Efficient utilisation of dietary protein improves ruminant performance and reduces nitrogen losses to the environment. Soybean meal (SBM) serves as a major protein source in ruminant nutrition but exhibits high ruminal crude protein (CP) degradability. Tannins reduce ruminal protein degradation, yet the effect of hydration duration during tannin treatment remains poorly defined. In this in-vitro study, we evaluated how three hydration durations (8 h, 16 h, 24 h) combined with chestnut wood extract (CWE) and quebracho wood extract (QUE) tannins at 50 and 100 g/kg influence dry matter (DM) and CP degradability and digestibility of SBM. Hydration duration significantly interacted with tannin treatment for DM degradability and digestibility (p < 0.05). Descriptively, tannin-treated samples showed lower in-vitro CP degradability than the corresponding controls across hydration durations. The lowest CP degradability was observed for CWE at 100 g/kg (380 +/- 24.8 g/kg CP) at 8 h hydration, whereas CP digestibility for this treatment was lowest after 16 h hydration and increased to 984 +/- 2.8 g/kg CP after 24 h. The highest by-pass CP values were observed after 8 h hydration, ranging from 397 +/- 38.9 g/kg CP (QUE 50 g/kg) to 591 +/- 25.3 g/kg CP (CWE 100 g/kg). DM degradability decreased by 7% (QUE 100 g/kg at 24 h) to 26% (CWE 100 g/kg at 8 h). These results suggest an 8 h hydration duration may provide the most favourable balance between protein protection and maintained nutrient digestibility.
The nutritional evaluation of concentrated lipid sources is essential for improving the precision of energy values used in pig diet formulation. This study evaluated the effects of soybean oil, poultry fat, and pork fat on in vivo digestibility, in vitro dry matter digestibility, and net energy estimates in growing pigs. Twenty castrated male pigs were assigned to a completely randomised design with four treatments and five replicates. The experimental diets consisted of a control diet without added oil or fat and diets with 8% replacement of the control diet with soybean oil, poultry fat, or pork fat. Mean values were compared with the control diet using Dunnett's test. Concentrated lipid sources increased ether extract digestibility and dietary energy values compared with the control diet. Estimated net energy values were 8,139, 8,222, and 8,161 kcal/kg for soybean oil, poultry fat, and pork fat, respectively. None of the lipid-containing diets differed from the control diet in in vitro dry matter digestibility, indicating limited sensitivity of the assay to detect effects of lipid source inclusion. Overall, the results suggest that concentrated lipid sources increase dietary energy utilisation in growing pigs. Net energy values should be considered experiment-specific estimates.
The strategic focus on improving the quality of eggs, which are foundational and nutritious foods, offers a straightforward method to elevate the nutritional value of diets. However, studies on strategies to improve egg quality remain limited. Lycopene, a lipophilic carotenoid derived from red fruits and vegetables, enhances growth performance, lowers blood lipid levels, and improves antioxidant capacity. Therefore, in this study, a total of 360 laying hens were randomly divided into four groups. The CON group was fed a basal diet, the LYC group was supplemented with 120 mg/kg lycopene, whereas the CCBA group was supplemented with 60 mg/kg β-carotene, 250 mg/kg curcumin, 250 mg/kg allicin, and 500 mg/kg sodium butyrate, the CLYC group replaced β-carotene with lycopene, while other ingredients remained the same. For the yolk score, the LYC group significantly increased at days 14, 21, 28, 35, and 42 compared to the CON group (p < 0.05). The UFA and Vitamin A contents were significantly elevated in the LYC group compared to the CON group (p < 0.05). The result of lipid metabolism genes expression showed that the relative expression of ACC, LXR-α, and PPAR-α significantly increased in the CLYC and CCBA groups compared with the CON group (p < 0.05), the relative expression of LXR-α in the LYC group remarkably higher than that in the CON group (p < 0.05). Additionally, heatmap analysis showed that Turicibacter and Veillonella were enriched in the LYC group. The results of this study indicated that lycopene supplementation significantly improved egg quality, hepatic lipid metabolism, and systemic immunity in laying hens. Furthermore, analysis of gut revealed that lycopene increased ileal goblet cell numbers and IgA production, while enriching beneficial microbiota.
