Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-g8jcs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-01T08:54:06.107Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Quantitative and qualitative influences of dietary urea on the composition of duodenal digesta in calves

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

J. Anna Nikolić
Affiliation:
Institute for the Application of Nuclear Energy in Agriculture, Veterinary Medicine and Forestry, Zemun 11080, Yugoslavia
A. Pavličević
Affiliation:
Institute for the Application of Nuclear Energy in Agriculture, Veterinary Medicine and Forestry, Zemun 11080, Yugoslavia
Tereza Zebrowska
Affiliation:
Institute for the Application of Nuclear Energy in Agriculture, Veterinary Medicine and Forestry, Zemun 11080, Yugoslavia

Summary

The aim of the present investigation was to determine the effect of adding urea to a diet based on ground maize and dried sugar-beet pulp (2/1) on the composition of duodenal content and diet digestibility in calves.

Two bull calves (140 kg) were provided with duodenal fistulae and pair fed the ration alone or with 1·2% urea in a cross-over design. Lucerne hay was also given. The difference in intake of nitrogen between the two diets was 18·4 g/day.

The results obtained showed negligible differences between the diets in the amounts of dry matter, organic matter and energy disappearing both before and after the duodenum. Digestibility of nitrogen was greater with the urea-containing diet.

Although some of the added urea (25%) was apparently lost from the forestomach, the duodenal digesta contained 13·7 g N/day more with the diet containing urea. Of this a minimum of 6·5 g was in the form of amino acid-N and only 0·4 g as ammonia-N. All the amino acids determined were present in increased amounts but lysine and isoleucine showed smaller relative increases than the other amino acids.

From these results and calculations based on measurements of 2,6-diaminopimelic acid it is suggested that the extra protein in the duodenal content derives from both more efficient bacterial protein synthesis in relation to energy expended and decreased degradation of plant protein in the rumen.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1975

