microbial protein

Generally, most feeds used in livestock nutrition are deficient in some nutrients and require nutritional supplements. Among the supplements, micro and macro minerals are of particular importance. Selenium is a scarce and essential mineral in animal nutrition, and its importance has been well confirmed in the health and productivity of animals. Selenium plays a role in enzyme activity and acts as an antioxidant to prevent oxidative damage to body tissues. The use of selenium supplements in the diet of sheep can stimulate rumen microbial activity, digestive microorganisms, and their enzyme activity and improve rumen fermentation. It is believed that the low selenium absorption in ruminants is due to the deficiency of selenium in the ration and its conversion into an insoluble form. The reasons for improving the digestibility of feed nutrients in response to selenium supplementation include an increase in protozoan activity and an increase in the activity of cellulolytic bacteria. The use of different organic and inorganic forms of selenium affects its absorption in the digestive system. The use of organic selenium supplements, such as selenium chelates, with organic acids and amino acids increases the ability to absorb this element in the digestive system. There is a direct relationship between the amount of selenium in the soil and plants, and based on the published reports, the soil of our country is deficient in terms of the condition of this element, which shows the necessity of using selenium supplements in the ration of livestock in many regions of Iran. As a result, this study aimed to investigate the effects of organic and inorganic selenium supplements on digestibility, rumen parameters, microbial protein production, rumen protozoa populations, and carcass characteristics of crossbred Zel fattening male lambs.

Twenty-five male lambs aged 4-5 months and with an average body weight of 32.4 ± 1.5 kg were assigned to five treatments with five replications as a completely randomized design for 84 days. The experimental treatments were:1) basal diet without selenium supplement (control), 2) basal diet + 0.5 mg Se/kg DM as selenium glycine, 3) basal diet + 0.5 mg Se/kg DM as selenium methionine, 4) basal diet + 0.5 mg Se/kg DM as selenium cysteine, and 5) basal diet + 0.5 mg Se/kg DM as sodium selenite. The apparent digestibility of feed nutrients was determined using the acid-insoluble ash internal indicator method. Ruminal fluid was collected 3 hours after consuming the morning feed on the 84th day of the experiment to determine the protozoa population and the pattern of volatile fatty acids in the rumen fluid. In the last week of the experiment, urine was collected to estimate the production of microbial protein by measuring the excretion of purine derivatives from urine. After completing the experiment, 15 lambs were weighed and slaughtered to evaluate the carcass and meat characteristics. Data were analyzed as a completely randomized design using the General Linear Model (GLM) procedure of SAS.

In treatments containing selenium methionine and selenium cysteine supplements, the digestibility of dry matter and insoluble fibers in neutral detergent increased significantly compared to the inorganic selenium and control groups (P < 0.05). The digestibility of organic matter in treatments supplemented with selenium methionine and selenium cysteine increased significantly compared to that in the control group (P < 0.05). In addition, crude protein digestibility improved significantly in all treatments supplemented with selenium compared to that in the control group (P < 0.05). No statistically significant difference was observed in the digestibility of ether extract and acid detergent insoluble fibers (ADF) among experimental treatments (P < 0.05). The rumen fluid pH was significantly lower in all lambs receiving selenium supplements than in the control group (P < 0.05). In treatments containing selenium methionine and selenium cysteine, the concentration of propionic acid increased compared to the treatment containing sodium selenite and the control group (P < 0.05), and the acetic acid/propionic acid ratio decreased significantly compared to the treatment containing inorganic selenium and the control group (P < 0.05). The concentration of butyric acid in all treatments supplemented with organic selenium was significantly lower than that in the control group (P < 0.05). Moreover, the experimental treatments did not affect the concentrations of ammonia nitrogen, other volatile fatty acids, and total fatty acids in the rumen liquid of lambs (P < 0.05). In the present study, the use of organic and inorganic selenium supplements did not significantly affect microbial protein production, rumen fluid protozoa population, carcass characteristics, and the chemical composition of lamb meat (P > 0.05).

In general, it can be concluded that adding 0.5 mg Se/kg DM to the basic diet (containing 0.07 mg Se/kg DM of feed) from organic sources of selenium supplements (especially selenium methionine and selenium cysteine supplements) compared to the inorganic source of selenium has a better effect on the digestibility of feed nutrients and rumen parameters of fattening lambs.

 Total mixed ration silage (TMRS) is a new technology that has been considered by animal nutritionist in recent years. The TMRS is balance feed prepared from fodder components (mainly silage), concentrate and mineral-vitamin supplements that provides the nutritional requirements of livestocks due to the presence of these components, its use has been expanded in livestock breeding units, where the fermentation process improved the nutrients digastibility. This study, with the aim of preparing complete feed silage based on triticale and wheat plants and determining their nutritional value (optional feed consumption, digestibility and rumen parameters) in comparison to daily complete feed with the same food ingredients (daily mixing the desired fodder silage with dry ration) was done.

