No abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of two plants rich in phenolics compounds on ruminal fermentation, methane production and related microbial diversity using in vitro gas production technique (IVGPT). 25 mg of the two plant extracts added to 1.0 g of mixture of alfalfa hay, ryegrass hay and corn (5, 2, 3) were incubated with 30 ml of buffered rumen fluid (1: 2) in 120 ml serum bottles. After 24h, the incubation was stooped and the inoculants were determined for pH, ammonia-N, VFA, truly organic matter digestibility, methanogens and protozoa quantification using real time PCR technique. In vitro gas production was recorded and methane concentration was determined at 3, 6, 9, 12 and 24h of incubation. Results showed that methane and ammonia nitrogen production was significantly reduced (p ˂ 0.05), propionate production was increased significantly (p ˂ 0.05), while no significant effect was registred for pH, tVFA and organic matter digestibility comparatively to the control. Real time PCR indicated that the ciliate protozoa population in the two added extracts was decreased (p ˂ 0.05), while no effect was observed on methanogens population. Among phenolics fractions, total flavonoids had the closest relationship with CH 4 production (r = -0.916, p ˂ 0.01) followed by total phenols (r = -0.861, p ˂ 0.01) and condensed tanins (r = -0.538, p ˂ 0.05). In conclusion, the plants rich in flavonoids might be promising to be used as a potent antimethanogenic additive for decreasing CH 4 while they obviously enhance microbial biomass production and fermentation effeciency.

The present study aimed to monitor the practices of Algerian veterinarians in the diagnosis and treatment of puerperal metritis (PM) and clinical endometritis (CE) in cattle. For this purpose, a questionnaire was established and distributed to collect the information concerning veterinarian profiles and practices related to the diagnosis and treatment of PM and CE. The results showed that examinations of the uterus (rectal palpation), vaginal discharge, and rectal temperature were the most practiced methods for PM (71%, 68%, and 83%, respectively) and CE (86%, 60%, and 65%, respectively) diagnosis. Tetracycline was the antibiotic of choice for intrauterine treatment of PM (54%) and CE (57%), whereas penicillin was the preferred parenteral antibiotic against PM (68%) and CE (64%). In addition, molecules combined with antibiotic treatment were PGF2α