Quantitative studies of food protein degradation and the energetic efficiency of microbial protein synthesis in the rumen of sheep given chopped lucerne and rolled barley

Comparison of sweet white lupin seeds with soybean meal as a protein supplement for lactating dairy cows

Data were from 45 Holstein cows (23 multiparous, 22 primiparous) assigned by calving date and parity within groups to one of two isonitrogenous (16% crude protein) diets. The diets were 50% forages (corn silage, alfalfa silage) and 50% concentrate, dry basis. In diet A, soybean meal supplied 34.2% of total crude protein; in diet B, ground sweet white lupin seeds provided 37.9% of total crude protein. Cows were fed once daily during the experimental period (d 4 to 116 postpartum). Cows fed lupins consumed significantly less dry matter, produced 1.8 kg/d less milk (but not significantly different), and had lower milk protein percent. Milk fat and total solids percents were similar. Reasons for reduced intake of cows fed lupins were not evident. Traces of alkaloids (.005% dry basis) were present in diet B. Combined results of in vitro continuous culture fermentation and in situ degradation measurements indicated that crude protein from lupins was more degradable than that of soybean meal. Poor performances of cows fed lupins could be partly due to a reduced true protein supply to the small intestine.

Protein and fiber digestion, passage, and utilization in lactating cows. Microbial growth and flow as influenced by dietary manipulations

The accuracy of prediction of microbial growth in the rumen and flow of microbial protein to the small intestine is important in predicting protein and carbohydrate utilization in dairy cattle as well as the development of a protein and carbohydrate feeding system that will be an improvement over present systems. Empirical multiple and simple regression equations are presented that demonstrate the impact of body size, proportion of forage in the diet, and dry matter intake on flow of microbial protein into the small intestine from the rumen. Concepts are developed and validated for a mechanistic, dynamic approach for prediction of microbial growth and flow of microbial protein based on Michaelis-Menton equations, microbial substance affinities, and rumen liquid flow kinetics. Emphasis is placed on the importance of quantifying dynamics of rumen function, the need for experimentation to develop a carbohydrate system that will include methods for analysis, and a factorial approach to digestion and utilization.

The effects of intraruminal infusions of urea, casein, glucose syrup and a mixture of casein and glucose syrup on nitrogen digestion in the rumen of cattle receiving grass-silage diets

In an incomplete 5 X 5 Latin square experiment, four cattle were given grass silage in two meals per d to satisfy 1.15 maintenance energy requirements. In addition, water or casein (21 g nitrogen and 0.17 kg organic matter (OM)/d) or urea (U; 28 g N/d) or a glucose syrup (G; 0.87 kg OM/d) or casein and glucose syrup (CG; 17 g N and 0.93 kg OM/d) were infused intraruminally at a constant rate. A 24 h collection of duodenal digesta was made using chromic oxide for flow estimation and 35S as a marker of microbial N entering the small intestine. Samples of rumen fluid were also taken for estimation of rumen pH, and concentrations of ammonia-N and volatile fatty acids. The intraruminal infusions had no significant effects on rumen pH, concentrations of volatile fatty acids or their molar proportions. Infusion of either C or U significantly (P less than 0.05) increased rumen NH3-N concentrations whereas infusions of either G or CG lowered rumen NH3-N concentrations. Infusions of C or U had no significant effect on the quantities of OM, acid-detergent fibre (ADF) or N constituents which entered the small intestine. Infusions of G or CG increased the quantities of OM (G P less than 0.05, CG P less than 0.01), ADF (CG P less than 0.05), non-NH3-N (G P less than 0.05, CG P less than 0.01), amino acid N (G P less than 0.05, CG P less than 0.01) and microbial N (G P less than 0.05, CG P less than 0.01) which entered the small intestine. The efficiency of rumen microbial N synthesis was unchanged by the infusion of C, U or G (P greater than 0.05) but increased significantly (P less than 0.05) when CG were infused.

