Caecal Cannulation in the Sheep

Effects of subacute ruminal acidosis challenges on fermentation and endotoxins in the rumen and hindgut of dairy cows

The effects of a grain-based subacute ruminal acidosis (SARA) challenge (GBSC) and an alfalfa-pellet SARA challenge (APSC) on fermentation and endotoxins in the rumen and in the cecum, as well as on endotoxins in peripheral blood, were determined. Six nonlactating Holstein cows with cannulas in the rumen and cecum were used in the study. A 3×3 Latin square arrangement of treatments with 4-wk experimental periods was adopted. During the first 3 wk of each experimental period, all cows received a diet containing 70% forages [dry matter (DM) basis]. In wk 4 of each period, cows received 1 of the following 3 diets: the 70% forage diet fed during wk 1 to 3 (control), a diet in which 34% of the dietary DM was replaced with grain pellets made of 50% ground wheat and 50% ground barely (GBSC), or a diet in which 37% of dietary DM was replaced with pellets of ground alfalfa (APSC). Rumen pH was monitored continuously using indwelling pH probes, and rumen fluid, blood, cecal digesta, and fecal grab samples were collected immediately before feed delivery at 0900 h and at 6 h after feed delivery on d 3 and 5 of wk 4. The time for which rumen pH was below 5.6 was 56.4, 225.2, and 298.8 min/d for the control, APSC, and GBSC treatments, respectively. Compared with the control, SARA challenges resulted in similar reductions in cecal digesta pH, which were 7.07, 6.86, and 6.79 for the control, APSC, and GBSC treatments, respectively. Compared with the control, only GBSC increased starch content in cecal digesta, which averaged 2.8, 2.6, and 7.4% of DM for the control, APSC, and GBSC, respectively. Free lipopolysaccharide endotoxin (LPS) concentration in rumen fluid increased from 10,405 endotoxin units (EU)/mL in the control treatment to 30,715 and 168,391 EU/mL in APSC and GBSC, respectively. Additionally, GBSC increased the LPS concentration from 16,508 to 118,522 EU/g in wet cecal digesta, and from 12,832 to 93,154 EU/g in wet feces. The APSC treatment did not affect LPS concentrations in cecal digesta and feces. All concentrations of LPS in blood plasma were below the detection limit of >0.05 EU/mL of the technique used. Despite the absence of LPS in blood, only GBSC increased the concentration of LPS-binding protein in blood plasma, which averaged, 8.9, 9.5, and 12.1mg/L for the control, APSC, and GBSC treatments, respectively. This suggests that GBSC caused translocation of LPS from the digestive tract but that LPS was detoxified before entering the peripheral blood circulation. The higher LPS concentration in cecal digesta in the GBSC compared with the APSC suggests a higher risk of LPS translocation in the large intestine in GBSC than in APSC.

[Nitrogen metabolism in the large intestine of ruminants. 6. Metabolism of intracecally administered 14C and 15N urea in sheep with simultaneous intracecal doses of heat-damaged hay]

Two wethers (28 kg and 33 kg) were supplied with ileocaecal re-entrance cannulae and received a straw pellet ration rich in crude fibre (70.5% straw, 12% chopped sugar beet, 10% cereals, 2% urea, 3% NH4HCO3 and 2.5% of a mineral mixture). In a preliminary period 50% of the digesta flow was collected on 6 successive days for 18 h each. An amount of digesta sufficient for 24 h was apportioned for hourly application and stored at a temperature of -20 degrees C for the main trial. In the main trial the two animals received intracaecally the collected digesta with a supplement of ca. 6 g hay damaged by heat/kg LW(0.75) in hourly portions over 24 h (hay made up ca. 15 and 20% resp. of the DM amount). In addition, each digesta sample was supplemented with 14C and 15N labelled urea (19.7.10(6) Bq 14C urea and 364 mg 15N excess from 15N urea). About 9% of the applied 15N amount was microbially utilized; the utilization quota was thus lower than after the application of partly hydrolyzed straw meal (16% in a previous trial). The 14C activity from 14C urea was quickly eliminated in the form of CO2 in the respiratory gases (at the 18th hour after the end of the infusion 70% excreted as CO2). The half-lives for the urea resulting from the semi-logarithmic decrease of the atom-% 15N excess in the blood plasma were 7.9 and 7.7 resp. 23% and 34% resp. of the applied 15N excess were excreted in urine. The excretion of radioactive carbon in urine, however, was at 2.8% and 4.3% resp. of the applied amount very low 120 h after the beginning of the trial (96 h after the end of the infusion). On the whole one can conclude from this trial that hay damaged by heat has only a low stimulating effect on microbial activity in the large intestine.

