In Vitro and In Vivo Assessment of Dietary Supplementation of Both Natural or Nano-Zeolite in Goat Diets: Effects on Ruminal Fermentation and Nutrients Digestibility

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate in vitro and in vivo dietary supplementation with different levels of natural or nano-zeolite forms on rumen fermentation patterns and nutrient digestibility. In the in vitro experiment, a basal diet (50% concentrate: 50% forage) was incubated without additives (control) and with natural zeolite (10, 20, 30 g/kg DM) or nano-zeolite (0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 1.0 g/kg DM) for 24 h to assess their effect on ruminal fermentation, feed degradability, and gas and methane production using a semi-automatic system of in vitro gas production (GP). The most effective doses obtained from the in vitro experiment were evaluated in vivo using 30 Barki goats (26 ± 0.9 SE kg body weight). Goats were allocated into three dietary treatments (n = 10/treatment) as follows: control (basal diet without any supplementations), natural zeolite (20 g/kg DM diet), and nano-zeolite (0.40 g/kg DM diet). The in vitro results revealed that only the nano-zeolite supplementation form quadratically (p= 0.004) increased GP, and the level of 0.5 g/kg DM had the highest GP value compared to the control. Both zeolite forms affected the CH4 production, linear, and quadratic reductions (p < 0.05) in CH4 (mL/g DM), consistent with linear increases in truly degraded organic matter (TDOM) (p = 0.09), and propionate molar proportions (p = 0.007) were observed by nano zeolite treatment, while the natural form of zeolite resulted in a linear CH4 reduction consistent with a linear decrease (p = 0.004) in NH3-N, linear increases in TDOM (p = 0.09), and propionate molar proportions (p = 0.004). Results of the in vivo experiment demonstrated that the nutrient digestibility was similar among all treatments. Nano zeolite enhanced (p < 0.05) the total short-chain fatty acids and butyrate concentrations, while both zeolite forms decreased (p < 0.001) NH3-N compared to the control. These results suggested that both zeolite supplementation forms favorably modified the rumen fermentation in different patterns.

Modified Nano-Montmorillonite and Monensin Modulate In Vitro Ruminal Fermentation, Nutrient Degradability, and Methanogenesis Differently

“…The more substantial reduction in CH 4 caused by MNM CETAB may be due to the quaternary positively charged ammonium group that can interact with Gram-positive bacterial cells, disrupt their cell membranes, and finally causes cell lysis [27]. Moreover, nano-clays have higher anti-methanogenic activity without adverse effects on the TDOM compared with their natural form [9]; this can partly explain the low effectiveness of NM to affect GP and CH 4 compared with MNM in the current study.…”

“…Recently, grinding the natural clays (e.g., zeolite) in the nano-scale (1-100 nm) enhanced the clay's chemical stability and physicochemical properties [9]. At the same time, it reduced CH 4 and ammonia production while improved the fiber or organic matter rumen degradability in a dose and particle-size-dependent manner [9].…”

“…Recently, grinding the natural clays (e.g., zeolite) in the nano-scale (1-100 nm) enhanced the clay's chemical stability and physicochemical properties [9]. At the same time, it reduced CH 4 and ammonia production while improved the fiber or organic matter rumen degradability in a dose and particle-size-dependent manner [9]. It can be speculated that, if nano-scale dispersion for modified montmorillonite would be achieved, new exceptional physicochemical properties might appear for the modified clays and/or the lowest effective supplementation dose could be obtained.…”

Potential of montmorillonite modified by an organosulfur surfactant for reducing aflatoxin B1 toxicity and ruminal methanogenesis in vitro

“…Due to the high CEC of the montmorillonite, Ca 2+ in its interlayer can be changed with ions of Na + located in the structure of SDS ions, thereby increasing the intermediate distance between lamellae [ 17 ], and consequently may enhancing its affinity for aflatoxin contaminants. Furthermore, mechanical nano grinding has been proven to enhance the clay’s physicochemical, stability, and anti-methanogenic properties [ 18 ]. Therefore it was hypothesized that organo-modified nano montmorillonite by SDS (MNM) may elevate the AFB1 adverse effects while inhibiting CH 4 formation.…”

“…The measured Zeta potential values were − 23.1 and − 24.0 mV for UM and MMM, respectively. The nanoparticle's shape of MNM was recorded by using a scanning electron microscope (SEM; Jeol JSM-6360 LA, 3-1-2 Musashino, Akishima, Tokyo, Japan) after coating with gold to improve the imaging of the clay sample [18]. The functional groups of the experimental clays were determined by Fourier Transform Infra-Red Spectroscopy (FTIR) by an infrared spectrometer (Shimadzu-8400S, Osaka, Japan) as described by Soltan et al [12].…”