non-protein nitrogen

Every day, large amounts of rumen contents are produced as waste in slaughterhouses and are left unused in the environment, which causes environmental problems. Compared to other processing methods, bioconversion is a new and desirable method for managing agricultural waste and residues. As a rich source of enzymes, ruminal liquid can be used in the bioconversion of agricultural wastes. About 35% of all potatoes are thrown away as waste during different stages. Potato waste is a suitable raw material that can be used as a valuable protein by-product during the simple fermentation process by using rumen liquid obtained from slaughterhouse waste and adding various non-protein nitrogen (NPN) sources. For this purpose, the effect of using processed potato waste with rumen contents was evaluated in the diet of fattening lambs.

The slow-release NPN source used in this experiment, with the brand name Nitrosa, contained a 40% nitrogen equivalent to 250% of crude protein. The best level of NPN for processing potato waste using the potential of rumen liquid microorganisms based on the results of the crude protein content of the solid part produced during incubation for use in the farm sector was determined at 3 g of nitrogen from a Nitrosa source. A constant ratio of rumen liquid to waste potatoes (2:1) was chosen for the ratio of 400 ml of rumen liquid + 200 g of damaged potatoes. The solid part of the fermented product of the semi-industrial production of potato waste processing with rumen liquid and urea was included in the diet of 24 heads of 5-month-old Romanov-Moghani crossbreed lambs with four diets and six replications (lambs) at three replacement levels of 2.5, 5, and 7.5%of the basic diet of the 78-day fattening period of the lambs. The average weight of the lambs in the groups was 31.1 kg at the beginning of the period. The experimental groups were 1) basic diet (without processed potato waste), 2) basic diet with 2.5% processed potato waste (the dried solid phase), 3) basic diet with 5% processed potato waste (the dried solid phase), and 4) basic diet with 7.5% processed potato waste (the dried solid phase). To determine the concentration of blood metabolites in all lambs, blood was drawn from the jugular vein 3 hours after consuming feed on the 60th day of the fattening period. Then, the blood parameters, including glucose, blood urea nitrogen, cholesterol, triglyceride, total protein, albumin, high-density lipoprotein, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, and BHBA, were determined with Pars Azmoun kits using a spectrophotometer. Total antioxidant capacity, glutathione peroxidase, and superoxide dismutase were measured using RANDOX kits. The concentration of malondialdehyde was measured using the reaction of thiobarbituric acid with malondialdehyde, with the Ransod RANDOX kit by an autoanalyzer.To measure the carcass characteristics, the lambs were weighed at the end of the fattening period. The measured traits included hot and cold carcass weights, tail weight, heart, liver, kidney, and lung of the slaughtered lambs. Carcass yield was calculated by dividing the carcass weight by the final live weight. All the carcasses were separated from the area between the last back vertebra and the first tail vertebra between the slip joint, and the carcass without the tail was weighed by a digital scale to obtain the carcass weight without the tail. The tails of all the carcasses were separated from the part between the last vertebra of the back and the first vertebra of the tail between the slip joint and weighed with a digital scale. The tail percentage was calculated by dividing the tail weight by the carcass weight.

There was no significant difference between the groups in the dry matter intake, FCR, daily weight gain, and final weight of lambs during the fattening period. The average daily weight gain levels of the lambs of the 5% level were 228.6, 218.0, and 231.0 g for the second, third, and whole periods, respectively. The results showed that the lambs of this level gained the lightest body weight with a final weight of 49.18 kg. The lambs of the 2.5% level showed the highest amount in line with the data of the FCR in the whole period with an average daily weight gain of 241.6 g. Therefore, the final weight of Moghani lambs of this level at the time of slaughter was 49.99 kg, that is, the heaviest lambs for this group. The results of blood analysis showed no significant differences between the experimental groups, and blood factors were not influenced by different substitution levels of the experimental substance. The antioxidant activity index and the concentration of malondialdehyde in the blood serum of lambs were not affected by the diets. From the results and data analysis, no significant differences were observed in the weight factors of the hot carcass, heart, liver, kidney, lung, back fat thickness, tail, and finally cold carcass.