Protein supply from undegraded dietary protein

A summary of in vivo estimates of the amount of dietary protein from individual feedstuffs that escapes microbial degradation in the rumen is presented. Values range from approximately 20% for protein in barley, oats, wheat, and alfalfa silage to 65 to 70% for protein in fish meal and animal by-products. In vitro or in situ methods for estimating protein degradation can be used, but at this stage of development, the methodology is more useful in providing a relative ranking of feedstuffs on the basis of protein degradation than in providing absolute estimates of protein degradation. A number of factors influence protein breakdown in the rumen, including extent of crosslinking in the protein (disulfide bonds), retention time in the rumen, protein solubility, and processing and storage effects on protein. It is important to consider the amino acid content of the undegraded dietary protein, particularly lysine and methionine, two amino acids likely to be limiting for milk production. Strategies for using protected proteins in dairy cattle diets are discussed.

Supplemental protein degradation, bacterial protein synthesis and nitrogen retention in sheep eating sodium hydroxide-treated straw

1. Alkali (sodium hydroxide)-treated wheat straw was given to six rumen- and abomasal-cannulated sheep to study the rumen degradation of cotton-seed meal (CSM) and barley (B), and the effects of these supplements on nitrogen retention and efficiency of bacterial protein synthesis were measured. 2. N degradation, using porous synthetic (nylon) bags incubated within the rumen (P), and in vivo measurement determined from the abomasal flow of N (V), distinguished quantitatively between the two supplements. Estimates of P, corrected for fractional outflow rates/h (FOR), underestimated estimates of V when FOR of undegraded protein from the rumen (k) of 0.05 and 0.08 were used. Estimates of V for CSM and B were 70.9 and 80.8% respectively. 3. Intakes of alkali-treated straw were not affected by the supplements. Intakes of digestible organic matter (DOM) for the diets comprising alkali-treated straw alone (W), straw plus CSM (WC) and straw plus barley (WB) were 477, 575 and 590 g/d respectively (P less than 0.05) and organic matter (OM) apparently digested in the rumen (OMADR) was 339, 399 and 435 g/d respectively (P less than 0.05). 4. On W, WC and WB respectively, flows at the abomasum were 11.0, 14.0 and 13.3 g/d for bacterial N (P less than 0.05) and 0, 2.8 and 0.5 g/d for dietary supplemental N; g bacterial N/kg OMADR were 32.4, 35.6 and 30.9 (P greater than 0.05) and N balances were 2.37, 4.27 and 3.29 g/d (P less than 0.05) on the respective treatments. It was suggested that supplements increased total OM intake as a result of increased OM digested in the rumen rather than OM flow from the rumen.

Microbiological evaluation of the intraruminal in sacculus digestion technique

The influence of nature of the feed sample, feeding frequency and pore size on the influx of bacteria and protozoa into synthetic fiber bags suspended in the rumens of sheep fed different diets was studied. Counts of total culturable bacteria in bags with a pore size of 10 microns were less than 30% of the ruminal counts for animals that were fed the lucerne hay and high-roughage diets. The maximum count (62 and 82% of the ruminal count) for these specific diets was obtained by using bags with a pore size of 53 microns. Protozoal counts in bags with pore sizes of 30 and 53 microns were equal to or higher than the ruminal counts for the lucerne hay and high-roughage diets but less than half of the ruminal count for the low-roughage diet. An interaction between incubation time, feeding frequency of the host animals, and the microbial populations developing inside the bags was also demonstrated. The results clearly show that the microbial population inside the bag differed from that of the surrounding ruminal ingesta and that caution must be taken in interpreting results on feed evaluation and especially on rates of degradation when using the in sacculus technique. Factors influencing the influx of bacteria and protozoa into bags with different pore sizes and containing a variety of substrates are discussed together with suggestions for the use of this technique.

Rumen degradation and fractional outflow rates of nitrogen supplements given to cattle eating sodium hydroxide-treated straw

