Effects of hexane extract of medicinal plant Artemisia aucheri Boiss. on fermentation characteristics, gas production parameters, and degradability under in vitro conditions

Artemisia aucheri Boiss. is a medicinal herb belonging to the Asteraceae family which its antimicrobial effects have been extensively investigated. There is limited information on the effect of hexane extract of this plant on fermentation conditions caused by ruminal microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, and protozoa); therefore, this research aimed to investigate the effect of hexane extract of Artemisia aucheri Boiss. prepared by soxhlet [0 (control), 150, 300 and 450 mgl-1 on fermentation characteristics, gas production parameters and degradability of a diet supplied for fattening lambs under in vitro conditions. By increasing the amount of extract to the culture media, pH and total volatile fatty acids (TVFA) decreased and increased respectively when compared to the control treatment (linearly). The highest amount of gas production parameters (potential gas production, cumulative gas production after 48 and 72 h), and the lowest constant rate of gas production (cgas), partitioning factor (PF) and efficiency of microbial mass synthesis were observed at 450 mgl-1 of the extract. According to the results, it seems that hexane extract of Artemisia aucheri Boiss. has somewhat improved the fermentation conditions in the culture media, especially by the increase of TVFA as the most important source of energy production in ruminants.