Chitosan (CHI), a non-toxic and biodegradable biopolymer has been successfully used in the food, human and veterinary medicine industries, especially because of its antimicrobial properties. This study aimed to investigate the effects of CHI on dry matter intake (DMI), nutrient digestibility, blood metabolites, milk yield and composition, and milk fatty acids profile of lactating dairy cows. Sixteen Holstein cows (91.3715.1 days in milk, 29.8 74.1 kg/d of milk, 610 755 kg of body weight [BW]) were used in a 4 Â 4 Latin square design, and each experimental period consisted of 14 days of diet adaptation and 7 days for data collection. Animals were allocated to receive one of treatments: C0: basal diet, without CHI addition; C50, C100 and C150 received 50, 100 and 150 mg/kg BW of CHI, respectively. Chitosan addition did not affect DMI, but increased (Pr 0.05) the digestibility of dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF). Blood urea nitrogen concentration was increased (P ¼0.01) with CHI addition. Chitosan decreased (P ¼0.02) nitrogen (N) fecal excretion without affect nitrogen balance. There was no effect of CHI on milk yield, fat corrected milk, and milk composition. Chitosan decreased (P r0.05) C6:0 and C18:1 c9, and quadratically affected C14:1 fatty acids (FA) concentration in milk fat. Chitosan had no effect on total saturated and unsaturated FA of milk fat. Chitosan improved nutrient digestibility without affect productive performance and milk fatty acid profile of midlactation dairy cows.

-This study was undertaken to determine the effects of chitosan and whole raw soybean on nutrient intake and total tract digestion, nitrogen utilization, microbial protein synthesis, blood metabolites, and energy balance of dairy heifers. Twelve Jersey heifers (6±0.5 months of age and 139.50±25.56 kg of live weight; mean ± standard deviation) were randomly assigned to a replicated Latin square design with a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement. The experimental period consisted of 14 days of adaptation to diets, six days of sampling, and five days of washout. The experimental diets were: control (CO); chitosan (CHI, inclusion of 2.0 g kg −1 DM of chitosan); whole raw soybean (WS, 163.0 g kg −1 of WS on diet DM basis); and chitosan + whole raw soybean (CHI+WS). Chitosan decreased dry matter and neutral detergent fiber intakes; however, CHI increased DM total tract digestion. An interaction effect was observed on retained nitrogen, which increased when animals were fed CHI+WS compared with CO or CHI, but did not differ from that of animals fed WS. Chitosan decreased microbial nitrogen and crude protein flow of heifers. Energy balance was improved when heifers received diets containing WS. Efficiency of energy utilization was not affected by experimental diets. An interaction effect was observed for blood high-density lipoprotein (HDL) concentration, which increased with both dietary inclusion of CHI and WS compared with the other diets, and CHI provided the lowest value of HDL cholesterol. Chitosan and whole raw soybean do not alter nutrient intake and total tract digestion; however, they decrease nitrogen urinary excretion and increase blood HDL cholesterol of heifers.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of whole raw soybean (WRS) in the finishing diet of Nellore cattle on productive performance, carcass traits, meat quality, fatty acid profile of meat, and blood parameters. In a completely randomized design, 52 Nellore bulls (mean body weight ± SD: 380 ± 34 kg) were allotted for 84 days. The animals received the following diets with a forage: concentrate ratio of 40/60: (i) WRS0: control diet without soybean grains; (ii) WRS8: diet containing 8% WRS in dry matter basis; (iii) WRS16: diet containing 16% WRS, and (iv) WRS24: diet containing 24% WRS. At intervals of 28 days, the animals were weighed, muscle and adipose tissue was analysed by ultrasound, and blood samples were collected. The animals were slaughtered on day 85 and liver weight and hot carcass weight were measured during slaughter. The pH and carcass dressing were calculated at 24 h after slaughter. Longissimus dorsi muscle samples were collected for the determination of fatty acid profile of meat, ether extract, tenderness and sensory analysis of meat aged for 14 days. Blood cholesterol content increased linearly with increasing proportion of whole raw soybean grains. The diet did not affect performance or carcass attributes. The WRS8 had the highest shear force values. In fatty acid profile, C14:0 decreased (p = 0.05), whereas 16:1, 20:0 and 20:1 fatty acids increased linearly with increasing proportion of WRS (p < 0.05). However, concentration of conjugated linoleic acid cis 9, trans 11 and 17:0 increased with WRS24 and WRS16. In the sensory analysis, WRS24 was more tender with respect to the other treatments (p < 0.05). Finally, the inclusion of WRS in the finishing diet of feedlot Nellore bulls only evidenced little changes in fatty acid profile and tenderness, in animals fed diets containing 16 or 24% soybean.

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We aimed to evaluate the effects of chitosan and microbial inoculant addition to sugarcane silage fermentation, gas and effluent losses, chemical composition, in situ dry matter (DM), neutral detergent fibre (NDF) degradation and aerobic stability. A completely randomized design with four treatments (n = 40) was performed. It was arranged in a 2 × 2 factorial scheme with chitosan [0 and 6 g/kg of sugarcane DM—1.66 g/kg of natural matter (NM)] and microbial inoculant (0 and 8 mg/kg on NM). Each g of inoculant contained 3.9 × 1010 UFC/g of Pediococcus acidilactici and 3.75 × 1010 UFC/g of Propionibacterium acidicipropionici. The addition of microbial inoculant increased lactic acid concentration in silos treated with chitosan. Furthermore, chitosan increased pH and tended to increase acetic acid of silage. In contrast, the inoculant decreased pH and acetic acid, besides increasing ethanol concentration. As chitosan addition increased DM recovery, inoculant addition decreased it. Chitosan decreased NDF and acid detergent fibre (ADF) level and increased DM degradation, while inoculant decreased DM content, DM and NDF degradation. In addition, chitosan improved the aerobic stability only in non‐inoculated silos. Thus, chitosan has a positive effect on silage fermentation, reducing fermentative losses, and improving silage chemical composition and degradation. Conversely, the addition of microbial inoculant negatively affected silage DM recovery, chemical composition, and its association with chitosan decreased the aerobic stability when compared to the exclusive use of chitosan.

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The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance and blood parameters of feedlot Nellore cattle fed increasing doses of ricinoleic acid (RA) in the diet. Ninety-six Nellore steers divided into 12 groups of 8 animals were used. The animals were randomly assigned to four treatments: 0, 1, 2, or 4 g of RA/animal/day, with three replicates per treatment. The experimental period consisted of 84 days divided into three 28-day periods preceded by three step-up diets. A quadratic effect was found for average daily gain and final body weight, as well as for leukocyte and lymphocyte counts, and for urea and blood urea nitrogen. A linear effect was observed for albumin, alkaline phosphatase, and gamma glutamyl transferase. The inclusion of 2 g of RA daily improved the performance of feedlot Nellore steers.