1. Six rumen and abomasal cannulated heifers were used to study the effects of intake on the fractional outflow rates (FOR) of chromium-mordanted cotton-seed meal (Cr-CSM) and meat meal (Cr-MM), CrEDTA, ytterbium and lignin from the rumen. Values of FOR of Cr-CSM and Cr-MM were combined with values of nitrogen disappearance from the protein supplements, placed in porous synthetic (nylon) bags and incubated within the rumen (P), to calculate effective degradation (D) of CSM and MM when fed to heifers eating sodium hydroxide-treated straw. Also, N degradation in vivo (V) was measured as the difference between abomasal N flow and the sum of flows of microbial and endogenous N. 2. FOR were positively related to intake and differences between supplements were significant (P less than 0.01). FOR pertaining to high and low intakes respectively were 0.073 and 0.052 for Cr-CSM, 0.082 and 0.071 for Cr-MM, 0.030 and 0.023 for lignin, 0.082 and 0.073 for CrEDTA and 0.044 and 0.035 for Yb. 3. A rise of 28.8 and 13.4% in FOR of Cr-CSM and Cr-MM respectively, associated with an increase in intake from maintenance to 1.5 times maintenance, resulted in 10.7 and 2.2% reductions in D, 24 h after feeding, for CSM and MM respectively. 4. With the exception of CSM at the high intake, estimates of V were underestimated by D and were 8.6-25.0% greater than the D values when time of incubation (t) = infinity. The two techniques, however, ranked the degradation of the two supplements in the same order at both levels of intake. 5. Underestimation of V by D may be attributable to underestimation of P, overestimation of FOR (both resulting in underestimation of D) or overestimation of V due to biases associated with the estimation of this part of the comparison. The relative importance of these factors remains to be determined.

Estimation of the degradability of dietary protein in the sheep rumen by in vivo and in vitro procedures

Estimates of degradability of nitrogen in the sheep rumen for a basal hay diet and for soya-bean meal (SBM), groundnut meal (GNM) and fish meal (FM), when given together with the hay, were determined from measurements of duodenal N flow, ammonia kinetics and rumen N disappearance from polyester bags and rumen outflow rate. The ability of various in vitro procedures to predict in vivo N degradability was also examined. Four sheep were given a basal hay diet (800 g dry matter (DM) and 19 g N/d) either alone or supplemented with isonitrogenous amounts (15 g N/d) of SBM, GNM or FM. Duodenal non-ammonia-N flow (g/d) was increased more by FM (8.0) than by GNM (5.9) and SBM (5.8), whilst microbial N flow (g/d) was increased more by SBM (3.9) than by GNM (2.3) and FM (1.6). N degradability values calculated from these results were 0.88, 0.76 and 0.57 for the SBM, GNM and FM respectively. The corresponding value for hay was calculated to be 0.76. The irreversible loss of ammonia in the forestomachs (g N/d) was increased more by SBM (11.9) than by GNM (7.2) and FM (5.8), whilst ammonia outflow from the rumen (g N/d) was increased to a similar extent by all supplements (1.1, 0.9 and 0.8 respectively), as was the amount of microbial N (g/d) synthesized from sources other than rumen ammonia (1.8, 2.0 and 1.9 respectively). N degradability values calculated from these results were 0.84, 0.54 and 0.45 for the SBM, GNM and FM respectively. The fractional rate of N disappearance (/h) when the feedstuffs were incubated in polyester bags in the rumen of sheep receiving the basal hay diet (800 g DM/d) was the highest for SBM (0.145) and lowest for FM (0.037), with the hay (0.082) and GNM (0.071) intermediate, whilst the fractional outflow rates from the rumen (/h) of the three supplements were similar (0.034, 0.038 and 0.030 for SBM, GNM and FM respectively). N degradability values calculated from these results were 0.82, 0.67 and 0.60 for the SBM, GNM and FM respectively; the value for the hay was 0.73. Of a number of in vitro procedures tested, only N solubility in sodium hydroxide and ammonia or total non-protein-N (NPN) production during incubation with rumen fluid in the absence of hydrazine sulphate ranked the supplements, although not the hay, in the same order as in the vivo degradability procedures.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Effects of alkali treatment of wheat straw on intake and microbial protein synthesis in cattle

Effects of sodium hydroxide treatment on intake and digestion of straw organic matter (OM), and microbial protein synthesis were examined in comparison with untreated and treated straws. Intakes (kg dry matter (DM)/d) of untreated, NaOH- and sodium carbonate-treated straws were 5.21, 7.04 and 6.48 respectively and intakes (kg/d) of digestible organic matter (DOM) for the respective diets were 2.57, 3.73 and 2.98 respectively. NaOH-treated straw ranked higher than untreated straw in intakes of DM and DOM (P less than 0.01). The proportion of DOM intake that was apparently digested in the rumen was 0.74, 0.77 and 0.66 on untreated, NaOH- and Na2CO3-treated straws respectively. Although the amount of bacterial N leaving the abomasum was higher with NaOH-treated than with untreated straw (74.6 v. 56.8 g/d, P less than 0.01), efficiencies of bacterial N synthesis were not different between these treatments (28.6 v. 31.5 g bacterial N/kg OM apparently digested, P greater than 0.05). The live-weight gain which the NaOH-treated straw could support was predicted to be 350 g/d and it was concluded that a protein supplement would have provided further increase in production in diets based on NaOH-treated straw.