Production of volatile fatty acids in the rumen and cecum-colon of steers as affected by forage:concentrate and forage physical form

Contribution of cecal and ruminal VFA to metabolizable energy was investigated in steers with cannulas in both the rumen and cecum. Animals were fed ad libitum so that data would be applicable to the lactating dairy cow. Diets assigned within a 4 x 4 Latin square were: 20% long alfalfa hay and 80% concentrate; 15% pelleted alfalfa, 5% hay and 80% concentrate; 80% hay and 20% concentrate; 60% pellets, 20% hay and 20% concentrate. Intake of DM was unaffected by diet. Cecal fluid pH, osmolality, and concentrations of valerate and isovalerate were unaffected by diet. Concentrations of total VFA, acetate, propionate, butyrate, and lactate in the cecum increased with proportion of grain in the diet. The high grain diets depressed cecal ammonia concentration and acetate to propionate ratio. Acetate production in the cecum was higher with the high grain diets whereas that in the rumen was lower. Production of propionate and butyrate in both the cecum and rumen was unaffected by diet. Cecal VFA provided 8.6% of metabolizable energy intake, on average. Contribution of ruminal VFA to total metabolizable energy was affected by diet, accounting for 72, 51, 74, and 52% of metabolizable energy from the 20% hay, 20% pelleted alfalfa, 80% hay, and 80% pelleted alfalfa, respectively. Cecal VFA were an important source of energy for ad libitum-fed steers; this contribution would undoubtedly increase with increasing feed intake.

Nitrogen and carbon flows between the caecum, blood and rumen in sheep given chopped lucerne (Medicago sativa) hay

1. Experiments involving 15N and 14C tracers were made in sheep consuming 800 g air-dry chopped lucerne (Medicago sativa) hay/d and providing 20.4 g N/d to study N and C flows within the caecal digesta and between the caecum, blood and rumen. 2. Continuous infusions of 15N tracers were made into the caecal ammonia, blood urea and rumen NH3 pools. The concentration and enrichment of caecal digesta NH3-N, caecal microbial N, caecal digesta non-urea, non-ammonia-N (NU-NAN), faecal NU-NAN, blood urea-N, rumen digesta NH3-N and rumen bacterial N were estimated at intervals during the infusions. A three-pool open-compartment model was solved to estimate N flows between the caecal digesta NH3-N, blood urea-N and rumen digesta NH3-N pools. 3. The rate of irreversible loss from the caecal digesta NH3-N pool was 2.17 (SE 0.623) g N/d. On average 0.9 (SE 0.56) g N/d of caecal digesta NH3-N was derived from blood urea and 0.1 (SE 0.08) g caecal digesta NH3-N/d was apparently derived from the fermentation of undigested rumen microbes in the caecum. The amount of NH3-N produced by proteolysis and deamination of dietary and endogenous N was 1.1 (SE 0.13) g/d. 4. There was net incorporation of 0.56 (SE 0.306) g caecal digesta NH3-N/d into caecal microbes. The microbial N synthesized de novo in the caecum was not determined, but 2.9 (SE 0.52) g microbial N/d of both rumen and caecal origin flowed out of the caecum and constituted 0.48 of the NU-NAN flow. The majority (mean 0.83 (SE 0.044] of this microbial N was excreted in faeces. 5. On average 1.8 (SE 0.80) g caecal digesta NH3-N/d were absorbed. Of this NH3-N, 0.92 (SE 0.054) was converted to blood urea, contributing 0.10 (SE 0.031) of blood urea-N. Only 0.012 (SE 0.0041) of rumen digesta NH3-N and 0.005 (SE 0.0009) of rumen bacterial N were derived from caecal digesta NH3-N. 6. Infusions of 14C tracers were made into the caecal digesta bicarbonate, blood bicarbonate, rumen digesta bicarbonate and blood urea pools, and samples were obtained at intervals to determine the specific radioactivity of each pool. A four-pool open-compartment model was solved to estimate C flows between these pools. 7. The rate of irreversible loss of blood urea estimated with [14C]urea (17.1 (SE 1.18) g N/d) was greater (P less than 0.01) than that estimated with [15N]urea (14.0 (SE 0.87) g N/d).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Effects of gastrointestinal cannulation and jugular vein catheterization on the metabolism of sheep

