Effect of Supplementation of Several Edible Plant Oils on Nutrient Utilization and Blood Profile of Beef Cattle

Abstract

Background: In Southeast Asia a high level with the agricultural productivity, especially rice straw is produced for livestock feed such as buffalo and beef cattle. However rice straw is poor quality (low in protein and its high silica content). Subsequently, ruminant nutritionists have established to increase the potential of poor quality roughages for animal feeding such as Total mixed ration (TMR) using rice straw as a roughage source with vegetable oils to increase energy density in the diet, that can improve by produced for ruminant diet. Methods: In this field-laboratory investigation during 2017-2018. Three animals, one and half year old with live weight 120 ± 15.50 kg, were randomly assigned in 3 x 3 latin square design. Each period of feeding lasted for 21 days. During the experimental periods, all cattle were fed total mixed ration (TMR; containing rice straw: concentrate ratio as 40:60), adding soybean oil (SO), palm oil (PO) and sunflower oil (SFO) supplementations. Total fat in TMRs were at 3 percentages. Result: Our investigations were to evaluate the effect of soybean oil (SO), palm oil (PO) and sunflower oil (SFO) supplementations at 3 percentages of total fat in total mixed ration on voluntary feed intake, digestibility, blood profile and fatty acid compositions in the plasma of crossbred Thai native x American Brahman Cattle. The results revealed that treatments did not affect voluntary feed intake (kgDM/head/day; g/KgW0.75) (P is greater than 0.05), but feeding with soybean oil, it was non significantly higher (2.94 kgDM/day). Additionally, nutrient intake and apparent digestibility of organic matter (OM),crude protein (CP), neutral detergent fibre (NDF), acid detergent fibre (ADF) and rumen fermentation except total volatile fatty acids (VFAs) were not affected among all the three treatments, but dry matter (DM) digestibility in soybean and palm oil group animals were recorded significantly higher (P is less than 0.01) than sunflower oil. However blood glucose, blood urea nitrogen, cholesterol, triglyceride, high density lipoprotein and low density lipoprotein and fatty acid composition in plasma were not influenced due to treatments (P is greater than 0.05). Based on this study, feeding beef cattle with SO, PO and SFO should not exceed 3%? in TMR to achieve 7% without any adverse effect on nutrient utilization, rumen fermentation, blood profile and fatty acid compositions in plasma.