Abstract
ABSTRACTMature Boer goat wethers were supplemented with 0.5% BW rolled corn and consumed pelleted alfalfa (CON), pelleted Sericea lespedeza (HSL; 6.4% condensed tannins), a 1:1 mixture of alfalfa and lespedeza (MSL), or alfalfa with monensin (ION; 22 mg/kg), coconut oil (CCO; 4%), or soybean oil (SBO; 4%). Total DM intake in the 20-wk study (3.86%, 3.75%, 3.52%, 3.69%, and 3.64% BW) and total tract OM digestibility determined every 5 wk (72.8%, 69.5%, 70.3%, 72.0%, and 71.1%) were not affected by treatment, although there were differences in nitrogen digestion (77.5%, 70.7%, 67.0%, 77.0%, 75.7%, and 73.6% for CON, MSL, HSL, ION, CCO, and SBO, respectively; SEM = 1.76). Ruminal methane emission was not influenced by period and was lowest among treatments for CON expressed as percentages of gross (10.3%, 6.8%, 6.3%, 7.2%, 6.5%, and 6.5%; SEM = 0.35) and digestible energy (14.8%, 10.2%, 9.3%, 10.6%, 9.8%, and 10.1% for CON, MSL, HSL, ION, CCO, and SBO, respectively; SEM = 0.62). In conclusion, both levels of lespedeza elicited similar depressions in ruminal methane emission, with a magnitude of change similar to that of an ionophore and coconut and soybean oils, and effects did not vary with week of the study.
Highlights
A commonly cited proportion of the total greenhouse gas irradiative force attributable to methane is 20% (IPCC 2001)
coconut oil (CCO) and soybean oil (SBO) supplements were much higher in ether extract (EE) than supplements of consumed pelleted alfalfa (CON) and ION (Table 1)
Alfalfa was slightly higher in ash than lespedeza, which was accompanied by a lower level of gross energy (GE)
Summary
A commonly cited proportion of the total greenhouse gas irradiative force attributable to methane is 20% (IPCC 2001). Of this 20%, based on a review of the literature, Bodas et al (2012) concluded that domesticated ruminants account for 15%–33%. In some cases consumer pressure has caused shifts from antibiotics towards ‘natural’ alternatives These include essential oils, oils or fats high in medium-chain or long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (FA), saponins, organosulfur compounds, tannins (Wallace et al 2002; Makkar 2003; Goel and Makkar 2012), and other plant secondary metabolites (Bodas et al 2012). With the banning of antibiotic use in livestock production in some countries, research with such substances will likely increase in the future, and it is possible that some modes of action may be shared with more studied ionophores
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