1. Certain digestive and metabolic criteria were examined in mature wethers before and following (1) a simple exploratory laporotomy (two sheep), (2) establishment of a rumen cannula plus simple ('T'-shaped) cannulas in the duodenum and ileum (six sheep), (3) establishment of a rumen cannula plus two cannulas in the caecum (four sheep), (4) establishment of a rumen cannula plus re-entrant cannulas in the duodenum and ileum (four sheep) and (5) insertion of catheters into both external jugular veins (four sheep). 2. Metabolizability of a standard ration and nitrogen balance and rumen retention time of the sheep were not significantly changed by any of the surgical procedures carried out. 3. The amount of heat produced per unit metabolic weight of the sheep prepared with re-entrant cannulas increased significantly (21 +/- 5.6%; P less than 0.001). 4. The use of the different preparations in digestive and metabolic studies is discussed.

Studies of the large intestine of sheep. 2. Kinetics of liquid and solid phase markers in the caecum and proximal colon

1. Experiments were undertaken to examine the errors associated with the use of indigestible markers, the 51Cr-labelled complex of chromium ethylenediaminetetra-acetic acid (51Cr-EDTA) and 103Ru-labelled tris-(1,10-phenanthroline)-ruthenium(II) chloride (103Ru-P), to measure liquid- and solid-phase digesta kinetics in the caecum and proximal colon of sheep.

2. First-order kinetics of markers were observed following either single injection or termination of continuous infusion. There were no differences between the half-times (T½) of marker in the caecum plus proximal colon whether calculated from marker concentration in caecal digesta or in faeces. There were also no differences in the T½ values calculated for the liquid- and solid-phase markers. When pool sizes calculated from the marker kinetics were compared with the volume of digesta present in the caecum and proximal colon at slaughter, it appeared that the 51Cr-EDTA and 103Ru-P caecal pools described the digesta contained in the entire caecum and proximal colon.

3. The flow-rates of dry matter (DM) through the caecum of sheep given 694 g lucerne (Medicago sativa) DM/d were similar whether estimated from total collection of faeces, by single injection of marker, or by the ratio, marker concentration: DM in either caecal digesta or faeces during continuous infusion of marker into either the rumen or the caecum.

4. In sheep given 553 g brome grass (Bromus inermus) DM/d the coefficient of variation of estimates of the plateau of 51Cr-EDTA marker during continuous infusion into the caecum was greater when 130 ml infusate/d were administered than with 1000 ml/d.

5. In the sheep given brome grass the lines of best fit of decline in In 51Cr-EDTA marker concentration v. time following termination of the continuous infusions described previously and following single injection of marker in 20 or 2 ml into the caecum were examined. The variation was least when 1000 ml infusate/d had been administered and was unacceptably large following a single injection of 2 ml.

6. These experiments showed that tracer techniques could provide unbiased estimates of trace kinetics in the caecum and proximal colon.

Studies of the large intestine of sheep. 1. Fermentation and absorption in sections of the large intestine

