Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-dh8gc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-09T07:59:03.086Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The effect of a methane-suppressing compound, trichloroethyl adipate, on rumen fermentation and the growth of sheep

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2010

J. L. Clapperton
J. L. Clapperton
Affiliation:
Hannah Research Institute, Ayr KA6 5HL
Get access

Summary

1. Three experiments have been carried out to study the effect of adding trichloroethyl adipate, a compound known to prevent the production of methane both in vitro and in vivo, to the diet of sheep on fermentation in the rumen and on the growth of lambs. In Experiment 1 the additive was incorporated at various levels for 6 weeks, in Experiment 2 it was given at one of four levels for 12 weeks and in Experiment 3 it was included in the food of growing lambs for 15 weeks.

2. Initially, in Experiments 1 and 2, the additive caused a large reduction in methane production and in the molar proportion of acetic acid in the rumen liquor with a corresponding increase in propionic acid. These effects were much reduced after the first 2 to 3 weeks of administration.

3. The total food intake of the animals receiving the additive in Experiment 3 was 4% less than that of the control animals. This difference was negligible at the start of the experiment but increased throughout the feeding period.

4. On average, the relative live-weight gain and the changes in the weights of carcass, viscera and empty body weight of the animals receiving the additive were also 4% less than those of the control animals.

5. The observed differences in weight gain resulted from the differences in food intake and the additive had no beneficial effect upon lamb growth. This lack of effect on growth was due to rapid adaptation by the rumen fermentation to the presence of the additive.

Type
Research Article
Information
Animal Production , Volume 24 , Issue 2 , April 1977 , pp. 169 - 181
Copyright
Copyright © British Society of Animal Science 1977

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Agricultural Research Council. 1965. The Nutrient Requirements of Farm Livestock. No. 2, Ruminants. Agricultural Research Council, London.Google Scholar
Bauchop, T. 1967. Inhibition of rumen methanogenesis by methane analogues. J. Bact. 94: 171–175.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Blaxter, K. L. 1962. The Energy Metabolism of Ruminants, p. 241. Hutchinson, London.Google Scholar
Blaxter, K. L. and Clapperton, J. L. 1965. Prediction of the amount of methane produced by ruminants. Br. J. Nutr. 19: 511–522.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bull, L. S., Reid, J. T. and Johnson, D. E. 1970. Energetics of sheep concerned with the utilization of acetic acid. J. Nutr. 100: 262–276.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Clapperton, J. L. 1974. The effect of trichloroacetamide, chloroform and linseed oil given into the rumen of sheep on some of the end-products of digestion. Br. J. Nutr. 32: 155–161.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Clapperton, J. L. and Czerkawski, J. W. 1969. Methane production and soluble carbohydrates in the rumen of sheep in relation to the time of feeding and the effects of short-term intra-ruminal infusions of unsaturated fatty acids. Br. J. Nutr. 23: 813–826.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clapperton, J. L. and Czerkawski, J. W. 1972. The energy metabolism of sheep—the effect of infusing small amounts of chloroform into the rumen. Proc. Nutr. Soc. 31: 55A.Google ScholarPubMed
Cottyn, B. G. and Boucque, C. V. 1968. Rapid method for the gas-chromatographic determination of volatile fatty acids in rumen fluid. agric. Fd Chem. 16: 105–107.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Czerkawski, J. W. and Breckenridge, G. 1970. Small scale apparatus for studying rumen fermentation in vitro. Lab. Pract. 19: 717–719, 728.Google ScholarPubMed
Hungate, R. E. 1966. The Rumen and its Microbes. Academic Press, London.Google Scholar
Johnson, D. E. 1972. Effects of a hemiacetal of chloral and starch on methane production and energy balance of sheep fed a pelleted diet. J. Anim. Sci. 35: 1064–1068.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Johnson, D. E. 1974. Adaptational responses in nitrogen and energy balance of lambs fed a methane inhibitor. J. Anim. Sci. 38: 154–157.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lawrence, P. R. and Thomas, P. C. 1973. A note on the utilization of the energy of the short-chain fatty acids in the fattening of sheep. Anim. Prod. 17: 209–212.Google Scholar
Prins, R. A. 1965. Action of chloral hydrate on rumen microorganisms in vitro. J. Dairy Sci. 48: 991–993.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rufener, W. H. and Wolin, M. J. 1968. Effect of CC14 on CH4 and volatile acid production in continuous cultures of rumen organisms and in a sheep rumen. Appl. Microbiol. 16: 1955–1956.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sawyer, M. S., Hoover, W. H. and Sniffen, C. J. 1971. Effects of a methane inhibitor on growth and energy metabolism in sheep. J. Dairy Sci. 54: 792–793 (Abstr.).Google Scholar
Trei, J. E. and Olson, W. A. 1969. Effect of chlorine containing analogues of methane on rumen fermentation. J. Anim. Sci. 29: 173–174 (Abstr.).Google Scholar
Trei, J. E., Parish, R. C., Singh, Y. K. and Scott, G. C. 1971. Effect of methane inhibitors on rumen metabolism and feedlot performance of sheep. Dairy Sci. 54: 536–540.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Trei, J. E., Scott, G. C. and Parish, R. C. 1972. Influence of methane inhibition on energetic efficiency of lambs. J. Anim. Sci. 34: 510–515.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Van Nevel, C. J., Henderickx, H. K., Demeyer, D. I. and Martin, J. 1969. Effect of chloral hydrate on methane and propionic acid in the rumen. Appl. Microbiol. 17: 695–700.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed