Adibe Luiz Abdalla

Utilização de subprodutos da indústria de biodiesel na alimentação de ruminantes

With the introduction of vegetable oil in the bio-fuel productive chain in Brazil, the increase in the demand of oleaginous plants is expected as well as the offer of the resulting vegetable fibers from the extraction of the oil. Considering the animal feeding as link between the biodiesel production and the livestock, we propose the study of the use of by-products of these enterprises in the feeding system seeking to increase the productivity and to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases from the animals, generating carbon credits and assisting to the interest of the private initiative. The in vitro gas technique has been used at LANA-CENA/USP with the purpose of studying the effect of feeds containing secondary bioactive metabolites upon the ruminal fermentation and organic matter degradability (MOVD), as well as, in the study of methane production. The total substitution of the soybean meal for meals of cotton seed, palm oil, castor oil plant and jatropha provided less total gas production and the production of methane was affected significantly by the inclusion of the meals, with soybean meal presenting methane production of 15.3 mL/g MOVD. Literature data also show that meals from biodiesel production present appropriate nutritional characteristics for inclusion in the diet of ruminant, however, discerning studies of those materials while raw materials for animal ration are necessary to evaluate possible harmful effects due to the presence of bioactive metabolites. Through analyses of high resolution chromatography, those metabolites may be identified. The introduction of meals with high fat content in the diets of ruminant can aid in the mitigation of enteric methane, and the production of some oleaginous plants can contribute with the sequestering of carbon for the Cerrado soils in the recovery of pastures, reducing the need of deforestations

Direct determination of selenium in whole blood by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry using W–Rh-coated platform and co-injection of Rh as thermal stabilizer

Abstract A W–Rh coating on the integrated platform of a transversely heated graphite atomizer (platform modifier) and a RhCl3 solution (analyte/matrix modifier) were combined for the direct determination of selenium in whole blood by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry. Samples were diluted 1+4 v/v with a mixture of 0.2% v/v HNO3 and 0.5% v/v Triton X-100. For the analysis, 12 μl of the resulting sample plus 6 μl of the Rh solution were delivered into the transversely heated graphite atomizer (THGA) platform modified with W–Rh. The combined use of Rh solution with the W–Rh coating was decisive in increasing the maximum pyrolysis temperature of blood selenium up to 1300 °C. Use of W–Rh as a platform modifier increased the tube useful lifetime up to 200% when compared to an untreated platform using a conventional [Pd+Mg(NO3)2] modifier. The accuracy and precision of the method proposed were verified by analyzing serum certified reference material (Seronorm™) and 20 whole blood samples using Pd/Mg(NO3)2 modifier in untreated platforms; no statistical differences were found between methods by applying the t-test at the 95% level.

Contribution of condensed tannins and mimosine to the methane mitigation caused by feeding Leucaena leucocephala

Leucaena (Leucaena leucocephala), a leguminous shrub promising to cope with feed scarcity in the tropics, may help in mitigating ruminal methane (CH4) emission in the tropics as well. Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of Leucaena and major secondary compounds of this plant in ruminants. At first, effects of Leucaena tannins and mimosine on ruminal CH4 and nutrient degradability were tested in vitro. Incubations were made with Leucaena without or with polyethylene glycol (PEG) to exclude the tannins effects, as well as with Bermuda grass (Tifton) and lucerne hays, both either untreated or supplemented with mimosine at the same concentration that has been provided by the tested Leucaena (6.52 mg/g DM). Furthermore, in an in vivo experiment a control diet (per kg DM 700 g Tifton hay) and Leucaena diets (per kg DM 350 g Tifton hay and 350 g Leucaena), either with or without 20 g PEG/d per head, were evaluated in six Santa Inês sheep following a double Latin square design. In vitro, Leucaena resulted in the lowest (p < 0.05) gas and CH4 production and the highest (p < 0.05) partitioning factor, a measure for microbial efficiency, whereas the amount of truly degraded organic matter (TDOM) was lowest (p < 0.05) with Tifton among the experimental forage plants. Mimosine addition to lucerne and Tifton as well as PEG addition to Leucaena had no effect on ruminal CH4 and TDOM. In vivo Leucaena, compared to the Tifton diet, enhanced (p < 0.05) intake, faecal nitrogen excretion, body nitrogen retention and the excretion of urinary purine derivatives as an indicator for microbial protein synthesis and availability. This was independent of PEG addition. Leucaena also decreased (p < 0.001) CH4 emission per unit of digested organic matter by 14.1% and 10.8%, without and with PEG, respectively. No significant diet differences were observed in total-tract nutrient digestibility. The study demonstrated efficiency of Leucaena to mitigate in vivo methane emission of sheep, but did not reveal which constituent of Leucaena was primarily responsible for that since no clear efficiency of either tannins or mimosine could be demonstrated.

In vitro evaluation, in vivo quantification, and microbial diversity studies of nutritional strategies for reducing enteric methane production.