Four experimental diets were prepared including: 1) diet containing wheat silage, 2) complete feed silage based on wheat, 3) diet containing triticale silage, 4) complete feed silage based on triticale. The digestibility and voluntary consumption of the experimental rations were determined by the in vivo method on adult male sheep of Zel breed. The amount of feed consumed, the remaining feed, total feces and daily urine for each sheep were collected separately. Stool samples were dried in an oven at a temperature of 60 degrees Celsius and then the percentage of dry matter was calculated. In the dried samples of feces and feed, the amount of ash and insoluble fibers in neutral detergent was measured

The amount of dry matter in terticale silage was the highest (47.30%) and the diets containing silage, wheat silage and complete wheat silage were the lowest (46.50%), but there was no significant difference between the treatments (p>0.05). The average digestibility of dry matter and insoluble fibers in neutral detergent fiber in the silage treatment of terticale complete feed was the highest compared to other treatments (p < 0.05). The treatment 2 had the highest, but the treatment 1 had the lowest digestible nutrients intake (p<0.05), whereas no significantly differences were obtained among the other treatments. Metabolizable energy in whole wheat silage treatment had the highest (11.42 megacalories per kilogram of dry matter) compared to other three treatments (p < 0.05). The production of rumen microbial protein was highest when feeding on whole grain wheat silage and the lowest when feeding on ration containing triticale silage (p < 0.05).Conclution: In general, ensiling the food ration in the form of complete feed based on wheat fodder improved its nutritional value, but no such improvement was achieved in the case of triticale fodder.

Microbial protein is used in animal and poultry feed. This protein is produced using microorganisms and different carbon sources such as methanol and methane. In this study, Methylophilus methylotrophus bacteria were cultivated in erlen and fermentor using methanol as a carbon source. The specific growth rate of bacteria was 0.0312 h-1 in erlen and 0.0047 h-1 in fermenter. After cultivation, the biomass was separated at optical density of 3.8 using a centrifuge at 7000 rpm, and qualitative and quantitative tests of microbial protein were performed on pellet. Amino acid profile, fatty acid profile, nitrogen content and crude protein were determined using high performance liquid chromatography, gas chromatography and Kjeldahl method, respectively. The results show that the amount of crude protein was 73.5%. The amount of ash was 29.8% and the total of essential to non-essential amino acids (including lysine, histidine, arginine, valine, leucine, isoleucine, phenylalanine, methionine and threonine) was 37.3% for the produced product. The amount of two non-essential amino acids, cysteine and tyrosine, was higher than the FAO standard and was 2.38% and 3.21%, respectively. The ratio of palmitic acid to the total fat of the product is 24.6% (w/w) and the ratio of linoleic acid and linolenic acid as unsaturated fatty acids is 9.2 and 2.3% (w/w) to the total fat of the product, respectively. The results obtained from this research showed that the product with a protein content of 73.5% seems an appropriate candidate for animal feed.

Today, the increase in the world's population, especially in third-world countries, has caused an increase in the demand for livestock products, which will subsequently require more livestock products and more food resources to meet these needs. The use of waste from factories of agricultural transformation industries in feeding livestock helps to make the cost of breeding more economical. Since cotton by-product is considered a product of cotton ginning factories, it can be said that due to its nutritional value, its use in animal diets is to avoid wasting this huge source of feed. Cotton by-product contains 86.9% dry matter, 12.3% crude protein, 57.7% NDF, 12.2% ash, 1.7% calcium, 0.31% phosphorus, and 1.06% net energy. The results of the studies showed that cotton waste can be used as a source of protein in the diet of fattening animals. This study aimed to assess the effect of feeding different levels of cotton by-products on performance, degradability, rumen fermentation parameters, microbial protein, and microbial population in fattening lambs.
In this study, 24 male Afshari lambs with a mean weight of 30±0.7 kg and a mean age of four months were used in a completely randomized design with four treatments and six replications for 90 days. The experimental treatments included: 1) a diet without cotton by-product (control), 2) a diet containing 33.33% cotton by-product instead of alfalfa, 3) a diet containing 66.66% cotton by-product instead of alfalfa, and 4) a diet containing 100% cotton by-product instead. Hay was based on dry matter. The cotton by-product used in this study was obtained from Mahosh cotton ginning factory located in Razavi Khorasan province, Neyshabur city, Iran. After entering the test site, it was chopped and then mixed with alfalfa in certain percentages; it was consumed by experimental lambs. Growth performance traits including daily feed intake, daily weight gain, and feed conversion ratio were measured during the experiment period. To measure ruminal fermentation parameters and bacteria and protozoa populations, the rumen fluid of the experimental lambs was taken from the rumen on the 90th day of the experiment, three hours after morning feeding using an esophageal tube. To determine urine purine derivatives, the total 24-hour urine production of each animal was collected in a special container under the metabolic cage on five sampling days. The number of three fistulaized Afshari sheep with a mean weight of about 50±2 kg and a mean age of approximately 11 months was used to estimate the parameters of degradability of dry matter, crude protein, and NDF.
The growth performance results showed that replacing 100% cotton by-products instead of dry alfalfa increased feed intake, increased daily weight, and decreased feed conversion ratio (P<0.05). The results of ruminal parameters showed that the treatment containing 66.66 and 100% replacement of cotton by-products instead of dry alfalfa had the highest concentration of total volatile fatty acids, acetic acid, and acetate to propionate ratio (P<0.05). There was no significant difference between the experimental treatments in the amounts of purine excretion derivatives and microbial protein production. The use of 66.66% of the substitute cotton by-product instead of dry alfalfa in the diet increased the total population of rumen fluid bacteria (P<0.05) but had no significant effect on the protozoan population. The results of meta-measures of dry matter degradability, crude protein, and NDF showed that there was no significant difference between experimental treatments.
The general results of the study showed that replacing cotton by-products by 66.66 or 100% instead of dry alfalfa in the diet improved the performance, increased the bacterial population, and concentration of total volatile fatty acids in the rumen fluid of fattening lambs. The use of cotton by-products can be a suitable substitute for alfalfa in the diet of fattening lambs without negative effects on growth performance and rumen fermentation indices.