The results show that it is possible to improve the nutritional value of potato waste by using rumen contents to process potato waste while supplementing it with urea and use the produced experimental material in feeding ruminants. In this research, the semi-industrial production of the experimental material of potato waste processed with rumen contents and its replacement at three levels of 2.5, 5, and 7.5% in the diet of fattening lambs showed no significant differences between the groups in dry matter consumption, FCR, daily weight gain, and final weight. Moreover, no significant differences were observed between the experimental groups in carcass characteristics and meat yield. The experimental material of potato waste processed with rumen contents, without significant differences and yield reduction, could meet the requirements of fattening lambs.

The shortage of feed, caused by the limitation and reduction of water resources, is the biggest challenge for the country's livestock industry. Every year, more than 20 million tons of by-products from the main agricultural production remain in the country, which are mainly used as animal feed. Agricultural by-products, which exceed the production of forage crops many times over, are valuable resources that can replace conventional feeds in animal nutrition. Due to their low protein content and low digestibility, they need to be processed. For almost a century, different processing methods have been used in many countries depending on the conditions and facilities, but unfortunately, the majority of these materials are still used raw and unprocessed as animal feed in the country, which is a waste of resources. Straw processing is carried out by various physical, chemical, and biological methods or a combination of these methods, with ammoniation being the most important chemical method. The use of ammonia gas for this purpose can facilitate and accelerate processing, especially with large quantities of by-products. This research was carried out to study the efficacy and economics of the method of ammonization of straw with ammonia gas and the use of the ammonia product in the diet of fattening calves.
Ammoniated wheat straw was prepared with ammonia gas at three weight percent of the dry matter of straw at 30% moisture by stacking method, and the chemical composition, digestibility, and gas production of the ammonia-containing product were determined. In the second phase, 30 Simmental crossbred fattening calves with an initial weight of 249.5±8.9 were divided into two control and experimental groups and for each group, considering three replicates of five calves for each group. Normal straw was used in the control group, and it was replaced by ammoniated straw in the experimental group. The duration of the trial was eight months, during which the weight gain of the calves was determined every 30 days, and the dry matter was consumed daily. Dry matter consumption, daily weight gain, feed conversion ratio, and the cost of weight gain of calves were determined and compared between the two groups.
The ammonia treatment of straw increased crude protein content in the ammoniated straw from 4.78% to 12.65%, and the amount of NDF and hemicellulose also decreased in ammoniated straw (from 71.33 to 66.80%, and from 30.75 to 26.25%, respectively), while the amount of ADF increased (from 38.7 to 41.20%). The ammonia treatment of straw increased the gas production per 24 hours from 25.71 mL to 38.06 mL and the estimated metabolizable energy from 5.69 to 6.8 MJ per kilogram of dry matter. The ammonia treatment improved the digestibility of dry matter (from 45.0 to 78.75%) and organic matter of straw (from 42.35 to 80.27%). Substituting normal straw for ammoniated straw in the diet of fattening calves increased daily dry matter consumption from 8.66 kg to 8.99 kg (P<0.01), daily weight gains from 1.33 kg to 1.48 kg, and average weight at the end of the fattening period from 423.98 kg to 440.67 kg (P<0.01), and improved feed conversion ratio from 6.43 to 6.01 (P<0.01). In addition, the use of ammoniated straw reduced the price of ration from 71230 Rials to 69210 Rials and the cost of feed for each kilogram of animal weight gain from 458008.9 Rials to 415952.1 Rials.
Ammoniation of straw with ammonia gas increased the metabolizable energy, crude protein, and digestibility of straw. The use of ammonia gas for this purpose increased the speed, ease, and efficiency of processing, making it suitable for processing large quantities of straw. The profitability of this method depends on the cost of the ammonia product, in particular the price of ammonia gas and its transportation costs. At the national level and from a macroeconomic perspective, this method increased the digestible nutrients of agricultural residues (metabolizable energy and crude protein), it is, in a sense, a type of food production by increasing productivity and without the consumption of water and other agricultural inputs. It provides more nutrients for livestock, which reduces dependence on traditional feed, reduces competition between humans and livestock for food, protects the environment, and makes production more sustainable.