This experiment investigated the effects of clove essential oil (CEO) and a commercial condensed tannin (CT) on digestibility, rumen fermentation, blood metabolites, milk yield, milk composition, and fatty acid profile in lactating goats. Nine multiparous goats were used in a triplicated 3 × 3 Latin square design over three 21-d periods, with 14 d for diet adaptation and 7 d for data and sample collection. Goats were fed a basal diet without supplementation (CON), supplemented with CEO at 2 g/goat/d (CEO diet), or with CT at 2% of CT on a dry matter (DM) basis (CT diet). Digestibility of DM, organic matter, crude protein, and neutral detergent fibre was higher (p < 0.05) with the CEO diet than with the CON and CT diets. Total volatile fatty acid concentration and acetate proportion were increased (p < 0.05) in the CEO diet compared to the CT and CON diets. Both the CEO and CT diets lowered (p < 0.05) ruminal ammonia-N concentration and rumen methane production per kg DM compared with the CON diet. Blood urea concentration decreased (p = 0.02) on the CEO and CT diets versus the CON diet. Daily milk yield and the yields of fat-corrected milk, fat, protein, lactose, non-fat solids, and milk fat concentration were higher (p < 0.05) with the CEO diet than with the CT and CON diets. Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) increased (p < 0.01) while saturated fatty acids (SFA) decreased (p = 0.001) in the CON and CT diets compared with the CON diet. The CEO diet further increased monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) (p = 0.01) and improved the SFA/MUFA ratio (p < 0.01) compared to the CON diet. The proportion of C18: 0 (stearic acid) increased (p = 0.05) in the CEO diet compared with the CT and CON diets. In addition, C18: 1 n-9c (oleic acid) increased (p < 0.01) most in the CEO diet, followed by the CT diet, and then the CON diet. Compared with the CON diet, the proportions of C18: 2 n-6c (linoleic acid) and C18: 2 trans (TT) also increased (p < 0.05) in both the CT and CEO diets. In conclusion, both additives successfully mitigated environmental impacts by suppressing ruminal methane emissions and ammonia-N concentration. However, CEO demonstrated clear superiority over CT by simultaneously enhancing nutrient digestibility, increasing milk and component yields, and optimising the milk fat profile by reducing SFA while increasing MUFA and oleic acid content.
This study evaluated the effects of graded dietary phytase (PHY) inclusion on feed intake (FI), weight gain (WG), feed conversion ratio (FCR), nitrogen-corrected apparent metabolisable energy (AMEn), nutrient and mineral utilisation, and phytate degradation in growing turkeys. A positive control (PC) diet was formulated to meet or exceed breeder recommendations for nutrient content. A negative control (NC) diet was reformulated from the PC to contain the same calcium (Ca) to P ratio, but a reduced total P. The NC diet was subdivided and supplemented with PHY at 0, 100, 1000, 10,000, or 100,000 FTU/kg, resulting in six experimental diets. Seventy-two female BUT Premium turkey poults (mean body weight 1,885 g; SD ± 210 g) were randomly allocated to 36 raised-floor pens (two birds per pen; 0.36 m2 per pen). Each diet was fed for 9 days, from 68 to 77 days of age to six replicate pens following randomisation. Birds fed the NC diet exhibited significantly reduced FI, WG, dry matter retention (DMR), and AMEn compared with birds fed the PC diet, confirming the adverse effects of marginal phosphorus supply. Supplementation with PHY at inclusion levels ≥1000 FTU/kg largely alleviated these deficiencies. Increasing dietary PHY concentration resulted in significant positive dose-dependent responses in WG, FCR, DMR, nitrogen retention, and AMEn. Marked reductions (p < 0.001) in excreta inositol phosphates (IP) were observed at PHY doses ≥1000 FTU/kg. Concentrations of IP and free inositol (IN) followed expected responses to increasing PHY dose, involving linear and quadratic components. Mineral retention coefficients were generally lower in turkeys fed the NC diet than in those fed the PC diet, except for phosphorus retention, which did not differ between control diets. Increasing PHY dose produced significant positive linear responses (p < 0.001) in the retention of calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium, manganese, zinc, and phosphorus, particularly at ≥1000 FTU/kg, Overall, the results confirm that turkeys respond to high PHY inclusion in a manner broadly consistent with broilers. Very high PHY levels (super- and mega-doses) provided continued additional benefits for growth performance beyond 1000 FTU/kg, along with continued improvements in nutrient retention, and the data suggest the optimum dose was beyond that investigated in this study.
