Alkanes as internal markers to estimate digestibility of hay or hay plus concentrate diets in horses.

Dry matter intake (DMI), dry matter digestibility (DMD), and fecal output (FO) are difficult to measure directly in the field, and indirect methods using external and internal markers have thus been developed. An experiment was conducted consisting of two digestion trials with two periods in each trial to examine the use of five odd-chain alkanes (C25 to C33) of plant cuticular wax as internal markers to estimate DMD of hay or hay plus concentrate diets in horses. Eight mature Thoroughbred geldings were housed in 4- x 4-m stalls and randomly assigned to one of two mixed grass/legume hays (Diets 1 and 2) in Trial 1 and to mixed grass/legume hay plus one of two concentrates (Diets 3 and 4) in Trial 2. After the first 12-d period was conducted, dietary assignments for each group were switched for the second period in each trial. Each period consisted of a dietary accommodation from d 1 to 7 and total fecal collection from d 8 to 11. Results indicated that fecal recoveries of odd-chain alkanes were 88 to 90% for Diet 1, 75 to 92% for Diet 2, 71 to 81% for Diet 3, and 71 to 82% for Diet 4. Alkane recoveries were not related to alkane chain lengths. Digestibilities calculated from alkane concentration data adjusted using the mean fecal recovery of individual odd-chain alkanes (DA1) were not significantly different from the digestibilities estimated from total collection (DTC) for Diets 1 and 2 in Trial 1 and Diets 3 and 4 in Trial 2. When adjustment was based on the mean recovery of all alkanes (DA2; estimated by linear regression), all DA2 estimates for horses offered all diets were similar to DTC. Results indicate that accurate mean estimates of DMD can be obtained by using plant wax alkane markers and adjusting for the mean recovery of five odd-chain alkanes in a diet.     

Estimation of feed intake and apparent digestibility of equines and cattle grazing on heathland vegetation communities using the n-alkane markers

The application of n-alkanes as faecal markers to estimate feed intake and apparent digestibility (DMD_ap) of equines and cattle was studied. Additionally, the effect of using different data on diet composition, known proportions of the diet components (DC1) and those estimated using the alkane markers (DC2), on the accuracy of intake and DMD_ap estimates was evaluated. Six mature horses, divided in two groups of three animals (H1 and H2), and three adult non-lactating cows of Asturiana de los Valles breed (C) were housed in individual stalls. H1 and C groups were fed on a diet composed of Lolium perenne L. (70%) and heather (30%) and H2 received L. perenne (40%), heather (30%) and Ulex gallii Planchon (30%). The dietary component heather represented the field proportions of different plant species of heathland, namely Erica umbellata L., Erica cinerea L. and Calluna vulgaris L., at this experimental period. All animals received a daily dose of paper pellets containing C₂₄, C₃₂ and C₃₆ n-alkanes as external markers with the purpose of using different n-alkane pairs of adjacent chain length for feed intake estimations. The results indicated that a period of 3 and 5 days was sufficient for these external markers to reach a steady concentration in faeces of cattle and equines, respectively. In contrast to the results obtained in cattle, the alkane faecal recovery in equines was unrelated to the carbon chain length. Diet composition only affected the faecal recovery of the alkanes C₂₄ (P < 0.05), C₃₁ (P < 0.05), C₃₂ (P < 0.05) and C₃₆ (P < 0.01) in the faeces of the equines, suggesting a different dispersion of the synthetic n-alkanes in the digesta. In equines, DMD_ap estimates were not affected by the n-alkane (C₂₇, C₂₉, C₃₁ and C₃₃) used in the calculations, contrasting with the significant (P < 0.001) effect observed in cattle. In both animal species, the data on diet composition (DC1 or DC2) used in the calculations did not affect DMD_ap estimates. Feed intake estimates were affected by the alkane pair used in the calculations in H1 (P < 0.05), H2 (P < 0.001) and C (P < 0.001). The data on diet composition used in the intake calculations affected the resultant estimates in H1 (P < 0.05) but not in H2 and C. The differences from the known intake values were lower when using C₃₁:C₃₂ alkane pair, overestimating intake in only an average of 4.5, 13.0 and 1.3% in H1, H2 and C, respectively, using DC1 or DC2. The results obtained in this study confirm the accuracy of the n-alkane markers to estimate simultaneously feed intake, apparent digestibility and diet composition of equines and cattle grazing these type vegetation communities.     

