Effect of different levels of Ipomoea batatas flour inclusion on the ruminal pH of sheep in metabolic cages

Edgard Gonçalves Malaguez,Gilberto Vilmar Kozloski,Francisco Augusto Burkert Del Pino,Maurício Cardozo Machado,Antônio Amaral Barbosa,Marcio Nunes Corrêa,Kauani Borges Cardoso,Cassio Cassal Brauner

doi:10.4025/actascianimsci.v43i1.52278

Edgard Gonçalves Malaguez, Gilberto Vilmar Kozloski + Show 6 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.4025/actascianimsci.v43i1.52278

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Abstract

The accumulation of industrial by-products increases the use of sweet potato waste for ruminants, but ruminal pH characteristics are still not well known. The objective was to assess the fluctuation of ruminal pH in sheep supplemented with different levels of sweet potato flour inclusion in their diet. Four rumen-fistulated sheep were used; they were fed a diet based on ryegrass haylage (Lolium multiflorum) and sweet potato flour (Ipomoea batatas), provided according to the level of inclusion in the total diet (0, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5%). Approximately 80 ml of ruminal fluid was collected for reading on a bench pH meter. Statistical data analysis was run on Statistical Analysis System (SAS Institute INC. Cary, NC, USA), and statistical difference was considered for p < 0.05. The animals that received 1.5% of sweet potato flour in their diet presented acid rumen pH; the 1.0% group presented rumen pH acidification in the first 6 hours after feeding, and the 0.5% level of inclusion did not change the rumen environment. It is concluded that the inclusion of 0.5% sweet potato flour in sheep diet proved to be an efficient energy supplementation strategy.

Highlights

IntroductionSeeking to maximize the efficiency of production systems, agroindustrial waste has been used as an alternative to reduce costs, since the investment in nutrition within a property can reach 60% of the capital invested (Luz, Matos, Cardoso, & Brauner, 2019)
It employed four Santa Inês castrated male sheep weighing, on average, 74.4 kg, fistulated in the rumen, and housed in individual stalls. Their diet was formulated based on the National Research Council (NRC, 2001) to meet their nutritional requirements and ensure a consumption of 3% of their live weight; it consisted of ryegrass haylage (Lolium multiflorum) ad libitum and sweet potato flour (Ipomoea potatoes; Table 1)
The animals were divided into 4 groups - a control group with 0% sweet potato flour inclusion, and groups that received 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5% of sweet potato flour inclusion in their diet, according to methodology adapted from Tamir and Tsega (2010)

Summary

Introduction

Seeking to maximize the efficiency of production systems, agroindustrial waste has been used as an alternative to reduce costs, since the investment in nutrition within a property can reach 60% of the capital invested (Luz, Matos, Cardoso, & Brauner, 2019). In this context, carbohydrates are frequently used for improving ruminal fermentation, since starch is the main energy source of rumen microorganisms (Hatew et al, 2014), and corn, wheat, oats, sorghum and barley stand out among the main sources of starch (Witczak, Ziobro, Juszczak, & Korus, 2016). The price fluctuation of these commodities is another factor that can interfere with the choice of which ingredient to use

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