates (WSC), ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) and lactic acid were measured. In vitro digestibility of corn silage was determined by gas production test and fermentation parameters including metabolizable energy (ME), short chain fatty acids (SCFA) and organic matter digestibility (OMD) were estimated based on produced gas and chemical composition of samples from standard formulas.

The findings of this research showed that the average percentage of DM in the samples harvested at different time had a significant difference. The average DM of silage in different time of harvesting was 19.4%. The addition of Lactobacillus plantarum to fodder corn had no significant effect on the concentration of lactic acid, NH3-N and chemical composition of corn silage, but the concentration of WSC in inoculated silages was lower than the control silage (P< 0.05). The pH of silage and the percentage of effluent were not affected by the inoculation (P> 0.05), however the aerobic stability in the silage with Lactobacillus plantarum was lower than the untreated silage (P<0.05). The cumulative gas produced after 24 and 48 hours, gas production potential (b), gas production constant rate (c) and fermentation parameters (ME, SCFA and OMD) were not significantly different among silage with and without inoculant.

The results of this study showed that the addition of Lactobacillus plantarum had no effect on the fermentation characteristics of corn silage produced in Bardsir city.

Heat stress (HS) potentially has several physiological complications that lead to great economic losses in the sheep and goat breeding industry, including reproductive disorders, immune system weakness, inflammation, electrolyte imbalance and reduced feed intake. Glutamine is the most abundant amino acid in the body and this amino acid has different roles such as building proteins, increasing nitrogen balance, stimulating the immune system, anabolic and anti-catabolic effects on muscles, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of glutamine supplementation and protein level (equal to and 10% higher than National Research Council requirement) on blood parameters, inflammatory and immune indices of fattening lambs during heat stress.

In this study, 16 Afshari male lambs with an average weight of 31.5 ± 0.22 kg and an average age of 3 to 4 months were used. Experimental lambs were tested in 4 treatments and 4 repetitions in a completely randomized design for 45 days. Experimental treatments include: 1- basic diet (metabolizable protein equal to requirements), 2- basic diet with glutamine (0.2 grams per kilogram of body weight), 3- diet with 10% more metabolizable protein than reqirements and 4- The diet had 10% higher metabolizable protein with glutamine (0.2 grams per kilogram of body weight). Blood sampling was done from the jugular vein two hours after the morning meal on the 15th, 30th and 45th days of fattening with the help of Venoject tubes containing anticoagulant. Blood parameters including albumin (Alb) and total protein of plasma, alkaline phosphatase and malondialdehyde were measured with relevant kits and with an automatic analyzer. The concentration of cytokines was including interleukin 2, interleukin 6 and interleukin 10 as well as Immunoglobulin G was measured using ELISA kits.

The effects of the treatments on blood Alb on the 15th day of fattening did not show any significant difference. While on days 30 and 45 of fattening, the effects of treatments on blood Alb were significant (P=0.0217 and P=0.0087, respectively). Glutamine increased total plasma protein concentration on days 30 and 45 (P=0.0071 and P=0.0019, respectively). Also, increasing the protein level in the diet of fattening lambs on days 30 and 45 increased TP of plasma (P=0.0139 and P=0.0386, respectively). On the 45th day of fattening, addition of glutamine increased blood ALP enzyme (P=0.0123). Also, taking glutamine supplement on the 30th and 45th days of fattening decreased MDA (P=0.0012 and P=0.0029, respectively). There was no significant difference in the number of red blood cells, hemoglobin level, hematocrit, mean concentration of hemoglobin in cells and mean cell volume between treatments on the 15th and 30th days of fattening. While on day 45, glutamine decreased the number of red blood cells and hematocrit percentage (P=0.0036 and P=0.0081, respectively). The number of white blood cells increased on the 30th and 45th days of fattening with the addition of glutamine (P=0.0004 and P=0.0012, respectively). The effect of treatments on blood IgG, IL-2 and IL-10 on the 15th day of fattening was not significant, while the treatments on the 30th and 45th day of fattening increased the values of IgG (P=0.0287 and P<0.0001, respectively). In addition, IL-2 increased on days 30 and 45 under the influence of treatments (P<0.0001 and P<0.0001, respectively). On the 30th and 45th days of fattening, addition of glutamine increased the levels of IL-10 (P=0.0194 and P=0.0007, respectively). The concentration of IL-6 on the 45th day of fattening decreased with the addition of glutamine and the addition of metabolizable protein level (P=0.0004 and P=0.0233, respectively).

In the conditions of this experiment, the basic diet with glutamine showed better results than other diets.

