Catfish oil supplementation in Bali cattle diet: Effects on rumen fermentation parameters, carboxymethylcellulase and protease activity in vitro

Abstract

This study aimed to measure the effect of Catfish oil supplementation on rumen pH, volatile fatty acid (VFA), acetate: propionate, NH3, microbial protein, carboxymethyl cellulase (CMCase), and protease activity. There are five treatments conduct on the current study i.e. T0 (control diet: Pennisetum purpupoides (60): wheat pollard (30): soybean meal (10)), T1 (T0 + 2% DM CFO), T2 (T0 + 4% DM CFO), T3 (T0 + 6% DM CFO), T4 (T0 + 8% DM CFO) and each treatment replicated 3 times. The fermentation method was in vitro gas production technique described by Menke and Steingass by incubating samples in the fermentation medium for 48 hours of the incubation period. The statistical analysis result showed that Catfish oil supplementation did not change the value of rumen pH, total VFA, partial VFA, rumen microbial protein and protease activity. Supplementing Catfish oil at the level of 2% and above decreasing the C2:C3 ratio, and when the supplementation increased to the level of 8% could decrease rumen NH3 and CMCase activity. It was concluded that the supplementation of Catfish oil in a ruminant diet could be done up to the level of 6% without giving any negative effect on rumen fermentation.