Effect of silkworm (Bombyx mori) pupae oil supplementation on enteric methane emission and methanogens diversity in sheep.

In vitro and in vivo studies were conducted to examine the effect of silkworm pupae oil on methane (CH4) emission and methanogens diversity. Five graded levels (2, 4, 6, 8 and 10%) of silkworm pupae oil were tested in vitro. Eighteen Mandya adult sheep were divided into three groups. All the animals were fed on similar basal diet except the oil supplementation in test groups. Oil level for supplementation was decided on the basis of in vitro study. In vitro study indicated a reduction of 22% in CH4 production with 2% oil supplementation. Animals in test groups were supplemented with oil (2%) either daily (CON) or intermittently (INT) on every alternate week for all the seven days. A significant reduction of 17-20% in enteric CH4 emission (g/d) was achieved due to oil supplementation in sheep. However, No variation was established between test groups CON and INT. In present study, Methanobrevibacter was major genus contributed ∼90% of the total rumen methanogens; whilst Methanobrevibacter gottschalkii was the most abundant methanogens species. Abundance of Methanobrevibacter ruminantium was affected with the oil supplementation. It can be concluded that the silkworm pupae oil at 2% can decrease CH4 emission by 15-20%.

In vitro evaluation of graded level of Silkworm pupae (Bombyx mori) oil on methane production, fermentation characteristics, and protozoal populations.

AIM: The present study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of variable levels of silkworm pupae oil and roughage: concentrate ratio on in vitro methane production, fermentation characteristics, and rumen protozoa population. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In vitro gas production study (24 h) was performed with graded levels of silkworm pupae oil, namely, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, and 5% of the basal diet and four variable dietary regimes consisting roughage and concentrate in different proportions (70:30, 60:40, 50:50, and 40:60). At the end of incubation, gas samples were analyzed for methane, while fermented rumen liquor was used for protozoa enumeration. A separate set of incubations was carried out for the determination of in vitro dry matter digestibility. RESULTS: Results from the in vitro studies revealed no adverse impact of the silkworm pupae oil supplementation up to 2% level on total gas production. However, supplementation beyond 2% has shown a reduction in total gas production. Incubation with variable levels (0.5-5%) of silkworm pupae oil with different dietary regimes indicated negligible (3-5%) to a substantial reduction (25-30%) on methane production. A graded decrement in methane production was recorded with increasing levels of silkworm pupae oil. Similarly, the protozoal populations were decreased from 10 to 51.5% with graded levels of silkworm pupae oil in different dietary regimes as studies did not reveal any significant (p>0.05) variation between 2 and 4% of oil supplementation. CONCLUSION: The silkworm pupae oil supplementation at 2% level decreases methane production by 12-15% without any adverse impact on feed fermentation. Oil supplementation may have a more pronounced effect on methane reduction if added to high roughage diet at in vitro conditions. However, in vivo, studies in ruminants are warranted to confirm the methane reduction with silkworm pupae oil supplementation.

Effect of dietary supplementation with phytogenic blend on growth performance, apparent ileal digestibility of nutrients, intestinal morphology, and cecal microflora of broiler chickens.

The effects of dietary supplementation with phytogenic blend (PB) of Aerva lanata, Piper betle, Cynodon dactylon, and Piper nigrum on growth performance, ileal nutrient digestibility, intestinal morphology, and cecal microflora were determined in a 42-day broiler feeding trial. A total of 192 broilers were assigned to 4 dietary treatments (6 replicates and 8 birds/replicate): basal diet, basal diet supplemented with antibiotic (chlortetracycline), 1% and 2% PB, respectively. The body weight gain (BWG) of starter chicks increased linearly (P = 0.023) as dietary supplementation levels of PB increased. At grower phase, broilers fed diet supplemented with 1% PB had similar BWG with the antibiotic group, but other treatments had reduced (P = 0.0001) BWG. Dietary supplementation with 1% PB resulted in the highest (P < 0.0001) BWG during the study. Feed intake was not affected by the treatments during the starter, finisher, and overall rearing periods. Broilers fed diet supplemented with 1% PB had the best (P < 0.0001) feed conversion ratio during the study. Overall, broilers fed only basal diet had the highest (P = 0.0450) mortality. Ileal organic matter (OM) digestibility increased linearly (P = 0.044) with broilers fed diet supplemented with PB, but reduced with antibiotic group. Dietary supplementation with 1% PB had the highest (P = 0.0402) ileal digestibility of tryptophan. In the duodenum, broilers fed diet supplemented with PB had longer (P = 0.0006) villi heights than the birds fed only basal diet, but similar with antibiotic group. Broilers fed diet supplemented with PB had longer (P = 0.0064) villi height in the jejunum than the antibiotic group. Bifidobacterium concentration of the cecum content showed a slight increase (P = 0.053) with increasing supplementation levels of PB. In conclusion, the current study shows that dietary supplementation with PB improves growth performance, intestinal morphology, and apparent ileal digestibility of OM and tryptophan in a dose-dependent manner with the best response at 1% inclusion level.

Effect of feeding cottonseed meal on some hematological and serum biochemical parameters in broiler birds.

AIM: The study was undertaken to find out the effect of feeding cottonseed meal (CSM) on performance of hematological and serum biochemical parameters in broiler birds. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A 6-week biological trial was carried out with 432-day-old Cobb 400 broiler chicks distributed to nine experimental diets with six replicates, each containing eight chicks. The experimental diets were formulated based on total amino acids (BTAA) or based on digestible amino acids (BDAA) with or without iron supplementation with two levels of CSM (2% and 4%) and control diet based on maize - soybean. The whole blood was subjected to hematological studies. The serum samples were analyzed for protein fractions and lipid profiles. RESULTS: The packed cell volume (PCV) value, red blood cell (RBC) numbers, and hemoglobin (Hb) were lower in iron unsupplemented CSM BTAA or BDAA diets than the control (33.86-35.54 vs. 36.41%, 2.78-2.87 vs. 2.98 × 10(6)/µl, and 10.30-10.70 vs. 10.88%). Supplementation of iron in CSM diets improved the PCV, RBC numbers, and Hb, and the values were comparable to the control. White blood cell numbers, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular Hb (MCH), and MCH concentration values were comparable to the control. The erythrocyte osmotic fragility (EOF) was poor in birds fed diets containing up to 4% CSM BTAA or CSM BDAA without iron supplementation (32.02-32.57 vs. 28.77%). Supplementation of iron improved the EOF. The serum cholesterol level did not change with or without iron supplementation. CONCLUSION: This study suggested that feeding of CSM BTAA or BDAA up to 4% level voiding iron supplementation lowers the hematological parameters, whereas supplementation of iron did not alter serum protein fractions and cholesterol profile; however, it had lowered some hematological parameters, which was rectified by iron supplementation.