Methionine is the most important essential amino acid in mammals’ nutrition and is used for protein synthesis, growth, milk protein, maintenance, tissue regeneration and reproduction. Protected methionine alone or in combination with lysine increases animal performance. The addition of protected forms of lysine and methionine to the diet of dairy cows in early lactation has the greatest potential to improve milk yield for high-producing cows in early lactation. It seems that investigating the effect of using methionine individually when reducing dietary protein is useful to achieve maximum performance. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to investigate the effect of using protected methionine at different levels of metabolic protein in the diet of heavily pregnant ewes on the performance of ewes and lambs born during the transition period. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to investigate the effect of using protected methionine at different levels of protein in the diet on the performance of ewes Ghezel ewes and lambs born during the transition period

This experiment was carried in a 2x2 factorial experiment using 40 ewes heterozygous for Fecb genes with twin pregnancy resulting from estrous synchronization in the reproductive season confirmed by ultrasound with an average age of 2±36 months, the average weight (56±3.2 kg) was done. The experimental design was carried out in a period of 74 days, from 44 days before the expected calving to 30 days after calving (14 days of getting used to the experimental rations and the test site, 30 days before calving and 30 days after calving). The experimental treatments include: 1- Diet with metabolisable protein to the required level without protected methionine, 2- Diet with metabolisable protein to the required level with 6 grams of protected methionine, 3- Diet with 10% more metabolisable protein than required, without protected methionine, 4-diet with 10% of metabolisable protein was more than required along with 6 grams of protected methionine. Weekly milk samples were collected on two consecutive days, in order to evaluate the milk composition, the milk samples of the ewes were analyzed using an infrared milkoScan device. Venous blood samples were collected using venipuncture from ewes and lambs via anti-coagulant containing vacuum tubes, 4 hours after the morning meal, every week through experimental period. In order to investigate the effects of dietary interventions on rumen fermentation parameters, rumen fluid sample was taken 4 hours after morning meal on the last day of the experiment using the esophageal tube method.

Crude protein digestibility increased in ewes consuming feed containing protein at required levels, but, the lowest digestibility coefficient was resulted in ewes receiving 10% protein more than requirement irrespective of methionine supplementation (P<0.05). The digestibility of NDF showed a significant increase with the addition of protected methionine to the diet compared to treatments without methionine supplementation (P<0.05). The birth weight of lambs significantly increased in ewes received extra protein supplemented with rumen protected methionine compared to other treatments. Milk production showed a significant increase in the treatment of consuming 10% more protein supplemented with 6 grams of protected methionine compared to other treatments (P<0.05). Total protein and albumin levels were affected both by dietary protein levels and methionine supplementation. Acetate was the highest in the rumen fluid of ewes fed with basal diet and was reduced in diets with higher protein level (P<0.05).

Results of this study revealed that protected methionine supplementation in late pregnant twin bearing ewes improved plasma parameters, lamb birth weights and increases milk production.

The growing trend of production and consumption of goat milk and its products in the modern dairy industry requires improving milk production and composition by nutritional methods. Optimal imbalance of biodegradable and non-biodegradable protein in ruminants can limit microbial protein production, nitrogen utilization efficiency, fiber digestion, and access to optimal amino acid levels in the small intestine. Supplementation of protein sources with low degradability improves nitrogen utilization efficiency and optimal amino acid pattern at the surface of the small intestine. Microbial amino acids meet the animal's need if the animal is in a state of maintenance or minimal growth, while to achieve maximum growth or production the need must be met by non-biodegradable protein in the rumen. Maximum production requires sufficient amounts of essential amino acids, so to support the physiological and production needs of livestock, the use of protected amino acid supplements in the rumen is recommended. Protected amino acids lysine and methionine are more commonly known as milk-limiting amino acids, and methionine also plays a unique role as a starting amino acid in protein synthesis. This study was performed to evaluate the protected methionine and its effects on milk production and composition in Alpine dairy goats.

The experiment was performed in a completely randomized design with at least 15 replications per treatment, so that 45 Alpine lactating goats with 200 lactation days for 4 weeks, randomly were allocated for three experimental diets included: 1- Basal diet plus 2 g of commercially protected methionine 2- Control (basal diet without protected methionine) 3- Basal diet plus 2 g of protected methionine synthesized in vitro.

The results showed that methionine coating significantly reduced the degradability of methionine in the rumen (p <0.001). Also, the effect of experimental treatments on milk production and composition as well as blood parameters such as albumin, cholesterol, total protein, glucose and triglyceride was not significant in lactating goats (p> 0.05).

using protected methionine can significantly reduce the degradability of methionine in the rumen but may has no effect on milk production and composition as well as blood parameters in dairy goats at farm situation, Of course more studies and data are needed.