Abstract
The present study was to evaluate effect of herbal feed additives on methane and total gas production during the rumen fermentation for environment and animal health concern. Different parts of the five medicinal plants were selected such as leaf and small stems of Ocimum sanctum (Tulsi), roots of Curcuma longa (Haldi), fruits of Emblica officinalis (Amla), leaves of Azadirachta indica (Neem) and leaves and small stem of Clerodendrum phlomidis (Arni) for our study. Addition of different herbal additive combinations did not influence IVDMD and total gas production however methane production (mg/g of substrate DM) was significantly (P<0.05) reduced in Amla: Neem and Neem: Arni combinations. Total nitrogen significantly (P<0.01) increased in the combinations of Tulsi: Haldi and Amla: Neem. TCA–ppt-N is significantly (P<0.01) increased in Tulsi: Haldi, Haldi: Amla, Amla: Neem and Neem: Arni however NH3-N (mg/dl) significantly decreased in all treatments. We conclude that the screening of plant combinations, Amla: Neem and Neem: Arni have potential to decrease methane production and our herbal feed supplements have no side-effects on the ruminant in small amount.
Highlights
Methanogens are the methane producing bacteria accommodate the rumen liquor of animals in large numbers varying from 107 to 109 cells/ml
In-vitro DMD Data on IVDMD using double combination of herbal plants were presented in Table 2
The data showed that combined effect of two herbals had no specific effect on IVDMD under in-vitro system using goat rumen liquor
Summary
Methanogens are the methane producing bacteria accommodate the rumen liquor of animals in large numbers varying from 107 to 109 cells/ml. This large concentration of methanogens in the rumen liquor depends upon the feed resources provided to the animals as regular diet, especially the fiber content in the ration. Rumen fermentation is coordinated by supporting role of methanogens and making this a continuous process it leads to a significant loss of gross energy consumed by the animals [1, 2]. Herbal plants are used in animal feeds as the growth promoters. They play a major role as antibacterial, antioxidant, anthelmintic and anticoccidial. It has been shown that phytochemicals and plant secondary metabolites could increase
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