Prediction of protein and amino acid composition and digestibility in individual feedstuffs and mixed diets for pigs using near-infrared spectroscopy

Knowledge of the amounts and digestibility of amino acids in pig feedstuffs is essential for calculating the appropriate inclusion level in a complete diet. Wet chemical analysis and in vivo digestibility trials are time-consuming and costly and cannot be used for routine assessment. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) offers a rapid, cost effective and environmentally friendly method for evaluating feedstuffs. Calibrations models were developed using NIRS to predict the content of crude protein and 18 amino acids from a wide range of feedstuffs used in pig production (n = 607). The samples ranged from single feed ingredients (containing amino acids from 0.3 to 129.8 g/kg of dry matter) to feed mixtures (containing amino acids from 1.2 to 53.2 g/kg of dry matter). The predictive ability of the calibrations was tested with an independent dataset (n = 150) and with cross-validation. Furthermore, we compare these calibrations with calibrations developed on more narrowly defined groups of samples and with predictions from regression analysis of crude protein. The models were able to predict the concentrations of crude protein and 18 amino acids with good levels of precision and high coefficients of determination for calibration (RSQ ^CAL) from 0.91 to 0.99 and validation (RSQ^VAL) from 0.87 to 0.97. Calibration models were able to predict all amino acids except tryptophan and valine with greater accuracy than those from protein regression. We also developed calibration models to predict the apparent ileal and total tract digestibility of protein and amino acids. With the exception of tryptophan, RSQ values (>0.7) and standard error of cross validation (SECV) values (<5%) were obtained for the digestibility of most of the amino acids. In conclusion, NIRS can be used to predict crude protein and amino acid concentrations from a wide range of single ingredients and feed mixtures used for pig diets without separate models for each feedstuff. The digestibility of protein and amino acids can be predicted with an acceptable accuracy to be useful in formulating pig diets.     

Live-weight gain, apparent digestibility, and economic benefits of yaks fed different diets during winter on the Tibetan plateau

Our goal was to determine the effect of diets with different crude protein (CP) contents and metabolizable energy (ME) levels on daily live-weight gain, apparent digestibility, and economic benefit of feedlot yaks on the Tibetan plateau during winter. Yaks were either 2- or 3-years old and randomly selected from the same herd. The 3-year-olds were placed into one of two experimental groups (A and B) and a control (CK₁), and the two-year-olds were placed into one of three experimental groups (C, D and E) and a control (CK₂) (N per group = 5). Yak in the control groups were allow graze freely, while those in the experimental groups yaks were fed diets higher in contains crude protein and metabolizable energy through a winter period inside a warming shed. Results indicated that live-weight gain of treatment groups was higher than their respective controls during experiment, and that daily live-weight gain of every 10 days among different treatments was significant difference (P < 0.05). In addition, apparent digestibility of different diets was linearly and positively related to feedlotting time, and feed conversion efficiency for A, C, D and E groups was quadratically related to feedlotting time (P < 0.01), however, feed conversion efficiency for B group was linearly and positively related to feedlotting time (P < 0.05). The economic benefit was 1.15 for A, 1.89 for B, 1.16 for C, 1.54 for D, and 4.52 for E.     

Acanthopanax senticosus extract as a dietary additive enhances the apparent ileal digestibility of amino acids in weaned piglets

The present study was conducted to determine the effects of Acanthopanax senticosus (AS) extract as a dietary additive on serum contents and apparent ileal digestibility (AID) of amino acids (AA) in weaned piglets. In Exp. 1, 60 piglets with an average body weight (BW) of 5.64 kg were randomly assigned into 3 treatment groups who received maize-soybean-based diets supplemented with 0 or 1 g/kg of AS extract or 0.2 g/kg of colistin (n = 20 in each group). Blood samples were randomly collected from 5 piglets per group on days 7, 14 and 28 after the initiation of supplementation to determine the serum contents of free AA. In Exp. 2, 12 barrows with an average initial BW of 7.64 kg were also randomly assigned into 3 dietary treatment groups after being surgically fitted with a simple T-cannula at the terminal ileum. Samples of terminal ileal digesta were collected on day 7 for analysis of the AID of AA. The data showed that the serum contents and AID of most AA in the AS extract-supplemented group gradually increased by 15.3–80.8% and 4.1–30.8%, respectively, as the experiment proceeded in comparison with the colistin-supplemented group and/or control group. In conclusion, these findings indicated that AS extract could enhance the digestion and absorption of AA, which may be a potential mechanism of growth promotion.     