The lack of animal feed resources and the increase in animal feed costs relative to the total production costs have created challenges in supplying society with animal protein. Therefore, correctly estimating the nutritional value of feed, especially protein sources, can be an important step in meeting the needs of livestock and reducing production costs. Protein is the most important and expensive nutrient used in ruminant diets. Using non-protein nitrogen (NPN) sources such as urea or its products can be considered a cheap alternative source in animal feeding. Iran is one of the most important urea-producing countries in the world; therefore, using urea or its slow-release products as a feed additive in animal nutrition can be beneficial. In the past years, various sources of slow-release urea have been produced and used in animal feeding. Biuret (heated urea) is one of the slow-release urea compounds, and its production cost is lower than other slow-release urea sources. Compared to urea, it has less solubility in water and is converted to ammonia in the rumen at a much slower rate. It is also less toxic than urea and has a lower negative effect on feed palatability, so it can be used to a greater extent than urea in the diet of ruminants. Biuret is very safe and it can be included in the diet of animals in an amount of 20 times higher than the toxic dose of urea. Biuret usually contains 248.5% crude protein (39.8% nitrogen content), which is a little less than urea. On the other hand, increasing the daily feeding frequency is one of the management methods that may improve the productive performance of livestock, as well as the quantity and quality of the carcass. Increasing the feed frequency may improve nitrogen retention and reduce body fat. It is believed that increasing the frequency of daily feeding will keep the feed fresh, reduce the amount of feed waste, and improve livestock performance. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effect of NPN source, in high-protein diets, and feeding frequency on growth performance, rumen parameters, and the activity of rumen microbial enzymes of fattening lambs.
Twenty-eight male Lori-Bakhtiari fattening lambs (age: four to five months; live weight: 36.1±3 kg) were assessed for 60 days using a 2×2 factorial experiment in a completely randomized design with four treatments and seven replications. The experimental high-protein diets (16% of DM) contained urea or biuret, which were given to the lambs in the form of a total mixed ration two or three times a day. The lambs were kept in 1×1.5 m2 individual stalls. Nutrient intake, growth performance, and ruminal parameters [on day 45 of the experiment at fasting (before morning feeding), three, and six h after feeding] including pH, ammonia and volatile fatty acid concentrations, and microbial enzyme activity were measured.
Results showed that intakes of dry matter, organic matter, crude protein, neutral detergent fiber and ether extract, final weight, and total weight gain were not affected by NPN type or feeding frequency (P<0.05). Compared to urea, lambs consuming biuret had higher average daily gain and better feed conversion ratio (P<0.05). The ruminal pH was not affected by the NPN source, feeding frequency, and their interaction (P<0.05). Rumen ammonia nitrogen concentration at three and six hours after morning feeding was significantly higher in lambs fed the diet containing urea than in biuret (P<0.05). The effect of NPN source, feeding frequency, and their interaction was not significant at 0 and six h after feeding on the ruminal concentration of total volatile fatty acids (VFA), acetate, propionate, butyrate, valerate, iso-valerate, and acetate to propionate ratio (P<0.05). However, feeding a diet containing biuret and given three times a day increased total VFA and acetate concentration at three hours post-feeding (P<0.05). The ruminal activity of carboxymethyl cellulase at 0, three, and six hours after feeding increased in animals fed biuret-containing diet compared to urea (P<0.05). However, rumen protease activity significantly increased in lambs fed a urea-containing diet than biuret-containing diet (P<0.05). Feeding three times a day increased the activity of carboxymethyl cellulase at three hours post-feeding (P<0.05). Filter paper degrading activity at three and six hours after feeding in lambs fed biuret was significantly higher than those fed urea (P<0.05). The activity of microcrystalline cellulase and α-amylase was not affected by the NPN source, feeding frequency, and their interaction (P<0.05).
Using biuret compared to the urea, in high-protein diets, and feeding diets three times a day, compared to two times a day, improved rumen fermentation parameters and performance of fattening lambs.

Lack of animal feed, especially with development of industrial methods of animal husbandry waste in many parts of the world, has led farmers and researchers to try identifying and using agricultural and livestock waste and new food sources for animal nutrition, including poultry manure and urea is mentioned in the diet of ruminants. Due to the fact that no research has been done on the effect of barley grain processing methods and non-protein nitrogen sources in the diet on rumen degradability, gas production and microbial protein synthesis in sheep, the present study was conducted.

This experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with seven treatments including a control treatment containing whole barley grain (without milling) and without urea and chicken manure, treatments 2, 3 and 4 containing processing method of milling, filling and pelleting with a certain level of urea, respectively. (1%) And treatments 5, 6 and 7 containing processing methods of milling, filling and pelleting with a certain level of poultry manure (12%) were performed on sheep. Each treatment consisted of 5 fattening lambs at the age of 3 months 24±1 which were kept individually in separate cages for 14 days of acclimatization period and 84 days of fattening period. In the second experiment, rumen degradability of dry matter, crude protein and NDF of experimental diets were measured using a nylon bag method with 3 fistulated male sheep that were fed in the maintenance level. Extent and rate of gas production were done based on Menk and Stingas. The NH3-N concentration was determined following the Broderick and Kang (1980) technique. Purine derivatives and was measured by the method of Chen and Gomes (1995). Rumen fluid was collected for 5 consecutive days in the end of each period and ruminal fermentation parameters containing pH and NH3-N and were determined. Urine of sheep was collected end of each period for 5 days and microbial protein synthesis was estimated by measuring purine base. Data were analyzed using SAS software version 9.9 (54) using GLM procedure.

The apparent digestibility of dry matter and organic matter were significantly different, and the control treatment (whole barley grain without urea and poultry manure) had the highest apparent digestibility. Digestibility in non-fibrous carbohydrates was significantly different, so that treatment 5 (processing method of milling with poultry manure) had the highest apparent digestibility. Different parameters of degradability of dry matter, crude protein and insoluble fibers in neutral detergent of experimental treatments indicated significant differences between treatments (P<0.05). Barley grain processing with non-protein nitrogen sources caused a significant difference in the fast decomposing part, slow decomposing part and degradable part of dry matter, crude protein and insoluble fibers in the crude protein neutral detergent of experimental treatments. Effective degradability of dry matter, crude protein and insoluble fibers in neutral detergent at 2, 4 and 6% per hour passage rates had a significant difference between experimental treatments. The results showed that there was a significant difference between the experimental treatments in terms of gas production parameters and the amount of gas produced in 96 hours (P<0.05). There was a significant difference between experimental treatments in terms of digestibility of organic matter, amount of metabolizable energy and concentration of short-chain volatile fatty acids. The highest pH was assigned to treatment 7 (6.30) and the lowest pH was assigned to treatment 1 (6.10). Ammonia nitrogen had a significant difference in experimental treatments. The highest ammonia nitrogen was related to treatment 5 (11.45 mg/dL) and the lowest ammonia nitrogen was related to treatment 3 (10.38 mg/dL). The excretion rate of each of the purine derivatives (allantoin, uric acid, xanthine + hypoxanthine) and the total urinary excretion of purine derivatives and the amount of microbial protein synthesized in the rumen were affected by the test diets and the observed difference was significant (P<0.05). There was a significant difference in rumen pH in experimental treatments. The results showed that barley grain processing methods with non-protein nitrogen sources had a significant effect on rumen degradability, gas production, rumen parameters and microbial protein synthesis compared to the control group.

In general, the use of urea (1%) and poultry manure (12%) with different methods of barley grain processing without negative effects on rumen degradability, rumen liquid parameters and gas production in terms of microbial protein synthesis can be useful.

As respects Food processing may increase livestock performance. Today some methods of grain processing have been considered. On the other hand, lack of animal feed, especially with the development of industrial methods of animal husbandry waste in many parts of the world, has led farmers and researchers to think about identifying and using agricultural and livestock waste and new food sources for animal nutrition, including poultry manure. And urea is mentioned in the diet of ruminants. Due to the fact that no research has been done on the effect of barley grain processing methods and non-protein nitrogen sources in the diet on growth performance, nutrient digestibility and carcass characteristics in of Afshari breeding fattening lambs, the present study was conducted.

This experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with seven treatments including a control treatment containing whole barley grain (without milling) and without urea and chicken manure, treatments 2, 3 and 4 respectively containing processing method of milling, filling and pelleting with a certain level of urea. (1%) And treatments 5, 6 and 7 containing processing methods of milling, filling and pelleting with a certain level of poultry manure (12%) were performed on Afshari breeding fattening lambs. Each treatment consisted of 5 fattening lambs at the age of 3 months 24±1 which were kept individually in separate cages for 14 days of acclimatization period and 84 days of fattening period. Dry matter, ash, crude fiber, crude fat and crude protein were determined using the method (AOAC, 2000), Neutral detergent fiber and Acid detergent fiber based on the method of Van Soest et al (1991). At the end of the rearing period, three heads from each treatment were randomly sacrificed and hot carcass weight and cold carcass weight and its components were measured.