1. Fermentation and absorption of constituents of digesta in segments of the large intestine of sheep given different diets were studied by analysis of gut contents obtained at slaughter after a period during which the sheep had been administered a non-absorbable gut marker. 2. In sheep given chopped, dried lucerne (Medicago sativa) there was net absorption of water throughout the large intestine with concomitant increases in the proportion of dry matter (DM) and organic matter (OM). There was net disappearance of 62 g OM, 1.66 g non-urea non-ammonia-nitrogen (NU-NAN) and 0.6 g (urea + NH3(-N in the caecum and proximal colon. There was no significant change in OM and NU-NAN flow through the remainder of the large intestine but there was a net disappearance of 0.3 g NH3-N. There was also net appearance of volatile fatty acids (VFA) in the caecum, most of which was apparently absorbed before the rectum. 3. Metabolism in the caecum was also studied in sheep grazing fresh pasture or consuming one of three sugar cane-bagasse-based diets, or barley pellets. In the lucerne- and pasture-fed sheep there was a net disappearance of approximately 0.5 g NH3-N/d from the caecum, while in sheep fed on bagasse plus urea, 1.4 g NH3-N/d was apparently absorbed from this region. The addition of fish meal to this latter diet resulted in apparent disappearance of 5.3 g NH3-N/d from the caecum and proximal colon. 4. There was apparent loss of NU-NAN from the caecum of sheep on all diets except the barley diet. With the latter diet there was a net gain of 1 g NU-NAN/d which was associated with relatively high VFA concentration and production; taken together these results indicate that microbial fermentation in the caecum was more extensive in the sheep fed on the barley diet than in those fed on the other diets. 5. The proportions of individual VFA in digesta from the rumen and caecum of lucerne-fed and pasture-fed sheep and in digesta from the caecum of sheep given the bagasse-based or barley diets are also reported and discussed. 6. In general the results indicate that the caecum and to a lesser extent the proximal colon were the major regions of fermentation and absorption of the components of the digesta in the large intestine.

Nitrogen digestion in sheep given poor-quality indigenous hill herbages

1. In two experiments, the sites of digestion of non-ammonia nitrogen (NAN) and the amounts of urea N recycled to the rumen were measured in mature wether sheep given diets of indigenous hill herbage (Agrostis-Festuca and heather). 2. Duodenal and ileal flow values were obtained using 103Ru-phenanthroline and 51Cr-EDTA markers in animals prepared with simple (T-shaped) cannulas. Amounts of urea N recycled to the rumen were estimated from measurements of the transfer of plasma urea carbon into rumen bicarbonate and the production rate of rumen bicarbonate using 14C-labelled urea and bicarbonate respectively. 3. The flows of NAN at the duodenum and ileum were linearly related to the intake of herbage (P less than 0.001). There was a net gain of non-ammonia N anterior to the duodenum on both diets (at an intake of 460 g organic matter (OM)/d, 3.7 g NAN/d on Agrostis-Festuca and 3.3 g NAN/d on heather). 4. Net digestibility of NAN entering the small intestine was within a normal range on the Agrostis-Festuca (0.58 at 460 g OM intake) diet but low on the heather diet (0.43 at 460 g OM intake). 5. It was calculated that at 460 g OM intake only 0.9 and 1.1 g/d respectively of the duodenal NAN on the Agrostis-Festuca and heather diets could have been derived from urea-N recycled to the rumen. Thus 2.8 g and 2.2 g/d had to be accounted for as non-urea endogenous NAN.

The effects of various forms of gastrointestinal cannulation on digestive measurements in sheep

1. There was little difference in digestive (voluntary food intake, dry matter digestibility and nitrogen balance) and blood measurements (venous concentrations of corticosteroids, serum aspartate aminotransferase (EC 2.6.1.1), protein-bound iodine, urea and glucose) of intact sheep (eight animals) and of sheep prepared with rumen cannular (sixteen animals) and subsequently with either simple 'T-shaped' (eight animals) or re-entrant cannulas (eight animals) at the duodenum and ileum, when fed ad lib. a chopped medium-quality-hay ration. 2. Wool growth rates of the intact sheep were similar to those in sheep with rumen cannulas and with rumen cannulas plus simple 'T-shaped' cannulas, but higher (P less than 0-01) than those with rumen cannulas plus re-entrant cannulas. 3. When the sheep were subsequently given a restricted intake (800 g/d) of dried grass, retention times of solid- and liquid-phase digesta markers in the rumen and caecum were similar in all sheep. 4. The use of the different preparations in digestive physiology studies is discussed.

Rates of production of methane in the rumen and large intestine of sheep

1. An isotope tracer method for estimating methane production in sheep is described. 2. The technique was used to estimate methane produced in both the upper and lower digestive tract and to determine the routes by which it was excreted. 3. Four Merino ewes given lucerne chaff (33 g every hour) were used. 4. Total methane production rate was 21 +/- 1-1 (SE) ml/min; production in the rumen accounted for 87 +/- 1-2% of the total production; 95 +/- 1-4% of the methane produced in the rumen was excreted by eructation. 5. Of the methane produced in the lower digestive tract, 89 +/- 2-3% was excreted through the lungs and 11% through the anus.