The main objective of the present work was to study nutritive strategies for lessening the CH4 formation associated to ruminant tropical diets. In vitro gas production technique was used for evaluating the effect of tannin-rich plants, essential oils, and biodiesel co-products on CH4 formation in three individual studies and a small chamber system to measure CH4 released by sheep for in vivo studies was developed. Microbial rumen population diversity from in vitro assays was studied using qPCR. In vitro studies with tanniniferous plants, herbal plant essential oils derived from thyme, fennel, ginger, black seed, and Eucalyptus oil (EuO) added to the basal diet and cakes of oleaginous plants (cotton, palm, castor plant, turnip, and lupine), which were included in the basal diet to replace soybean meal, presented significant differences regarding fermentation gas production and CH4 formation. In vivo assays were performed according to the results of the in vitro assays. Mimosa caesalpineaefolia, when supplemented to a basal diet (Tifton-85 hay Cynodon sp, corn grain, soybean meal, cotton seed meal, and mineral mixture) fed to adult Santa Ines sheep reduced enteric CH4 emission but the supplementation of the basal diet with EuO did not affect (P > 0.05) methane released. Regarding the microbial studies of rumen population diversity using qPCR with DNA samples collected from the in vitro trials, the results showed shifts in microbial communities of the tannin-rich plants in relation to control plant. This research demonstrated that tannin-rich M. caesepineapholia, essential oil from eucalyptus, and biodiesel co-products either in vitro or in vivo assays showed potential to mitigate CH4 emission in ruminants. The microbial community study suggested that the reduction in CH4 production may be attributed to a decrease in fermentable substrate rather than to a direct effect on methanogenesis.

Energy efficiency of growing ram lambs fed concentrate-based diets with different roughage sources.

Poor-quality roughages are widely used as fiber sources in concentrate-based diets for ruminants. Because roughage quality is associated with the efficiency of energy use in forage-based diets, the objective of this study was to determine whether differing the roughage source in concentrate-based diets could change the energy requirements of growing lambs. Eighty-four 1/2 Dorper × 1/2 Santa Inês ram lambs (18.0 ± 3.3 kg BW) were individually penned and divided into 2 groups according to primary source of dietary roughage: low-quality roughage (LQR; sugarcane bagasse) or medium-quality roughage (MQR; coastcross hay). Diets were formulated to be isonitrogenous (2.6% N) and to meet 20% of physically effective NDF. After a 10-d ad libitum adaptation period, 7 lambs from each group were randomly selected and slaughtered (baseline). Twenty-one lambs in each diet group were fed ad libitum and slaughtered at 25, 35, or 45 kg BW. The remaining 28 lambs (14 from each diet group) were submitted to 1 of 2 levels of feed restriction: 70% or 50% of the ad libitum intake. Retentions of body fat, N, and energy were determined. Additionally, 6 ram lambs (44.3 ± 5.6 kg BW) were kept in metabolic cages and used in a 6 × 6 Latin square experiment designed to establish the ME content of the 2 diets at the 3 levels of DM intake. There was no effect of intake level on diet ME content, but it was greater in the diet with LQR than in the diet with MQR (3.18 vs. 2.94 Mcal/kg, respectively; P < 0.01). Lambs fed the diet with LQR had greater body fat (g/kg of empty BW) and energy concentrations (kcal/kg of empty BW) because of a larger visceral fat deposition (P < 0.05). Using a low-quality roughage as a primary source of forage in a concentrate-based diet for growing lambs did not change NEm and the efficiency of ME use for maintenance, which averaged 71.6 kcal/kg(0.75) of shrunk BW and 0.63, respectively. On the other hand, the greater nonfibrous carbohydrate content of the diet with LQR resulted in a 17% better efficiency of ME use for gain (P < 0.01), which was associated with a greater partial efficiency of energy retention as fat (P < 0.01). This increased nutritional efficiency, however, should be viewed with caution because it is related to visceral fat deposition, a nonedible tissue.

HAEMONCHUS PLACEI IN CALVES - EFFECTS OF DIETARY-PROTEIN AND MULTIPLE EXPERIMENTAL-INFECTION ON WORM ESTABLISHMENT AND PATHOGENESIS

An experiment was conducted to examine the influence of dietary protein and immunisation on parasite establishment and pathogenesis of Haemonchus placei in calves. Four groups of 4-6-month-old worm-free calves (n = 4) were given a low protein diet (LP) containing 213 g crude protein (CP) per head per day or a high-protein diet (HP) containing 469 g per head per day CP. Five weeks later, calves in one of the two groups of each dietary treatment were given 50,000 H. placei infective larvae (L3). Twenty-five days later, infection in these groups was terminated by dosing with oxfendazole. This immunisation process was repeated 4 days later. Four days after termination of the second immunisation all calves were challenged with 100,000 L3. Five weeks later, all calves were slaughtered for abomasal worm counts. Worm establishment was lower in the immunised groups; however, only the HP-I group showed a significant reduction (P < 0.05). All calves gained weight during the first 13 week period, and after challenge the non-immunised groups lost weight, independent of the level of protein in the diet (P < 0.05). Packed cell volume values for all treatments only dropped after challenge (P < 0.05) and the HP-immunised group presented values significantly higher when compared with the other treatments. All calves were hypoproteinaemic and hypoalbuminaemic at the end of the experiment, regardless of the treatment. Immunised calves showed a normocytic normochromic anaemia, while the non-immunised groups presented a microcytic normochromic anaemia.