Nowadays, excessive exploitation of natural resources and excessive grazing of pastures has led to a sharp decrease in feed sources for ruminant animals. Considering the fact that today most of the feed materials needed by livestock are expensive, replacing them with cheaper feed materials, in a way that does not result in a decrease in livestock productivity is of great importance. Oak fruit is one of the cheap feed that can be used in animal feed. Livestock feeding with oak fruit is particularly important due to high production per unit area, non-competition with human nutrition and easy access. The Alborz Mountains in the northern part of the country are covered by oak forests, from Talash forests to Naharkhoran forests in Gorgan, according to the climatic conditions and altitude, there are several species of oak trees. Therefore, considering the abundance of oak fruit in the forests of the central part of Mazandaran province and also the lack of scientific studies on the effects of consumption of oak fruit processed with sodium hydroxide and urea on degradability indicators and microbial protein production, the present study is to investigate the effect different levels of oak fruit processed with sodium hydroxide and urea on  ruminal fermentation, morphology, ruminal degradability and  microbial protein synthesis in crossed Zell and Atabai fattening male lambs.

In the first study, from the number of 20 fattening male lambs mixed with Zel and Atabai with an mean age of 5.5±0.38 months and an initial weight of 27±0.4 kg in a completely randomized design with 4 treatments and 5 repetitions for 90 The day was used. The experimental treatments included the control group (no oak fruit + polyethylene glycol) and treatments containing levels of 10, 20 and 40% in the dry matter of oak fruit processed with sodium hydroxide and urea in the diet. In the second study, the number of 3 fistulaized Zell sheep with mean weight of about 40 kg and an average age of approximately 10 months were used to estimate the parameters of degradability. The oak fruit used in this study was randomly collected from oak trees of the Bolandmazo species (Quercus castaneifolia C. A. Mey) in different forest areas of Mazandaran province from late summer to early autumn. Data obtained were analyzed by statistical software SAS (version 1.9).

The results of rumen fermentation parameters showed that there was a significant difference between experimental treatments in ammonia nitrogen, total volatile fatty acids, bacterial population and protozoa of rumen fluid (P<0.05). The highest and lowest concentrations of ammonia nitrogen were observed in the control group and the 20% processed oak fruit treatment, respectively. In the concentration of total volatile fatty acids, the treatment of 20% of processed oak fruit had the highest concentration and the treatment of 40% of processed oak fruit had the lowest concentration. There was no significant difference between the experimental treatments in the results of the morphological characteristics of the rumen villi. Degradability parameters of dry matter and crude protein were determined under the influence of experimental treatments (P<0.05). In the parameters of degradability of dry matter and crude protein, rapidly degraded fraction, constant rate of degradation and effective degradability with different passage rate had significant differences between experimental treatments (P<0.05). In dry matter degradability parameters, the control group and the treatment group of 40% processed oak fruit had the highest and lowest value of rapidly degraded fraction and constant rate of degradation, respectively. The results of gas production parameters showed that there was a significant difference between experimental treatments in gas production potential, short chain acids, digestibility of organic matter and metabolizable energy (P<0.05). The results of excretion of purine derivatives and microbial protein production showed that there was a significant difference between the experimental treatments in the amounts of excreted allantoin, xanthine+hypoxanthine, excreted purine derivatives, absorbed purine derivatives and microbial protein (P<0.05).

The general results of the current research showed that an increase in the concentration of volatile fatty acids, degradability of dry matter and crude protein, as well as the production of microbial protein was observed with consumption of 40% processed oak fruit. Also, an increase in the population of ruminal fluid bacteria and protozoa was observed in the treatment of 20% processed oak fruit. In general, it is recommended to use the level of 40% of processed oak fruit in feeding fattening lambs.

Using agro-Industrial by-products in animal nutrition is an efficient way to improve low quality materials to high quality feeds. Agro-industrial by-products are wasted often and their disposal may cause environmental problems, as they are perishable and potential pollutants. Tomato pomace (TP) is the main waste of tomato factories. In Iran, about 6.9 million tons of tomatoes are produced annually, from that about 575,000 tons of TP is produced. TP, as a by-product, is a good source of vitamin B1, B2 and a reasonable source of vitamin A. Additionally, TP contains important compounds such as carotenoids such as lycopene, which their presence in animal products can be important for consumer health. TP can be used as promising protein and fiber sources in ruminant nutrition. The chemical composition of TP in different parts of the country has already been reported. There are some discrepancies among the results in term of chemical composition. Different results obtained by various studies could be due to the different analytical methods used as well as differences in processing conditions. A few experiments have examined the potential use of TP in ruminant diets. For example, TP has been used in dairy cows without any negative effect on milk production. There are also reports of a positive effect of using TP in fattening lambs. However, information about the effect of TP on ruminal fermentation and digestibility parameters is lacking. The aim of this study was to determine the chemical composition and nutritional value of dried TP and its replacement with wheat bran (WB) in vitro.

