<b>Propolis and essential oils additives in the diets improved animal performance and feed efficiency of bulls finished in feedlot

Abstract

This work was realized to evaluate the effect of natural additives as propolis or essential oils addition on animal performance, feed intake, apparent digestibility and carcass characteristics of bulls finished in feedlot. Thirty bulls (½ Aberdeen Angus vs. ½ Nellore) were randomly assigned in one of three diets (control-CON, propolis-PRO and essential oils-OIL) and kept in feedlot (individual pen) during 55 days. CON diet consists of 45% corn silage, 40% concentrate (cracked corn, soybean meal, limestone and mineral salt) and 15% glycerine. The PRO group received same diet that control plus 3 grams to animal day-1 of propolis dry added to the concentrate. The OIL oils group received same diet that control and 3 grams to animal day-1 of essential oils (cashew and castor oils) added to the concentrate. Final weight, average daily gain, feed efficiency and hot carcass weightwere better for bulls supplemented with essential oils and propolis than for bulls fed control diet. The feed intake, apparent digestibility, carcass conformation and tissue composition were unaffected by the additives addition. The addition of propolis and essential oils in the diets of bulls finished in feedlot improve animal performance and carcass weight.

Effect of adding crude glycerine to diets with feed additives on the feed intake, ruminal degradability, volatile fatty acid concentrations and in vitro gas production of feedlot Nellore cattle

“…Despite the lack of significant difference in propionic acid concentrations, the combination crude glycerine with essential oil promoted an increase of 17% in this acid, fact that decreased the C2: C3 ratio in the rumen. Although there are also evidence that crude glycerine may have a detrimental effect on the growth of structural carbohydrate fermenting bacteria (AbuGhazaleh, Abo El‐Nor, & Ibrahim, ; Roger, Fonty, Andre, & Gouet, ), resulting in reduced fibre digestibility and CH 4 production (van Cleef et al, ; Homem Junior et al, ; Paschoaloto et al, ), crude glycerine does not impair the consumption, performance or carcass characteristics of feedlot cattle (van Cleef et al, ) and, when combined with essential oil, has shown even better results (Cruz et al, ; Prado et al, ; Silva et al, ; Valero, Prado, et al, ; Valero, Torrecilhas, et al, ).…”

“…Functional properties against bacteria, fungi, viruses, parasites and antioxidant action have been reported for many essential oils (Busquet, Calsamiglia, Ferret, Cardozo, & Kamel, ; Busquet, Calsamiglia, Ferret, Carro, & Kamel, ; Duarte et al, ). An essential oil composed of a blend of cashew nut shell liquid and castor oil has shown positive results as a replacement for sodium monensin (Jesus et al, ) and, when combined with crude glycerine, has shown even better results, improving animal performance, feed efficiency, DM digestibility and meat quality of beef steers (Cruz et al, ; Prado et al, ; Silva et al, ; Valero, Prado, et al, ; Valero, Torrecilhas, et al, ). We hypothesized that this combination could provide similar or better ruminal conditions when compared to the sodium monensin combined with crude glycerine, besides to promote reductions in CH 4 production.…”

O estado da arte da nutrição de ruminantes

“…Grande parte das pesquisas está relacionada ao ambiente ruminal e atualmente diversos estudos vêm sendo realizados no Brasil, principalmente com relação à utilização desses óleos em substituição à ionóforos , Silva et al, 2014, Valero et al, 2014a, Valero et al, 2014b, Zawadzki et al, 2015, Cruz et al, 2014 Na alimentação animal é importante conhecer profundamente qual produto está sendo empregado, além de seu princípio ativo, controle de qualidade e estabilidade. Sabe-se que o cardol e o ácido ricinoléico agem na parede das bactérias gram-positivas como ionóforos naturais e que misturas destes produtos tem atividade anticoccidiana (Oliveira et al, 2011), controlam o pH ruminal e melhoram a digestibilidade da fibra e possuem efeitos na características da carcaça (Torrent, 2014).…”

Características físico-químicas e sensoriais de aves e ovos

“…Em função das propriedades reconhecidas e do potencial das plantas aromáticas e seus extratos, vários produtos a base de plantas são testados como promotores de crescimento (Valero et al, 2014a, Valero et al, 2014b, Valero et al, 2011. Estudos demonstram que os aditivos fitogênicos quando integram a dieta de frangos de corte propiciam uma melhor utilização dos nutrientes e consequentemente melhores resultados de desempenho (Lević et al, 2007).…”

“…Os óleos essenciais são muito utilizados nas indústrias de alimentos e farmacêuticas, pelas propriedades antimicrobianas, hipolipemiante, antioxidante, estimulante digestivo, antiviral, anti-toxigênico, anti-parasítico, inseticida, inibidor de odor e controlador de amônia (Koiyama, 2012, Jayasena & Jo, 2013, atraindo a atenção da comunidade científica como uma alternativa aos antimicrobianos e promotores de desempenho em animais de interesse zootécnico (Valero et al, 2014b, Valero et al, 2014a.…”