No abstract

Influence of urea treated wheat straw (UTWS) ensiled with organic acids and fermentable carbohydrates on ruminal parameters, digestion kinetics, digestibility, and nitrogen (N) balance was studied in Nili-Ravi buffalo bulls fed restricted diets. Four diets having 50% UTWS ensiled with acetic acid (AD), formic acid (FD), acidified molasses (MD), and corn steep liquor (CD) were fed to ruminally cannulated bulls in a 4 × 4 Latin square design. Higher ruminal ammonia N at 3 h post feeding was observed with AD and FD diets; however, at 9 and 12 h post feeding it was higher with MD and CD diets. Ruminal total volatile fatty acids and acetate concentrations were significantly higher with MD and CD diets than AD and FD diets. The ruminal degradability, rate of disappearance, and lag time of dry matter (DM) and neutral detergent fibre (NDF) were statistically higher with MD and CD diets than AD and FD diets. Total bacterial, viable, and cellulolytic ruminal counts were significantly higher in bulls fed CD and MD diets than AD and CD diets. The digestibility of DM, organic matter, NDF, and acid detergent fibre was significantly higher in bulls fed CD and MD diets than AD and FD diets. The N retained out of N intake was higher in bulls fed CD and MD diets than those fed AD and FD diets. This study indicated that the UTWS ensiled with fermentable carbohydrates is of better feeding value for ruminants than UTWS ensiled with organic acids.

The current study was aimed to observe the influence of pulsed electric field (PEF) on the extraction of bioactive components; antioxidant activity and physicochemical properties of date palm fruit extract (DPFE) as compared to the extract untreated by PEF. The fruit was treated with PEF (frequency: 10 Hz, time: 100 µs, pulses number: 30, electric field strength (EFS): 1, 2, and 3 kV/cm. The results show that PEF has a positive impact on the total content of carotenoids, anthocyanins, flavonoids, and phenolics by increasing the EFS. DPFE treated with PEF exhibit a strong antioxidant activity as compared to untreated extract, while electrical conductivity, pH values, and titratable acidity were not affected by PEF. The results indicate a notable increase in the volatile components in DPFE treated with PEF at 3 kV/cm. Thus, PEF treatment can assist the ethanolic extraction of DPFE to improve the bioactivity and antioxidative activity. These findings suggest that PEF can be a more suitable technique to enhance solvent extraction on a commercial basis.

The influence of varying levels of urea and additives on nitrogen (N) retention and chemical composition of wheat straw was studied. The wheat straw was treated with 4, 6 and 8% urea and ensiled with 1.5, 2 and 2.5% of acetic or formic acid and 2, 4 and 6% of corn steep liquor (CSL) or acidified molasses for 15 days. The N content of wheat straw was significantly different across all treatments. The N content of urea treated wheat straw was increased with the increasing level of urea. The N content was higher in urea treated wheat straw ensiled with acetic or formic acid as compared to urea treated wheat straw ensiled without these organic acids. The N content of urea treated wheat straw was further enhanced when it was ensiled with CSL or acidified molasses. This effect was significant across all levels of urea used to treat the wheat straw. Nitrogen retention in urea treated wheat straw was decreased linearly as the urea level was increased to treat the wheat straw. The N content was increased linearly when higher levels of CSL or acidified molasses were used to ensile the urea treated wheat straw. Most of the N in urea treated wheat straw was held as neutral detergent insoluble N (NDIN). The NDIN content was increased linearly with the increasing levels of urea and additives. The neutral detergent fiber (NDF) contents were higher in urea treated wheat straw ensiled with acetic or formic acid as compared to urea treated wheat straw ensiled without additive. The NDF content further increased in urea treated wheat straw ensiled with CSL and acidified molasses. The entire increase in NDF content was because of fiber bound N. The hemicellulose content of urea treated wheat straw ensiled with CSL or acidified molasses was higher as compared to urea treated wheat straw ensiled with acetic or formic acid. The acid detergent fiber content of urea treated wheat straw ensiled with or without additives remained statistically non-significant. The cellulose contents of wheat straw was linearly reduced when urea level was increased from 4 to 6 and 8% to treat the wheat straw. This effect was further enhanced when urea treated wheat straw was ensiled with different additives. The results of the present study indicated that fermentable carbohydrates might improve the Nitrogen retention and bring the favorable changes in physiochemical nature of wheat straw. However, biological evaluation of urea treated wheat straw ensiled with fermentable carbohydrates is required.

Influence of different levels of corn steep liquor (CSL) on chemical composition of urea-treated wheat straw (UTWS), feed intake, ruminal characteristics, digestion kinetics, nitrogen (N) metabolism, and nutrient digestibility by ruminally cannulated buffalo bulls was studied using 4 × 4 Latin square design. Wheat straw was treated with 5% urea and ensiled with 0, 3, 6, and 9% CSL on a dry matter (DM) basis and was ensiled in laboratory silos for 5, 10, and 15 days. Neutral detergent fibre (NDF) contents of UTWS ensiled with 0, 3, 6, and 9% CSL were 74.01, 76.16, 77.34, and 78.93%, respectively. Acid detergent fibre (ADF), cellulose, and lignin were similar across treatments. The increase in NDF content was due to increased neutral detergent insoluble nitrogen (NDIN), as when NDF was calculated on crude protein (CP)-free basis (NDF – NDIN × 6.25), its concentration was same for UTWS ensiled with or without CSL. Four diets were formulated to contain 20% concentrate and 80% UTWS ensiled with or without CSL. Dry matter, digestible DM, organic matter (OM), CP, ADF, and NDF intakes were higher in bulls fed UTWS ensiled with CSL. Significant increases in both DM disappearance and rate of disappearance and a reduction in lag time of UTWS ensiled with CSL was noticed. There were significant differences in ruminal ammonia concentrations between diets containing UTWS ensiled with or without CSL at 3, 6, and 12 h postprandial. Higher digestibilities for DM, OM, CP, ADF, and NDF were noted with UTWS ensiled with CSL. Nitrogen balance was positive for all animals; however, the animals fed UTWS ensiled with CSL retained higher amount of N. These results indicated that CSL was very effective in enhancing the utilisation of ammoniated straw for buffaloes by minimising the nutrient loss at ruminal and cellular levels.