Initially the TP was prepared from Rojin Tak factory in Kermanshah. After that, TP samples have dried in the shade, and transported to the laboratory. Chemical composition and gas production parameters of TP and WB were measured using conventional methods. Dry matter (DM), ash, Ether extract (EE), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF) and crude protein (CP) of the samples were determined. In the first gas production experiment, ruminal fluid was obtained from two male Lori sheep (live weight 47 ± 0.2 kg) fitted with permanent rumen cannula. Samples (250 mg on a DM basis and particle size 1 mm) were accurately weighed into 100 ml serum bottles. Each bottle was filled with 5 mL strained rumen fluid and 20 mL buffer solution, closed with a butyl rubber stopper, sealed with aluminum crimp, shaken and placed in a water-bath at 39°C. Gas production (ml/250 mg sample) after 24 h (GP24), 48 h (GP48), 72 h (GP72) and 96 h (GP96) incubation were determined. two parameters of b (GP from the fermentable fraction (ml)) and c ( rate constant of GP (ml/h)) were calculated based on gas production at 16 h The gas volume produced was recorded at 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 24, 48, 72 and 96 h using a digital pressure transducer. Fermentation parameters were determined after 24 h of incubation. Bottles were placed in an ice bath to stop fermentation and gradually warmed up to 25°C. The gas production volume was recorded and pH determined. From each bottle, a sub sample of supernatant (5 mL) was immediately preserved with 5 mL of HCl 0.1 N and stored at -20°C for ammonia-nitrogen (NH3-N) analysis. Fermentation residues were oven dried at 60°C for 48 h to estimate the DM disappearance. Furthermore, the in vitro dry matter (IVDMD) and organic matter disappearance (IVOMD), short chain fatty acid (SCFA; mmol/g DM), microbial protein (MP; mg/g DM) and estimated metabolisable energy (ME; Mcal/kg DM) of TP were measured and compared to those of wheat barn (WB). In the second gas production experiment, the effects of 0 (control), 2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10% (dry matter basic) levels of TP substituted with WB on fattening lambs diet were investigated (on based nutrient requirements). In this section, fermentation parameters were determined only at 16 h after incubation.

The results showed that organic matter, ash, CP, NDF and ADF of TP were 940, 59, 172, 630 and 420 g/kg DM, respectively. In the present experiment, TP had more CP, EE, NDF and ADF than WB (P<0.05). TP showed lower gas production potential and gas production rate than WB (P<0.05). TP showed lower GP24, GP48, GP72 and GP96 than WB (P<0.05). The inclusion of TP in diets linearly increased partitioning factor and MP (P<0.05), but it linearly decreased IVDMD, IVOMD, SCFA and ME (P<0.05). The partitioning factor and microbial protein production of TP was higher than WB (P<0.05). It seems that low gas production for TP compared to WB was resulted due to high content of insoluble fiber in the TP, which requires more time for attachment and fermentation of microorganisms. Complete replacement of TP with WB increased partitioning factor and microbial protein production (P<0.05), with no negative effect on gas production, metabolizable energy and fermentation parameters (P>0.05). Increased microbial protein production with TP incubation is presumably related to the presence of phenolic compounds in TP. It has been shown that in low-concentration, tannins may improve microbial protein production by modulating rumen fermentation conditions. The experimental results showed that by adding TP, digestibility of dry matter and organic matter decreased. This reduction seems to be related to the higher cell wall part of the TP as compared to WB. It appears that carbohydrates in TP are digested slower than those in WB. This could be overcome by some chemical treatments. Another reason for the reduced digestibility of TP diets is probably due to higher fat content of TP.

In overall, using TP in the diets of fattening lambs had no negative effect on rumen fermentation parameters; therefore, based on chemical composition and lower price of TP compared to WB, using TP up to 10% of diets might be economically useful in lamb fattening.

The administration of Flaxseed as a source of energy supplementation can affect the growth of lambs. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of feeding different levels (0, 8 and 15%) of whole and ground Flaxseed on performance, nutrient digestibility, some blood parameters, and microbial protein production of Kabodeh Shirazi lambs.

30 male lambs (60 ± 4 days old and weighing 23.7 ± 2.5 kg) were allocated to 5 experimental groups with 6 replications in a completely randomized design. Treatments include 1- Diet without Flaxseed (control), 2- Diet containing 8% whole Flaxseed, 3- Diet containing 15% whole Flaxseed, 4- Diet containing 8% ground Flaxseed, and 5- Diet containing 15% of Flaxseed was ground (based on dry matter).

The addition of Flaxseed (whole and ground) had no significant effect on the performance of lambs and digestibility of nutrients in the whole gastrointestinal tract, but In comparison with the control group, crude fat digestibility has greatly improved in treatments using Flaxseed (p=0.001). As compared to the control treatments, the Flaxseed treatments raised plasma triglycerides (p=0.03) and cholesterol levels significantly (p=0.04). No difference was seen in glucose and albumin levels among lambs receiving different amounts or forms of Flaxseed. Purine derivatives, microbial nitrogen, and microbial protein production were also not affected by experimental treatments.

Flaxseed in various levels and forms improved the digestibility of crude fat and also increased triglycerides and blood cholesterol.

In order to investigate the effect of alfalfa physical shape and barley grain processing on yield, ruminal parameters and microbial protein synthesis in Dalagh fattening lambs, 30 male lambs of 3.5±1.2 months old with an average live weight of 17±1.1 kg were used.This experiment was performed in factorial form (3×2) based on a completely randomized design with two factors including: physical form of forage and processing of barley grain in 98 days with 6 treatments and 5 replications. Experimental diets included: 1- Chopped alfalfa with whole barley grains 2- Chopped alfalfa with ground barley grains 3- Chopped alfalfa with flaky barley grains 4- Pellet alfalfa with whole barley grains 5- Pellet alfalfa with barley grains Grinded 6- Pellet alfalfa with barley flakes. The daily feed and its residue were weighed and recorded daily for each animal. Rumen fluid sampling was performed on day 84 at 3 hours after feeding. From day 70 of the experiment, the volume of urine produced by each animal was recorded daily for 6 days.The results showed that alfalfa forage in the form of pellets increased the dry matter consumption, increased daily weight, increased propionate content, increased nitrogen, increased microbial protein and decreased acetate and pH (P <0.05). Also, flaxseed and ground barley processing compared to whole barley grain increased daily weight gain and increased propionate, nitrogen and microbial protein levels and decreased ammonia and pH (P <0.05).Keywords: Physical form, Processing, Rumen parameters, Microbial protein, Fattening lambs.