植酸酶和磷酸氢钙对育肥猪生长性能和养分消化率的影响

采用体重75 kg的长白×大约克二元杂交阉公猪56头,随机分为4个处理,分别饲喂常磷日粮、低磷日粮、常磷加植酸酶日粮和低磷加植酸酶日粮。每个处理14个重复,每个重复1头,研究杂粕型日粮添加植酸酶(750 U/kg)和不添加磷酸氢钙对育肥猪的生产性能和养分消化率的影响。结果表明:低磷组比常磷组的采食量降低了5.04%(P<0.05),料重比增加了17.94%(P<0.01),日增重降低了19.80%(P<0.01),单位增重饲料成本增加了17.20%(P<0.01),磷表观消化率降低了10.16%(P<0.01),钙表观消化率降低了8.56%(P<0.05),粗蛋白表观消化率无显著变化(P>0.05);常磷加酶组比常磷组的采食量增加了2.97%(P>0.05),料重比增加了3.53%(P>0.05),日增重降低了1.70%(P>0.05),单位增重饲料成本增加了4.12%(P>0.05),磷表观消化率降低了3.46%(P>0.05),钙表观消化率降低了4.40%(P>0.05),粗蛋白表观消化率无显著变化(P>0.05);低磷加酶组比低磷组的采食量增加了7.50%(P<0.01),料重比降低了13.47%(P<0.01),日增重增加了24.30%(P<0.01),单位增重饲料成本降低了13.60%(P<0.01),磷表观消化率提高了42.09%(P<0.01),钙表观消化率提高了11.18%(P<0.01),粗蛋白表观消化率无显著变化(P>0.05);低磷加酶组(即无磷酸氢钙日粮加酶组)与常磷组相比采食量、日增重、料重比和单位增重饲料成本均差异不显著(P>0.05),磷表观消化率提高了27.66%(P<0.05),钙表观消化率提高了1.68%(P>0.05),粗蛋白表观消化率无显著变化(P>0.05)。结论:低磷日粮添加植酸酶可以提高猪生长性能,提高钙磷表观消化率,但对粗蛋白表观消化率无显著影响;常磷日粮添加植酸酶对猪的生长性能和养分表观消化率均无显著影响;不添加磷酸氢钙会降低猪的生长性能和钙磷的表观消化率。     

The effect of short-term phytase supplementation on the apparent total tract digestibility of calcium and phosphorus and the reproductive performance of late gestation and lactating sows fed diets without mineral phosphorus

The objective of this study was to measure apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of Ca and P as well as reproductive performance in late gestation and lactating sows supplemented with a novel phytase and to compare the response to phytase supplementation between late gestation and lactating sows. A total of 45 late gestation sows and 45 lactating sows were used in experiments 1 and 2, respectively, in a completely randomized design. The sows were provided with a control diet or the control diet supplemented with 187.5 or 375 FYT phytase/kg feed for 10 days. The diets were prepared according to the formulas in use for production but without any inorganic P supplement. Titanium dioxide was included at 3 g/kg feed as an indigestible marker. Each dietary treatment was replicated with 15 sows individually housed in farrowing stalls. The sows were allowed to adapt to the experimental diets for 5 days before a 5-d fecal collection by grab sampling, and the performance of the sows and their litters were measured until weaning. The results showed that the ATTD of Ca increased linearly (P < 0.001), while the ATTD of P increased both linearly and quadratically (P < 0.01) with increasing supplementation of phytase in both late gestation and lactating sows. There was no significant effect of phytase on the ATTD of dry matter, crude protein, and gross energy, and the performance of the sows and their progenies. The phytase added at 187.5 and 375 FYT/kg feed released 0.07% and 0.10% digested P, respectively, in late gestation sows, which compared with 0.09% and 0.12% digested P in lactating sows. In conclusion, a novel phytase at 187.5–375 FYT/kg feed could release 0.07–0.12% digestible P for sows. It appeared that using the P digestibility values of feed ingredients listed by NRC to formulate a diet for sows might overestimate dietary P supply and a greater response to phytase supplementation could be expected in lactating sows than in late gestation sows.     

Minimum length of the adaptation and collection period in digestibility trials with sheep fed ad libitum only forage or forage plus concentrate

Two in vivo digestibility trials with sheep were conducted to identify the minimum period length of feeding a new diet to obtain reproducible values of nutritional variables onward and the minimum length of collection period as to obtain maximal precision for each variable. Trial 1 was conducted with ten Polwarth male sheep (34 ± 5 kg body weight (BW)) throughout three 21‐day periods, in a completely randomized two‐way crossover design. The animals were divided into two groups (Group A and B, n = 5 per group) which were fed ad libitum with a sequence of the following diets throughout the periods: Group A: hay – hay plus concentrate – hay; Group B: hay plus concentrate – hay – hay plus concentrate. The concentrate was included in a proportion of 0.33 of the total diet. The intake, and the faecal and urinary excretion were measured daily throughout the experiment. For evaluating rumen fermentation variables, in Trial 2 four Santa Inês male sheep (65 ± 5 kg BW) fitted with ruminal cannula were used. The animals were randomly divided into two groups (n = 2 per group), and the trial was conducted through four 21 days experimental period, in a three‐way crossover design, using experimental diets and feeding management similar to Trial 1. The results indicated that, even though no clear or consistent steady‐state condition was identified for rumen fermentation or urinary excretion variables, the adaptation period for measuring OM digestibility in in vivo trials with sheep fed ad libitum where the diet shifts from one of only hay to another containing concentrate, or vice‐versa, should be at least 12 days long. Moreover, although no precision improvement was obtained by increasing the collection period above 1 day for measuring OM digestibility, the minimal length of collection period should be 4 days for measuring faecal excretion variables and 7 days for measuring urinary excretion variables.     

