Modulation of ruminal and intestinal fermentation by medicinal plants and zinc from different sources

Abstract

Two experiments were conducted on sheep to determine the effect of dietary supplementation with zinc and a medicinal plant mixture on haematological parameters and microbial activity in the rumen and large intestine. In Experiment 1, 24 male lambs were randomly divided into four groups: One group was fed an unsupplemented basal diet (control), and three groups were fed a diet supplemented with 70 mg Zn/kg diet in the form of Zn sulphate (ZnSO ), a Zn-chelate of glycine hydrate (Zn-Gly) or a Zn-proteinate (Zn-Pro), for five months. The ruminal content was collected separately from each lamb, and batch cultures of ruminal fluid were incubated in vitro with mixture of medicinal plants (Mix) with different roughage:concentrate ratios (800:200 and 400:600, w/w). Bioactive compounds in Mix were quantified by UPLC/MS/MS. In Experiment 2, four sheep were fed a diet consisting of meadow hay and barley grain (400:600, w/w), with Zn-Gly (70 mg Zn/kg diet), Mix (10% replacement of meadow hay) or Zn-Gly and Mix (Zn-Gly-Mix) as supplements in a Latin square design. Mix decreased total gas (p < 0.001) and methane (p < 0.01) production in vitro. In Experiment 1, caecal isobutyrate and isovalerate concentrations varied among the dietary treatments (p < 0.01). The isovalerate concentration of the zinc-supplemented groups in the distal colon was higher (p < 0.001) compared with the control. In Experiment 2, the molar proportion of isobutyrate was the highest in the faeces of the sheep fed the diet with Zn-Gly-Mix (p < 0.01). The plasma zinc concentration was higher in the groups fed a diet supplemented with zinc (p < 0.001). The haematological profile and antioxidant status did not differ between the dietary groups (p > 0.05). The diets containing medicinal plants and organic zinc thus helped to modulate the characteristics of fermentation in ruminants.

Ruminal fermentation, microbial population and lipid metabolism in gastrointestinal nematode-infected lambs fed a diet supplemented with herbal mixtures

“…Lower concentrations of PSM sometimes may be stimulatory to certain bacterial populations increasing digestibility of feeds. However, significant effects of herbal mixtures on pH, ammonia N and VFA have not been observed in vivo, neither in this nor other studies [52], perhaps due to the use of a lower dose of herbal mixture allowing metabolic redundancy of the ruminal ecosystem [49].…”

Anthelmintic Activity of Wormwood (Artemisia absinthium L.) and Mallow (Malva sylvestris L.) against Haemonchus contortus in Sheep

“…Ruminal and intestinal fermentation parameters can be manipulated by supplementing a diet with medicinal plants [40]. No adverse effects of wormwood and mallow on the ruminal fermentation parameters (i.e., pH, ammonia N, methane, gas production, and volatile fatty acids) were found [18].…”

Effect of dry medicinal plants (wormwood, chamomile, fumitory and mallow) on in vitro ruminal antioxidant capacity and fermentation patterns of sheep

“…Ruminal and intestinal fermentation parameters can be manipulated by supplementing a diet with medicinal plants (Váradyová, Mravčáková, Holodová, et al, 2018). It is evident from Table 2 that the chemical composition of all dietary substrates had optimal nutritional value.…”

“…The dietary substrates were analysed in triplicate using standard procedures (AOAC, 2000; Van Soest, Robertson, & Lewis, 1991), as was previously described by Váradyová, Mravčáková, Holodová, et al (2018). Qualitative phytochemical tests for the presence of bioactive compounds (tannins and phenols, saponins, alkaloids, terpenoids, flavonoids, glycosides) were determined in plant aqueous and ethanolic extracts (Jaradat, Hussen, & Al Ali, 2015).…”