Despite the central importance of ruminants in providing the human nutritional requirements, their relatively low production efficiency leads often to increased production costs and pollut the environment. In this connection, using supplements and feed additives have considered as efficient strategies for improving the efficiency of livestock production. The plant-based feed additives, including essential oils and plant extracts, are the products that improve the efficiency of the ruminant production, through ameliorating the rumen digestion and fermentation. On the other hand, using the supplements, such as the different fat sources as the energetic supplement in animal diet, has had several positive impacts such as reducing ruminal acidosis, reducing methane production and and consequently declining environmental pollution, and improving feed energy efficiency and the performance of animals. Regarding the growing importance of high-quality products and special interest of consumers for the safety and quality of animal products in recent years, the feed additives of natural and green origin have been of great interest for animal nutritionists in recent decades. In this context, the current research aimed at investigating in vitro the savory essential oil effects on rumen fermentation, microbial protein synthesis and protozoal population in two diets supplemented with fish and soybean oils.

The essential oil was extracted by steam distillation using a clevenger apparatus, and was subsequently analysed qualitatively and quantitatively by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). The essential oil effects on fermentation parameters were tested in vitro at 0, 150, 300, 450, and 600 mg/ in two diets supplemented with fish and soybean oils using the incubations of 24 h.

None of the rumen fermentation parameters was affected by the diet type. The gas produced over 24 h of incubation, in vitro true dry matter and organic matter degradability decreased linearly with increasing doses of the essential oil (P < 0.01) in both experimental diets. However, the partitioning factor as well as the microbial protein, and the efficiency of microbial protein synthesis increased none-linearly (linearly and quadratically) and linearly, respectively, with the essential oil dosage (P < 0.01). The ruminal ammonia concentration decreased none-linearly with the essential oil dosage (P < 0.01). Total protozoa numbers as well as most of the rumen common protozoal genera were reduced by increasing doses of the essential oil (P < 0.01). Total VFA concentration increased at the doses up to 450 and 300 mg/L of the essential oil in the fish oil and soybean oil containing diets, respectively (P < 0.05), and decreased thereafter at higher doses. The acetate molar proportions decreased none-linearly and that of propionate increased quadratically in both diets with essential oil dosage (P < 0.05).

In total, these findings indicated that using the savory essential oil, especially at low and medium doses, improved rumen fermentation through enhancing microbial protein synthesis, reducing ammonia and protozoa population, and increasing TVFA. Hence, the above-mentioned doses of the this essential oil can improve rumen fermtaion thereby enhancing the farm animals productivity. However, the savory essential oil seems to have negative impact on some rumen microorganisms at 450 mg/L and higher doses.

Considering that the significant numbers of eggs are broken during transport, storage and sale and are not consumable by humans, so it can be used as a high quality feed in livestock diet. Egg is an important alternative feed ingredient that contains high quality crude protein and crude fat. It is estimated that 8% of produced commercial eggs had not a good quality which has good nutritional value for animal consumption. It has been thought that, as a high quality nutrient, unmarketable cracked eggs could be used in animal nutrition and a few studies have been carried out on that respect. Therefore, the purpose of this experiment was to investigate of the effect of feeding different levels of wasted egg as the main source of dietary protein on sheep rumen fermentation, nutrient digestibility and blood parameters.

Whole waste egg were prepared from a commercial laying hen farm during 10 consecutive days. The collected eggs were air-dried away from direct sunlight then grounded. After determining the chemical composition of wasted eggs, levels of 0, 2.5, 5 and 7.5% were used in experimental diets. For determine the effects of wasted egg on sheep, four mature ram (with 44±0.5 live weight) were used in a change-over design with four periods of 21 days. Nutrients digestibility determined by fecal total collection method. In the 5 days at the end of each period at 0, 3 and 6 h after morning feeding, rumen fluid was sampled from sheep by esophagus tube and were filtered through three layers of cheesecloth. Blood samples were collected at the end of each period and 3 h after morning feeding in 10-mL. To determine the amount of allantoin and microbial protein synthesis, the daily urine produced during 24 hours was collected.

In the present study, dry matter intake and digestibility in sheep fed experimental diet were not significantly altered. Ruminal pH was not affected by waste egg. But, ammonia nitrogen and total protozoa population (13.54 and 9.94 respectively) in rumen fluid at three hours after morning feeding increased (P<0.05) by adding of waste egg in sheep’s diet. Total purine derivatives and microbial protein synthesis did not change. Blood cholesterol levels in sheep fed wasted egg were significantly higher (58.75 in control diet vs 69 in 7.5 % whole waste egg diet) than other groups (P<0.05).

In conclusion, waste egg has suitable nutrients for using livestock feed. Whereas, feeding 7.5% of wasted egg increased of total protozoa population and ammonia nitrogen, and improved fermentation condition. Because alter in ruminal fermentation characteristics, this waste can be used as part of a concentrate in the diet of sheep.