低能日粮添加木聚糖酶或复合酶对肉鸡生产性能和养分消化率的影响

试验旨在研究肉鸡低能日粮中添加木聚糖酶或复合酶对肉鸡生产性能和养分消化率的影响。采用单因子的试验设计,试验分6个处理,每个处理8个重复,每重复10只肉仔鸡。6个试验饲粮处理分别为正对照组(PC)、负对照组(NC,在正对照组基础上降低表观代谢能836 kJ/kg)、以及4个在NC基础上的加酶组(分别为处理1:木聚糖酶添加量为4 000 U/kg饲料;处理2:木聚糖酶、α-淀粉酶和蛋白酶分别为300 U/kg、400 U/kg和4 000 U/kg饲料;处理3:木聚糖酶、α-淀粉酶和蛋白酶分别为:1383U/kg6、7U/kg和667U/kg;处理4:木聚糖酶、α-淀粉酶和蛋白酶分别为2 766 U/kg、134 U/kg和1 334 U/kg)。试验结果表明,与PC相比,NC降低了肉鸡的增重、提高了料肉比(P<0.05);与NC相比,4个加酶组提高增重3%~10%和改善料肉比2%~8%(P<0.05),加酶后NC组肉鸡的生产性能达到了PC水平。NC降低了干物质、粗蛋白和能量的表观消化率(P<0.05),加酶组对养分消化率具有提高作用,且达到了PC水平;木聚糖酶和复合酶两种酶制剂对肉鸡生产性能和养分消化率的影响差异不显著,处理3和4两组间差异不显著(P>0.05)。结果表明,在降低代谢能836 kJ/kg的肉鸡饲粮中添加木聚糖酶或复合酶,能够使肉鸡的生产性能和养分消化率得以补偿,低能负对照饲粮加酶后能够使肉鸡的生产性能达到与正对照组相同水平。     

Validation of the n-alkane and NIRS techniques to estimate intake, digestibility and diet composition in sheep fed mixed lucerne: ryegrass diets

An experiment was carried out with sixteen non-pregnant, non-lactating adult Rasa Aragonesa ewes fed different proportions of lucerne and ryegrass hays to validate the use of n-alkanes and NIRS methods to estimate diet composition, intake and digestibility. The effect of two different faecal sampling procedures (daily pool (S1) or rectal spot samples (S2)) was also tested. The faecal concentration of n-alkanes was affected by the sampling procedure, although differences were lower than 12%. Faecal recoveries were not affected by diet, except in the case of C₂₃ (P < 0.0001), C₂₈ (P = 0.0264) and C₃₃ (P = 0.0241), and followed a curvilinear pattern with alkane chain length. Recovery was complete in the case of C₂₉, C₃₁ and C₃₃, which countersigns the usefulness of these internal markers for digestibility and digestive flow studies (especially C₃₁, given its high concentration in most plants). The faecal recoveries of C₃₁ and C₃₂ were not similar, the assumption of identity affecting in an important way the reliability of intake estimates. The NIRS methodology appeared as a promising alternative for predicting diet composition (R² of the cross-validation = 0.98) and faecal concentration of most natural alkanes, although that was not the case for dosed alkanes. In all cases, the prediction equations obtained from the spectra of the faecal spot samples were better than those obtained from daily pool samples.     

Ruminal degradability and intestinal digestibility of individual amino acids in mixed diets with different crude protein levels measured by the modified in vitro three‐step and mobile nylon bag technique

The ruminal degradability and intestinal digestibility of dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP) and amino acids (AA) in three total mixed rations with different CP levels were estimated using the modified in vitro three‐step procedure (TSP) and mobile nylon bag (MNB) technique on growing lambs. The ruminal effective degradability of DM and CP did not respond with increasing dietary CP level. However, the intestinal digestibility of DM was significantly increased with increasing dietary CP level estimated by TSP (P < 0.05) or MNB method (P < 0.01). Intestinal digestibility coefficients of CP determined by TSP were lower than those of the MNB method. Histidine was extensively degraded by rumen micro‐organisms, while tyrosine was the most anti‐degradable AA among the samples. The ruminal AA degradability exhibited no significant differences except for threonine, tryptophan, alanine, aspartic acid and proline for the three diets. Similarly, only a few AAs (i.e. histidine, methionine, tryptophan, aspartic acid and cysteine in TSP; histidine, tryptophan, aspartic acid and serine in MNB) had significant differences in their intestinal digestibility; in addition, values of MNB were lower than that of the TSP method, indicating that intestinal digestibility of DM seems to be overestimated in TSP, while that of CP might be overestimated in the MNB method.