Concerns about global warming and greenhouse gases have increased the interest of governments and the public sector to find solutions. To reduce the effects of global warming caused by greenhouse gases, especially methane, it is necessary to change animal production systems and adopt new strategic approaches. The reduction of enteric methane in livestock is a long-standing problem regarding the energy efficiency of consumed feed. In this review, the sources of production, dissemination, and introduction of accepted scientific and practical solutions in order to reduce methane gas in breeding and production units of dairy cows have been investigated. To carry out this research, a thorough search was conducted in articles published in valid databases between 1967 and 2022. A total of 213 articles were reviewed, and after screening, 159 were included in the study and analyzed using a PRISMA flow diagram. In general, low livestock efficiency, low-quality feed, a shortage of knowledge, and inadequate investment are the main causes of emission of these gases in poor or developing countries. On the other hand, developing countries may not always have access to the same methods that are utilized in industrialized countries to minimize the production of methane and other greenhouse gases like nitrous oxide. According to their conditions, developing countries should use the available tools to reduce methane production and emission, considering the costs, local knowledge, feasibility, and local laws. In future, there will be a greater need for interdisciplinary research to look for sustainable and acceptable methods for reducing methane emissions and other greenhouse gases from animal husbandry units, especially dairy cows. To change the population of rumen methanogens, as the main producers of methane, strategies such as feeding management, addition of inhibitors and vaccination are suggested. Also, there is a need for more applied research for reducing methane emissions.

Background: Undoubtedly, global warming has caused a decrease in the production of agricultural commodities. This problem has increased the price of animal feed due to competition with human consumption. Meanwhile, the physiology of ruminants gives them the ability to use by-products and agricultural waste and supply their requirements for growth, maintenance and even production. Berberis vulgaris is a plant native to Iran, and after separating the fruit, its waste (mainly leaf) is unused and causes environmental pollution. The leaves of this plant contain significant amounts of phenolic compounds, alkaloids and anthocyanins that have antioxidant properties.Objectives: This experiment was conducted with the aim of determining the chemical properties of barberry leaves, such as crude protein, phenolic compounds, tannins and alkaloids. The effects of substituting of B. vulgaris leaf (BVL) in the diet on performance characteristics of fattening Baluchi lambs were evaluated. The quality and antioxidant status of meat and blood parameters such as glucose, cholesterol, blood urea nitrogen and liver enzymes were investigated. Material and methods:A total of 21 male of 5-6 months old lambs with a mean body weight of 30.60 ± 1.28 kg were randomly assigned to one of three dietary treatments with different levels of BVL: 1-diet without BVL (control), 2-diet containing 7.5% BVL (BVL7.5), and 3-diet containing 15% BVL (BVL15; dry matter [DM] basis). Blood samples were harvested after overnight fasting from the jugular vein at 0, 28, 56 and 84 days. The lambs were slaughtered after 84 days of feeding trial and longissimus dorsi (LD) muscle was dissected. Meat quality and antioxidant stability status were measured.Results: 15% substitution of alfalfa hay by BVL (BVL15) increased DM intake) and decreased average daily gain (p ≤ 0.05). The LD muscle (p ≤ 0.05), liver (p ≤ 0.01) and plasma (p ≤ 0.05) samples of lambs fed either BVL7.5 or BVL15 displayed a greater total antioxidant capacity than that of lambs fed the control diet. Also,This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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This study was aimed to first, determine the nutritional value of Berberis vulgaris leaf (BVL), using in-vitro gas production technique and second, determine the effect of replacing alfalfa hay (AH) with BVL in lamb diets on nutrient intake, performance, and carcass traits. In-vitro rumen gas kinetics and fermentation profile were assessed using three fistulated lambs and 96 h incubation of samples. For the in-vivo trial, twenty-one Baluchi male lambs of 5–6 months of age and 30.6 ± 1.28 kg body weight (BW) were randomly assigned to three treatment diets containing BVL at 0% (CTRL), 7.5% (BVL7.5), and 15% (BVL15) of the total dry matter (DM) inclusion. The study lasted 84 days, which included 14 days for adaption and 70 days for sample collection. In-vitro results showed that BVL had lower gas yield (GY24, p ≤ 0.05) than AH. In-vivo trial revealed that DMI increased with BVL15 followed by BVL7.5 (p ≤ 0.05). Digestibility of DM, OM, NDF, and ADL decreased (p ≤ 0.05) with BVL15. Total weight gain (TWG), average daily gain (ADG), hot carcass weight (HCW), and cold carcass weight (CCW) were decreased (p ≤ 0.05) with BVL15, however, no differences were observed between the BVL7.5 and CTRL groups. Feed cost per kg BW gain decrease (p ≤ 0.05) by increasing the inclusion levels of BVL. In conclusion, BVL (up to 7.5 % DM of diet) have positive consequences on performance, nutrient intake, rumen fermentation without deleterious effects on fattening performance.

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