Lycopene (C40H56) is a fat-soluble carotenoid with the highest antioxidant activity among carotenoids. Lycopene is effective on alleviating oxidative stress and improving the quality of animal products. It is expected that the addition of strong antioxidants such as lycopene can be useful in improving the optimal condition of the rumen and subsequent digestion and animal health. In this study the effects of using different levels of lycopene in on fermentation parameters in vitro; digestibility and feed intake of fattening lambs had been investigated.

In this study, in first stage, the digestibility and fermentation parameters of diets containing 0 (control), 0.4, 0.8, 1.6 and 2.4 mg/g DM of lycopene were determined in vitro in a completely randomized design experiment. In Second stage, the effect of selected diets from the in vitro stage (diet with and without 2.4 g/kg lycopene supplement DM) on feed intake and nutrient digestibility was investigated in vivo using 20 male lambs.

The results showed that increasing level of lycopene in the diet caused a linear decrease in gas production (p<0.05). Total gas productions were 65.8, 64.5, 64.2, 64.2 and 58.4 ml fin and control, 0.4, 0.8, 1.6 and 2.4 mg/g DM lycopene respectively. Adding lycopene to the diet increased partitioning factor (4.91, 4.92, 5.01, 5.1 and 5.44 mg/ml) and microbial protein synthesis (198, 200, 203, 208 and 220 mg) (p<0.05) but decreased ammonia nitrogen (p<0.05). However, pH, short-chain fatty acids metabolizable energy, dry matter and organic matter disappearance were not affected by lycopene. Results from Tilley and Terry experiment showed that lycopene had no significant effect on digestibility of dry matter, neutral detergent and acid detergents fiber. In vivo results showed that lycopene supplementation increased feed intake with no effect of nutrient digestibility in fattening lambs.

Lycopene supplementation increased partitioning factor, production of microbial protein in vitro, and increased feed intake of fattening lambs in vivo.

In order to compare the effect of corn, sorghum and millet silages in experimental diets on nutrient intake, digestibility, and ruminal parameters, six two-year-old male Rainy goats were used with an average weight of 37±6.5 in a 3×3 Latin square design. Dry matter and other nutrients intake was higher in corn silage diet than the other two experimental diets and in sorghum silage diet was higher than millet silage diet (P<0.05). The organic of matter digestibility was higher in corn silage than millet silage diet (P<0.05). The rumen NH3-N concentration in corn silage diet was higher than millet silage diet at two, four, six and eight hours after feeding (P<0.05), but there was no significant difference between diets containing corn silage and sorghum silage at any time. The ruminal pH in sorghum silage was lower than the other two experimental diets at Eight hours after feed intake (P<0.05). The population of Holotrich, Cellolytic, entodinium protozoa and the total population of protozoa were higher in corn silage than sorghum silage diet and in sorghum silage diet were higher than the diet millet silage diet (P<0.05). The type of silages in the experimental diets had no significant effect on the production of ruminal microbial protein. But the production of valeric and isovaleric acid was higher in the millet silage diet than the sorghum silage diet (P<0.05). The experimental results showed a better quality of corn silage, but water shortages and recent droughts make it necessary to plant fodder with lower water consumption.

The use of conventional feed sources in livestock diets has caused that in addition to increasing demand, prices and imports also increase. On the other hand, the use of feed industry residues and their processing can provide reliable sources of nutrients in livestock diets. Therefore, this experiment was performed to investigate the processing of microwave electromagnetic waves on poultry byproduct meal on growth performance, rumen parameters, microbial protein production and nitrogen retention in fattening lambs.

Fifteen mixed male lambs with an average weight of 29.3±2.7 were used in a completely randomized design with 3 feed treatments and 5 replications. Treatments include: 1- Soybean meal, 2- poultry byproduct meal, 3- Microwave poultry byproduct meal. The experiment consisted of 14 days of adaptation and 70 days of fattening. Weighing was done every 14 days. Feeding was done at 7:00 and 19:00. Daily feed intake, initial weight, final weight were measured and recorded. Measurement of microbial protein produced in the rumen was calculated by estimating purine derivatives excreted through urine collection. On the last day of the experiment, three hours after the morning feeding, ruminal fluids were taken using a stomach tube and a vacuum pump. Then it was used to calculate the population of bacteria and protozoa, to determine the concentration of volatile fatty acids using standard internal solution and gas chromatography, to determine the concentration of ammonia nitrogen and the pH of ruminal fluid.

The use of microwave poultry byproduct meal in the diet instead of soybean meal in dry matter intake was not significantly different. Daily weight gain and total weight gain in microwave poultry byproduct meal treatment was against treatment of process without 324.3 and 22.7 kg versus 0.277 and 19.4 kg, respectively, with significant difference and improved traits (P <0.05). Also, feed conversion rate and feed efficiency between treatments 3 and 2 were 7.446, 0.135 and 8.455, 0.119, respectively, which showed a significant difference at the level of P <0.07 and P <0.08. The highest bacterial population (28.8*109 ml) was observed in soybean meal treatment and was significantly different from other treatments (P <0.05) but no significant difference was observed between treatments in protozoan population. Rumen pH between treatments 1 and 3 were 6.73 and 5.79 respectively (P <0.05). There was no significant difference in ammonia nitrogen concentration in ruminal fluid between treatments. The percentage of acetate, propionate and the ratio of acetate to propionate in treatment of processed poultry byproduct meal are 65.8, 18.8 and 3.5, respectively, which are the lowest, highest and lowest traits in comparison with other treatments, respectively (P<0.05). There was no significant difference in microbial protein production between treatments. The apparent nitrogen retention in the microwave treatment was 27.129 g / day which was not significantly different from other treatments and its lowest amount (24.861 g / day) was for soybean meal treatment and its highest amount was for conventional treatments with poultry byproduct meal was 32.148 g / day (P> 0.06).

