In Vitro Cecal Gas and Methane Production of Soybean Hulls–Containing Diets in the Presence of Salix babylonica Extract as a Fermentation Modulator in Horses

Dietary Transitions Toward Sustainable Horse Feeding

Sustainability is the balancing act of optimizing the use of current resources without compromising the current or future environment. Within the agriculture sector the primary focus of sustainability has been to reduce environmental pollution, specifically greenhouse gasses (GHG) emissions, nitrogen emissions, and leaching. For the equine industry the first step towards sustainability is the documentation and critique of current feeding and management practices to permit modifications to enable the industry meet social and legislative obligations. As a monogastric hindgut fermenter on a per kg bodyweight basis the horse has relatively lower GHG emissions compared to ruminants. However, there are several opportunities to further reduce the environmental impact of the equine industry. The majority of these relate to subtle changes, or consideration of, improving feed conversion, using alternative ingredients, and management of fecal material associated with intensive husbandry. To initiate the journey towards sustainability this review documents opportunities with current equine feeding and management practices to reduce the environmental impacts of the equine industry.

Antimicrobial resistance of three common molecularly identified pathogenic bacteria to Allium aqueous extracts

The aim of this work was to evaluate the in vitro bacterial inhibition of different types of garlic on Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Listeria monocytogenes and Staphylococcus aureus. The bacterial strains were molecularly identified using gen 16S rDNA molecular identification. Four different types of garlics were used: 1) white, 2) Japanese, 3) elephant and 3) black, and these were evaluated at two different concentrations (0.25 and 0.125 g/mL) per garlic type. Bioactive compounds present in the garlics were identified using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to ultraviolet detector (HPLC-UV), and total polyphenols were quantified by the Folin-Ciocalteu technique. The Kirby-Bauber method was used for the bacterial evaluation. Aqueous extract of black garlic had the highest amount of polyphenols 6.26 ± 0.21 mg GAE/mL. The area of inhibition was measured and classified as sensitive, intermediate or resistant. Using the disc diffusion assay, higher concentration (0.25 g/mL) of aqueous extract of white garlic had the highest antibacterial activity area, with 21.46 ± 3.94 mm for L. monocytogenes, 20.61 ± 2.47 mm for S. aureus and 17.83 ± 2.21 mm for E. coli. White garlic had comparable antimicrobial activity as the control (tetracycline at 30 μg) as indicated by the size of the inhibition halos. Based on your results, white garlic can be used as an alternative to synthetic antimicrobials.

Effect of Cobalt Chloride on Fermentation of Alfalfa and Smooth Bromegrass Hays by Horse Cecal Microorganisms

Effects of Co on fiber digestibility in horses are largely unknown. Our objective was to evaluate effects of Co chloride on in vitro gas production, VFA production, and dry matter (DM) disappearance (IVDMD) using cecal fluid from 4 cannulated Quarter Horses. Five grams DM of alfalfa or smooth bromegrass hay were provided as substrate with Co added at 0.0, 0.5, 5.0, 25.0, or 50.0 mg/kg substrate DM. Ten milliliters cecal fluid and 140 mL McDougall's buffer were incubated in duplicate, and pH, VFA concentrations, and IVDMD were measured after 48 hours. Gas production, used as an indicator of fermentative activity, was recorded every 15 minutes. Terminal pH was not affected by Co or forage type (P > .19). There was greater IVDMD in cultures containing alfalfa (29.2%) compared with smooth bromegrass hay (19.4%; P < .01). There was a forage × Co interaction (P < .05) in which gas production was greater in cultures containing alfalfa, and 5 mg Co/kg substrate DM led to greater gas production than 50 mg Co/kg substrate DM in cultures containing brome (P < .05). Gas production was affected by forage, Co, and time (P < .01). Production of individual and total VFA, as well as acetate:propionate (A:P) ratio were increased in cultures containing alfalfa (P < .05); however, there were no effects of Co on VFA concentrations (P > .05). While gas production was influenced by Co in cultures containing brome, no effects of Co were observed for pH, VFA, or IVDMD.

Equine Contribution in Methane Emission and Its Mitigation Strategies

Greenhouses gas emission mitigation is a very important aspect of earth sustainability with greenhouse gasses reduction, a focus of agricultural and petrochemical industries. Methane is produced in nonruminant herbivores such as horses because they undergo hindgut fermentation. Although equine produce less methane than ruminant, increasing population of horses might increase their contribution to the present 1.2 to 1.7 Tg, estimate. Diet, feeding frequency, season, genome, and protozoa population influence methane production equine. In population, Methanomicrobiales, Methanosarcinales, Methanobacteriales, and Methanoplasmatales are the clade identified in equine. Methanocorpusculum labreanum is common among hindgut fermenters like horses and termite. Naturally, acetogenesis and interrelationship between the host and the immune-anatomical interaction are responsible for the reduced methane output in horses. However, to reduce methane output in equine, and increase energy derived from feed intake, the use of biochar, increase in acetogens, inclusion of fibre enzymes and plant extract, and recycling of fecal energy through anaerobic gas fermentation. These might be feasible ways to reducing methane contribution from horse and could be applied to ruminants too.

Role of dose dependent Escherichia coli as ruminal anti-microflora agent to mitigate biogases production in prickly pear cactus flour based diet

The present investigation was conducted to evaluate the effects of Escherichia coli against the ruminal microflora fermentation activities in the mitigation of CH₄ and CO₂ production as well as ruminal fermentation kinetics by substituting dietary corn grain with prickly pear cactus (PC) flour. Three total mixed PC rations were prepared (/kg DM): 0 g (Control), 75 g (PC75), and 150 g (PC150). Besides, E. coli was supplemented at four different levels (dose): 0, 10, 20, and 40 mg/g DM of substrates. The in vitro rumen GP, CH₄, and CO₂ were estimated to be affected due to various doses of E. coli up to 72 h of incubation. Asymptotic GP, fractional rate of GP, and lag time were influenced significantly (P < .05) in the presence of ration. However, E. coli doses showed minor impact on the rate of GP as well as lag time. The asymptotic CH₄ production was decreased linearly (P = .005) at the ration PC150. E. coli doses reduced the asymptotic CH₄ production at 10 and 20 mg/g DM. The asymptotic CO₂ production was linearly (P < .001) decreased by different levels of PC. The cubic (P = .023) effect of E. coli doses as well as significant (P = .002) ration × E. coli doses impact were reported on asymptotic CO₂ production. The fractional rate of GP was quadratically (P < .05) influenced by PC and E. coli doses. The rations, dose, and rations × E. coli dose interaction had no influence (P > .05) on lag time. In a nutshell, PC flour inclusion in diet has the potentiality to replace the existing conventional feedstuffs for ruminant. Most importantly, revealing the first report, PC flours along with E. coli supplementation at varied doses mitigated the ruminal biogases production. This was as consequence to the antimicrobial impacts of E. coli against ruminal microflora, and that could certainly be a promising approach in order to improve ruminant's diet constituents.