Rumen protein degradation and biosynthesis. I. A new method for determination of protein degradation in rumen fluid in vitro

A method is described for the determination of protein degradation based on measurements of ammonia concentration and gas production (Menke et al. 1979) when a feedingstuff was incubated with rumen fluid in vitro. NH3 liberated during incubation is in part used for microbial protein synthesis. Production of carbon dioxide and methane can be regarded as a measure of energy available for protein synthesis. The ratio, gas production: incorporation of NH3-nitrogen was estimated by addition of starch to the substrate. The response in gas production was linear in the range 0-200 mg starch, when starch was added to 0-200 mg feedingstuff dry matter and 30 ml rumen fluid-medium mixture. Linear regression between NH3-N concentration (y, mg) and gas production (x, ml) yielded an intercept (bo) representing that amount of NH3-N which would be released when no fermentable carbohydrates were available and consequently no bacterial protein synthesis took place. The difference between this intercept bo and NH3-N content in the blank (rumen fluid without substrate added) indicated the amount of NH3 liberated from protein and other N-containing compounds of the feeding-stuff incubated. In vitro-degradable N (IVDN) was calculated as a proportion of total N by the equation: (formula; see text).

Effects of cold exposure on feed protein degradation, microbial protein synthesis and transfer of plasma urea to the rumen of sheep

1. Three diets of barley-canola-seed (Brassica campestris), lucerne (Medicago sativa) or chopped brome-grass (Bromus inermis) were given at intervals of 3 h to closely-shorn Suffolk wethers held at a temperature of 1-5 degree (cold) or 22-24 degree (warm). Apparent digestibility of organic matter (OM) and nitrogen was reduced by 0.08-0.05 and 0.04 units respectively for lucerne and brome-grass diets given to cold-exposed sheep, but no treatment effects on digestibility were observed for the barley-CSM diet. Measurements achieved using infusion of the digesta markers 58Co-EDTA and 103Ru-phenanthroline (103Ru-P) showed that cold exposure depressed apparent OM digestion in the stomach and intestines by 33 and 42 g/d for the lucerne diet, and 13 and 35 g/d for the brome-grass diet respectively. 2. The turnover time (h) of the 103Ru-P marker in the rumen of warm sheep was 38.9 for barley-CSM, 18.4 for lucerne, and 15.6 for brome-grass. In cold-exposed sheep, 103Ru-P turnover time (h) tended to be reduced to 32.3, 12.3 and 15.3 for the three diets, respectively. OM fermentation in the stomach was highly related to 103RU-P turnover time for lucerne and brome-grass diets. 3. Cold exposure increased the escape of dietary N from the abomasum by 0.04 and 0.09 of dietary N intake for sheep given lucerne and brome-grass diets respectively. Dietary N degradation was closely related to 103Ru-P turnover time for lucerne, and to the proportion of large particles in rumen digesta for the brome-grass diet. Estimates of feed N degradation made by use of information on the rate of fermentation of the diet in nylon bags and 103Ru-P turnover time were consistently lower than those observed in vivo for barley-CSM and lucerne diets. Intestinal digestibility of non-ammonia N was not significantly changed by cold exposure. 4. Transfer of urea from plasma to the rumen was 1.4-2.5 g N/d for the barley-CSM and lucerne diets, but the value for brome-grass was 4.5-4.9 g N/d. Cold exposure did not affect urea transfer. The production of ammonia from feed and endogenous protein was approximately 0.66 and 0.47 g N/g N intake of barley-CSM and lucerne diets, with no effect of cold exposure. Cold exposure reduced the value from 0.57 to 0.38 for brome-grass. 5. The results are compared with those obtained previously with pelleted hay, and the importance of large particle breakdown in the prediction of OM and N fermentation using nylon bags is discussed.