This study showed that the effect of poultry byproduct meal processing by microwave method on growth performance traits was better than poultry byproduct meal without processing. Microwave replacement of conventional poultry byproduct meal with soybean meal did not differ significantly in growth performance traits. Also, replacing microwave and microwave poultry byproduct meal with soybean meal in the diet of fattening lambs without creating unfavorable conditions on rumen parameters and apparent nitrogen retention can replace soybean meal with up to 10% dry matter, reduce soybean meal demand and imports.

The aim of this study was to determine chemical composition of Gundelia Tournefortii (GT) hay and the effect of replacing GT hay with alfalfa hay and wheat straw on nutrients digestibility, microbial protein synthesis, ruminal and blood parameters. In this experiment, four Kermani mature ram (BW= 55±2.5 kg) were used in a 4×4 Latin Square design with four periods of 21 days. The experimental diets were: 1) control diet (without GT hay), 2) diet containing 10% GT hay, 3) diet containing 20% GT and 4) diet containing 30% GT hay. The organic matter, ether extract and neutral detergent fiber of GT hay were significantly (p < 0.05) higher, while crude protein and acid detergent fiber were lower than alfalfa hay (p < 0.05). The intake and excretion nitrogen, and percentage of retained nitrogen, ruminal ammonia- nitrogen and pH were not affected by experimental diets. The lowest number of total protozoa and its species were obtained with diet containing 30% GT hay (p < 0.05). The concentration of blood glucose in sheep fed diet containing 20% GT was maximum (p < 0.05). In conclusion, the chemical composition of GT hay compared to alfalfa hay and wheat straw showed that this can be used as a feed with the high amount of metabolizable energy and fiber in sheep diet without negative effects on animal performance.

The aim of this experiment was to investigate the effect of starter soybean oil (SO) and crude protein (CP) level on growth performance, plasma parameters and urinary purine derivatives (UPD) of dairy calves. Forty-eighth 3-old Holstein dairy calves with initial BW of 39.8 ± 2.4 kg were used in a completely randomized design with 2 × 2 factorial arrangement. The experimental diets consisted of diet without SO and 19% CP, diet without SO and 22% CP, diet with 3% SO and 19% CP and diet with 3% SO and 22% CP. Feed intake, feces score, skeletal growth indices, plasmaparameters, liver enzymes, urinary purine derivatives and microbial protein synthesis were measured. Growth performance, plasma parameters and UPD were not influenced by interaction effect of starter diet SO and CP level. Starter diet intake, average daily gain and feed efficiency were lower in calves fed SO than those fed diets without SO (P < 0.05). The fecal score and wither height of calves fed diets containing SO were higher and lower that those fed diets without SO, respectively (P < 0.05). Plasma concentrations of glucose, beta-hydroxy butyrate and total protein were lower in calves fed SO (P < 0.05). Addition of SO to the diets decreased urinary allantoin and total UPD concentrations (P ≤ 0.05). Microbial protein synthesistended to be decreased in calves received diets containing SO compared to other groups (P=0.06). Plasma urea nitrogen concentration of calvesincreased by increasing dietary CP level (P < 0.05). According to this results, growth performance of Holstein dairy calves is not affected by interaction of SO and CP level in starter diet.

The use of agricultural by-products and waste because of its high value of nutrients, is possible in the preparation of animal feed. About 950 tons of Mentha pulegium pulp is produced annually in Iran. If this pulp dries well, it can be used in animal feed due to its nutritional value. Due to the fact that moisture is a limiting factor for animal feed storage, ensiling can eliminate this limitation. This study was to evaluate of chemical composition of Mentha pulegium pulp silage with wasted date and its feeding effects on - dry matter intake, microbial protein yield and blood parameters in sheep.

400 kg of Mentha pulegium pulp were mixed thoroughly with 30 kg of wasted date at levels of 0 (control), 5, 10 and 15 % (DM basis) and ensiled for 45 days. After determining the chemical composition and sensory assessment of the silages, level of 20 % (DM basis) was used in experimental diets. For determine the effects of Mentha pulegium pulp silage on sheep, four mature ram (with 40 ± 2 live weight) were used in a change-over design with four periods of 21 days. In the 5 days at the end of each period at 0, 3, 6 and 9 h after morning feeding, rumen fluid was sampled from sheep by esophagous tube and were filtered through three layers of cheesecloth. Blood samples were collected at the end of each period and 4 h after morning feeding in 10 mL. To determine the amount of allantoin and microbial protein synthesis, the daily urine produced during 24 hours was collected.

According to the sensory assessment, silages containing of wasted date get score of very good of 20. Adding wasted date to Mentha pulegium pulp increased the DM and ether extract of silages. DM intake and digestibility of DM, crude protein and NDF of experimental diets were not affected by silages of Mentha pulegium pulp with different levels of wasted date. Nitrogen intake, nitrogen excretion and the percentage of nitrogen retention were not affected by experimental diets. Total purine derivatives and microbial protein synthesis did not change. The level of blood cholesterol and albumin were significantly changed by feeding diets containing Mentha pulegiumsilage with wasted date (p < 0.05).