The number of daily feed intakes, daily weight gain and feed conversion ratio were significantly different between experimental treatments. The apparent digestibility of dry matter and organic matter were significantly different, and the control treatment (whole barley grain without urea and poultry manure) had the highest apparent digestibility. Digestibility in non-fibrous carbohydrates was significantly different, so that treatment 5 (processing method of milling with poultry manure) had the highest apparent digestibility. Experimental treatments were significant on thigh weight, neck weight, tail weight, ventricular fat weight, carcass length and half-carcass length.

The results showed that barley grain processing methods with non-protein nitrogen sources had a significant effect on daily weight gain, dry matter consumption, feed conversion ratio, some organs of fattening lambs, digestibility of dry matter, and organic matter compared to the control group. In general, it is possible to use barley grain processing with urea (1%) and poultry manure (12%) in the diet of fattening lambs without harmful effects on production parameters and fattening performance.

Urea is a small organic compound that is very rich in N (44.96% N) and is used to supply degradable intake protein (DIP) for ruminants. Urea is broken down to ammonia in the rumen under the action of urease bacteria. Using urea over other sources of DIP is cheaper according to per N basis than any other feedstuffs. However, urea is used rather inefficiently by ruminants compared with other sources that contain true protein, and this is due to the fact that the rate of urea degradation in the rumen is more rapid than the rate of utilization of the resulting ammonia by rumen bacteria. One strategy for improving the utilization of urea by ruminants is reducing the degradation rate of urea. A number of slow release urea products were developed for this purpose. Coated urea is a urea product design to reduce the rate of ruminal degradation of urea. The objective of this research was to investigate the effects of coated urea on N metabolism and determine this Effect in ruminant feed.

 to characterize the ruminal behavior of coated urea three experimental studies were designed. Two in vitro studies were designed to determine NH3-N release and gas production difference in treatments. NH3-N release of each Optigen and coated urea was tested in sex liquid phase included: distilled water, TCA (Ph = 6.2), buffer solution, buffered rumen fluid, Free cell rumen fluid (centrifugation at 7000 rpm), Free cell buffered rumen fluid. Each of the two N-sources was isonitrogenous (equivalent 20mg urea) and added to a 100-ml glass syringe. Then 30 ml of solution (consisting distilled water, TCA, buffer solution, buffered rumen fluid, free cell rumen fluid or free cell buffered rumen fluid) was pipetted into each syringe followed by incubated in a water bath at 39°C. Three syringes for each treatment diet were incubated for 0, 30 min and 2, 4 and 6 h time points. The syringes were taken out and Residual solid parts were taken for determination of NH3-N release using the Kjeldahl N methods (AOAC, 2005). The gas production of each N-Sources (four N-Sources in triplicate) was tested in 4 different feed mixtures (straw + 3% N-Sources, barley flour + 3% N-Sources, barley flour + molasses as additives + 3% N-Sources, a dairy ration formulated to + 3% N-Sources). The in vivo experiment was conducted using sixteen dairy Sannen goats with an average body weight of 38.85 kg, 73 days of lactation and 1979g milk production. The experimental design was a completely randomized design. The experiment consisted of 21-day periods each consisting of 14 days adaptation and 7 days of sampling. The experimental rations were: 1) control (canola), 2) urea (urea % 0.5), 3) Optigen (Optigen %0.55), 4) coated urea (% 0.7 coated urea).

Based on these results, urea is often degraded rapidly in the rumen by the action of urease and the resulting ammonia supply may exceed the capacity of rumen bacteria to assimilate it into amino acids. This rapid release of ammonia may result in inefficient N utilization in the rumen. Therefore coated urea improves ammonia assimilation in the rumen. The cumulative gas production (96 hours) influenced by diet and N-source treatments, which was higher in formulated TMR diets for the dairy cow and least gas production in wheat straw. The result indicated that Optigen (90.82) and then coated urea (90.81) were the highest gas producer in the formulated TMR diets for the dairy cow and the canola meal (69.04) and urea (69.43) had the least gas production in wheat straw (P<0.05). The results showed that treatments had no significant effect on milk compositions, rumen fermentation and synthesis of microbial protein (p> 0.05). The impact on the most blood metabolites except BUN, Cholesterol and ALT were also no significant (p> 0.05). As a result, no significant differences observed between coated urea with control (canola) treatments.

it was concluded that little difference was observed in gas production results between coated urea and Optigen treatments with control (canola). And therefore to reducing feed costs and increasing the efficiency of the rumen microorganism, we can use NPN sources as a replacement for part of dietary protein.