Modelo do fluxo biológico do fósforo de fontes de fosfato em suínos, usando o 32P como marcador

The experiment was designed to simulate the mathematical models that relate to the phophorus (P) flow, considering the hypotheses that the endogenous phosphorus from digestive tract was absorbed in the same proportion of the dietary phosphorus and that the input and output flow of this mineral in the compartments was constant. The variables absorption, retention, endogenous P that returns to the gastrointestinal tract (GIT), dietary absorbed P, accretion, reabsorption and balance of P in bone and in soft tissues and P from bone and soft tissue and from the total absorbed that returns to GIT, in growing pigs fed diets containing P from different phosphate sources were evaluate. The model was deterministic and compartmental, in which the GTI (C1), bones (C2) and soft tissues, liver heart, kidney and muscle, (C3) represented the compartments. The information on metabolism and kinetics of the P in tissues obtained by isotopic dilution technique was used. It was concluded that: the hypotheses established in the model were coherent and the obtained values were adjusted to the P flow in pigs; the variables P intake, endogenous P that return to the GIT, P retention, dietary absorbed P, accretion, reabsorption and balance of P from bone and soft tissues and P from total absorbed that returned to the GIT were not influenced by the P from the phosphates sources; the dietary phosphorus could interfere on P distribution in the tissues after the process of absorption of that mineral; the P from total absorbed that return to the GIT was proportional to P intake.

Effect of some essential oils on in vitro methane emission

The objectives of this study were to characterise four essential oils (EO) chemically and to evaluate their effect on ruminal fermentation and methane emission in vitro. The investigated EO were isolated from Achillea santolina, Artemisia judaica, Schinus terebinthifolius and Mentha microphylla, and supplemented at four levels (0, 25, 50 and 75 μl) to 75 ml of buffered rumen fluid plus 0.5 g of substrate. The main components of the EO were piperitone (49.1%) and camphor (34.5%) in A. judaica, 16-dimethyl 15-cyclooactdaiene (60.5%) in A. santolina, piperitone oxide (46.7%) and cis-piperitone oxide (28%) in M. microphylla, and γ-muurolene (45.3%) and α-thujene (16.0%) in S. terebinthifolius. The EO from A. santolina (at 25 and 50 μl), and all levels of A. judaica increased the gas production significantly, but S. terebinthifolius (at 50 and 75 μl), A. santolina (at 75 μl) and all levels of M. microphylla decreased the gas production significantly in comparison with the control. The highest levels of A. santolina and A. judaica, and all doses from M. microphylla EO inhibited the methane production along with a significant reduction in true degradation of dry matter and organic matter, protozoa count and NH3-N concentration. It is concluded that the evaluated EO have the potential to affect ruminal fermentation efficiency and the EO from M. microphylla could be a promising methane mitigating agent.

Efficacy of condensed tannin presents in acacia extract on the control of Trichostrongylus colubriformis in sheep

The aim of this study was to evaluate the potential uses of acacia extract (AE) on Trichostrongylus colubriformis control in sheep. The lambs were allocated in three groups of six animals. Two groups were experimentally infected with third-stage larvae of T. colubriformis and one was remained as non-infected control. Thirty days post-infection, the infected animals from treated group were supplemented with AE. During and after the treatment, the values of faecal eggs counts (FEC), number of third-stage larvae recovered per gram of faeces (LPG), number of FEC accumulated per animal during the treatment period, nematode egg viability, and worm burden were determined. Animals from non-infected group did not presented FEC values, during the experimental period. The average of total accumulated amount of FEC output per group, during the 10 days of the treatment was lower in AE treated lambs (P<0.05). The values of egg viability were statistically reduced (P<0.05) on days 4, 7 and 10 post treatment (p.t.). The number of LPG was lower (P<0.05), at the days 10 and 14p.t., in treated animals. AE showed potential to be used on the prophylaxis of gastrointestinal nematode infections in sheep.

Dinâmica populacional de Boophilus microplus (Canestrini, 1887) em bovinos leiteiros mantidos em manejo de pastejo rotativo de capim-elefante

The dynamics of Boophilus microplus infestation on 20 crossbred heifers under intensively grazing elephant grass pastures was studied during two years. The animals were divided into two groups: heifers in one group (treated group) received acaricide treatments with doramectin during the course of the study. Animals were weighted every six months. The infestation curves observed on treated and control groups showed similar patterns, with peaks of parasitism in the same period. The lowest parasitic burdens occurred during winter months (dry season). In spring early rainy seasons there was a peak of infestation, followed by another in February (late rainy season). Near the end of autumn, tick burdens dropped naturally. The dynamics of tick burdens was not statistically associated with any of the climatic variables analysed (P>0.05). No differences among mean live weights of heifer groups at any of the five weighting periods (P>0.05) were observed. Peaks of engorged females were associated with dropping of hemoglobin levels in heifers (P<0.01). The dynamics of B. microplus infestation on cattle under intensively grazing elephant grass was similar to other studies conducted under conventional grazing.