In conclusion, could be used Mentha pulegium pulp silage up to 20 % without additives or with wasted date in sheep diet.

This study was carried out to investigate the effect of bacterial inoculation on fine and coarse silage size with low dry matter, on the properties of silage and feed intake, digestibility and rumen parameters in Kermani sheep. Approximately 1200 kilograms of corn fodder were harvested in coarse and fine sizes (16 and 8 mm, respectively). During the preparation of the silage, bacterial inoculation was added to 50% coarse and fine corn fodder. Four sheeps with two years old with an average weight of 36.1 ± 1.6 kg BW were used in the form of a Latin square design with a 2 × 2 factorial array with four 21-days period. The ratio of forage to concentrate in diets was 50:50 and includes: 1) The diet contains coarse inoculated corn silage, 2) The deit contains coarse unoculated corn silage, 3) The diet contains fine inoculated corn silage, and 4) The diet contains fine unoculated corn silage. Aerobic stability was the highest in inoculated rations and coarse silage diets (P<0.05). Consumption of DM, OM, NDF, ADF and peNDF, and digestibility of ADF were higher in fine silage diets (P<0.05). The synthesis of microbial protein was higher in a fine silage diets than coarse silage diets (P<0.05). The chewing activity was higher in fine silage diets than coarse silage diets (P<0.05). The results showed that inoculation of bacteria increased aerobic stability of low DM silage, but consumption of nutrients and production of microbial protein was higher in fine silage diets (P<0.05).

[1] The nutrient synchrony is synchronization of ruminal fermentation rate of energy and nitrogen which is a method to increasing microbial protein synthesis, improving nitrogen efficiency, decreasing urinary nitrogen excretion and improving animal performance. Microbial protein production is important for ruminants. Current concepts of ruminant nutrition focus on optimizing ruminal microbial protein synthesis. Microbial yield in rumen depends largely on the supply of carbohydrates and nitrogen in the rumen. Balancing the rate of supply of nitrogen and energy yielding substrates to rumen microbes has been proposed in order to maximize the capture of rumen degradable protein and to optimize microbial growth rate and its efficiency. A more efficient capture of rumen degradable protein would reduce the requirement for expensive undegradable protein sources and also reduce the excretion of urinary nitrogen which case to environmental pollution and economical losses. Synchronization index expressed as the ratio between the hourly degradability of nitrogen with organic matter or carbohydrates in the rumen where the highest value for the synchrony index is 1.0. This research was done to evaluate the effect of synchronizing the rate of carbohydrate and crude protein ruminal fermentation on ruminal fermentation products, microbial protein synthesis, and nitrogen balance and blood parameters in sheep which were fed with similar components or structure high concentrate diets.

Chemical compositions and degradability parameters of crude protein and carbohydrate for alfalfa hay, wheat straw, barley grain, corn grain, sugar beet pulp, wheat bran and soybean meal were determined. Three diets were formulated for feedlot male lambs with same energy and metabolizable protein but containing different synchrony index 0.64, 0.78 and 0.92 which calculated by using degradation parameters of carbohydrate and crude protein of feeds from the diet. The effects of synchrony index of diets by 6 rumen-fistulated sheep with an average weight of 30.17±1.17 kg in metabolic cages were assigned in a duplicate 3×3 Latin square design (2×3 animals; 3 periods). Samplings were done in 3 periods (each period containing 14 days for adaptation and 5 days for sampling). Rumen fluid was collected for 5 consecutive days in the end of each period and ruminal fermentation parameters containing pH, NH3-N and volatile fatty acids were determined. Urine of sheep was collected end of each period for 5 days and microbial protein synthesis was estimated by measuring purine bases also nitrogen balance was calculated from the values of nitrogen consumption and excretion. Bleeding (19th trial day) were done from sheep and blood parameters such as glucose, albumin and blood urea nitrogen were determined.

There was no significant difference in ruminal pH among diets during fasting conditions or before feeding. Also there was no significant difference in ruminal pH between treatments at 3 or 6 hours after feed intake. With increasing synchrony index, ruminal NH3-N concentrate reduced especially at 1.5 and 3 hours after feed intake. Total volatile fatty acids highest at 3 hours after feed intake for diet had highest synchrony index. With increasing synchrony index, total volatile fatty acids concentration increased almost by 20 percent. Also the propionate concentrates increased not only before feeding but also at 3 hours after feeding. Total volatile fatty acids and propionate concentration showed a linear trend between diets at 3 hours after feeding. Purine bases such as allantoin, uric acid, xanthine and hypoxanthine, total purine derivatives excreted or absorbed also microbial protein synthesis not affected by experimental diets. With increasing synchrony index, total excreted nitrogen reduced but nitrogen retained and its efficiency increased. Blood parameters such as glucose, albumin and blood urea nitrogen not affected by treatments.

with increasing synchrony index of the diets, microbial protein synthesis did not increase but total volatile fatty acids concentration and retained nitrogen increased whereas ruminal NH3-N concentration and total excreted nitrogen decreased. However, increasing nutrient synchrony index in high concentrated diets did not show the expected desirable results such as increasing microbial protein synthesis however did not also show undesirable results such as animal health. Due to the beneficial effects as increasing in fermentation and decreasing nitrogen excretion or environmental pollution using the high synchrony index diets can be useful for feed formulation or providing the perfect mix of feed items to meet nutritional requirements of sheep.