Quality of fermented cactus pear (Opuntia spp.) and its effect on liveweight gain of Dorper lambs

Abstract

The high-water (85%) and low protein (5%) content of cactus cladodes (Opuntia spp.) reduce the amount of dry-matter consumed by ruminants. The objective of this study was to use protein enrichment technology to increase Opuntia protein content and to feed Dorper lambs, comparing the Opuntia protein enrichment and the basal diet in the liveweight gain. The experiment was carried out for 60 days, using a biodigester (100 kg of cactus) -Title No. 2641- IMPI. The process was based on the daily aerobic semisolid fermentation of Opuntia by applying yeast of the Sacharomyces cereviceae (1%) type, urea (1%) and ammonium sulfate (0.1%) during 20 h (1 h of movement and 1.5 h of rest) recycling the yeast for a week. Unfermented Opuntia cladodes were used as the control. The enriched Opuntia was provided in the final stage in two treatments in a completely randomized design with three replications: 1) Basal diet (control), and 2) Basal diet + fermented fresh Opuntia. The liveweight of each animal was recorded weekly. Analysis of variance and comparison of means were performed (Tukey HSD p=0.05 and orthogonal contrasts p?0.05). The results of the fermentation showed that fermented Opuntia significantly (p?0.01) decrease carbohydrates content (48.9 to 26.4%); increased crude protein content (5.64 to 33.17%) and energy (2.26 to 2.67 Mcal kg-1) compared with unfermented Opuntia. However, on the seventh day of fermentation, these values decreased significantly, because of the temperature decrease. At the end of the experiment, the live-weight increased significantly 11.62 ± 0.99 kg animal-1 month-1 in groups of four lambs fed with enriched Opuntia, while the liveweight of animals fed with the basal diet only increased 8.42 ± 1.69 kg animal-1 month-1, showing a difference in the liveweight gain of 800 g lamb-1 week-1 fed with fermented Opuntia cladodes.

Aerobic semi-solid fermentation of Opuntia megacantha as feed supplement and its effect on dairy cows (Holstein)

“…This recycling consisted of reutilizing the previously fermented juice, which allowed a considerable saving in the process since the cost of dry yeast was approximately 5.00 USD for each 100 kg of cladodes. Previous studies (Flores-Hernández et al, 2017a,b, 2019 have demonstrated that using "new" yeast weekly did not have a significant effect in the fermentation process.…”

“…This equipment showed advantages because all the process was mechanically performed, consequently, saved time and labor; additionally, a unicellular fungus (Sacharomyces cereviceae) and two nitrogenous sources, urea and ammonium sulfate were used as nutrients (Flores-Hernández et al, 2017a). The fermented prickly pear of different cultivars and varieties -applying the described technology-has been used to feed goats and assess consumption and weight gain (Flores-Hernández et al, 2017b), as well as in sheep to assess daily, weekly, and monthly weight gain (Flores-Hernández et al, 2019). Therefore, the objectives of this study were to assess bimonthly production of cladodes of the var.…”

Evaluation of physicochemical changes of Nopal (Opuntia ficus-indica) at different steam cooking times

“…In a study that evaluated the effect of fresh nopal intake on the regulation of insulin resistance in sows during the lactation phase, a reduction in the levels of blood glucose and an increase in feed consumption were observed, followed by a positive impact on the sow's reproductive performance (Ordaz-Ochoa et al, 2017). In ruminants, the consumption of nopal improves milk production and bacteriological quality, body weight, and meat quality (Urrutia et al, 2014;Pérez-Sánchez et al, 2015;Flores-Hernández et al, 2019). Despite these benefits, fresh nopal, once harvested, has a limited shelf life due to its high-water content.…”

Calidad nutritiva y densidad microbiana de nopal duraznillo (Opuntia leucotricha) fermentado en estado sólido

“…Algunos investigadores (Flores Hernández et al, 2019;Herrera Torres et al, 2014;Meza Herrera et al, 2019) han llevado a cabo la FES con algunos cultivos de levaduras para incrementar el contenido de proteína cruda de nopal cultivado, el cual ha sido mejorado genéticamente para que no tenga espinas. Sin embargo, no existen trabajos que evalúen la calidad nutritiva y el desarrollo microbiano en especies de nopal silvestre, las cuales se caracterizan por tener abundantes espinas y requieren de ser eliminadas antes de ofrecer este forraje al ganado.…”