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

Beever, D. E., Harrison, D. G., Thomson, D. J., Cammell, S. B. & Osbourn, D. F. (1967). A method for the estimation of dietary and microbial protein in duodenal digesta of ruminants. British Journal of Nutrition 32, 99112.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ben-Ghedalia, D., Tagari, H., Bondi, A. & Tadmor, A. (1974). Protein digestion in the intestine of sheep. British Journal of Nutrition 31, 125–42.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Conway, E. J. (1962). Microdiffusion analysis and volumetric error, 5th edn. London: Crosby Lockwood.Google Scholar
Giesecke, D., Engelhardt, W. V. & Erbersdobler, H. (1974). Passage of 144Ce-hay particles, DNA, protein and amino acids from the omasum of sheep. FAO/IAEA Research Coordination Meeting and Panel Tracer Techniques in Studies on the Use of Non-Protein Nitrogen in Ruminants, Vienna, 1822 02.Google Scholar
Hagemeister, H., Kaufman, W. & Pfeffer, E. (1974). Factors influencing the supply of nitrogen and amino acids to the intestine of dairy cows. 1st International Symposium on Protein Metabolism and Nutrition, Nottingham, 812 07.Google Scholar
Hume, I. D., Moir, R. J. & Somers, M. (1970). Synthesis of microbial protein in the rumen. 1. Influence of the level of nitrogen intake. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 21, 283–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hutton, K., Bailey, F. J. & Annison, E. F. (1971).Measurement of the bacterial nitrogen entering the duodenum of the ruminant using diaminopimelie acid as a marker. British Journal of Nutrition 25, 165–73.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kay, R. N. B. & Phillipson, A. T. (1964). The influence of urea and other dietary supplements on the nitrogen content of the digesta passing to duodenum of hay-fed sheep. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 23, xlvi.Google Scholar
McAllan, A. B. & Smith, R. H. (1974). Carbohydrate metabolism in the ruminant. Bacterial carbohydrates formed in the rumen and their contribution to digesta entering the duodenum. British Journal of Nutrition 31, 7788.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McMeniman, N. P., Ben-Ghed alia, D. & Armstrong, D. G. (1974). Nitrogen energy interactions in the rumen. 1st International Symposium on Protein Metabolism and Nutrition, Nottingham, 812 07.Google Scholar
Nikolić, J. A. (1972). The influence of urea supplementation of maize/dried sugar beet pulp diets on metabolism in the rumen of growing beef cattle. Acta Veterinaria, Beograd 22, 223–30.Google Scholar
Nikolić, J. A. & Jovanović, M. (1973). Preliminary study on the use of different methods for determining the proportion of bacterial nitrogen in the total nitrogen of rumen contents. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 81, 17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nikolić, J. A. & Pavličević, A. (1973). Utilization of urea in the rumen of young beef cattle fed diets containing lucerne hay supplements. Acta Veterinaria, Beograd 23, 259–67.Google Scholar
Nikolić, J. A., Jovanović, M. & Filipović, R. (1947). Microbial protein synthesis by bovine rumen content in relation to ammonia concentration. FAO/IAEA Research Coordination Meeting and Panel on Tracer Techniques in Studies on the Use of Non-Protein Nitrogen in Ruminants, Vienna, 1822 02.Google Scholar
Nolan, J. V., Norton, W. B. & Leng, R. A. (1972). Dynamic aspects of nitrogen metabolism in sheep. In Tracer Studies on Non-Protein Nitrogen for Ruminants p. 13. Vienna: International Atomic Energy Agency.Google Scholar
Oltjen, R. R., Putnam, P. A. & Williams, E. E. (1969). Influence of ruminal ammonia on the salivary flow of cattle. Journal of Animal Science 29, 830–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ørskov, E. R., Fraser, C. & McDonald, I. (1972). Digestion of concentrates in sheep. 4. The effects of urea on digestion, nitrogen retention and growth in young lambs. British Journal of Nutrition 27, 491501.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ørskov, E. R., Fraser, C., McDonald, I. & Smart, R. I. (1974). Digestion of concentrates in sheep. 5. The effect of adding fish meal and urea together to cereal diets on protein digestion and utilization by young sheep. British Journal of Nutrition 31, 8998.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Potter, G. D., Little, C. O. & Mitchell, G. E. (1969). Abomasal nitrogen in steers fed soybean meal or urea. Journal of Animal Science 28, 711–13.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Potter, G. D., Little, C. C., Bradley, N. W. & Mitchell, G. E. (1971). Abomasal nitrogen in steers fed soybean meal, urea or urea plus two levels of molassea. Journal of Animal Science 32, 531–3.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rhutland, L. E. (1960). α, ɛ-Diaminopimelie acid: its distribution, synthesis and metabolism. Nature, London 185, 224–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sharma, H. R., Van't Klooster, A. Th. & Frens, A. M. (1969). In vivo measurements of the synthesis of protein from urea in the rumen of sheep. Zeitschrift für Tierphysiology, Tierernahrung und Futtermitlelkunde 24, 373–83.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Smith, R. H., Salter, D. N., Sutton, J. D. & McAllan, A. B. (1974). Synthesis and digestion of microbial nitrogen compounds and VFA production by the bovine. FAO/IAEA Research Coordination Meeting and Panel on Tracer Techniques in Studies on the Use of Non-Protein Nitrogen in Ruminants, Vienna, 1822 02.Google Scholar
Stoŝić, D. & Čuperlović, M. (1967). Dependence of the results of examining amino acis content in livestock feed on the analytical method employed. Savremena poljoprivreda 15, 197205.Google Scholar
Thomas, P. C. (1973). Microbial protein synthesis Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 32, 8591.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thornton, R. F., Bird, P. R., Somers, M. & Moir, R. J. (1970). Urea excretion in ruminants. III. The role of the hind-gut (caecum and colon). Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 21, 345–54.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van'T Klooster, A. Th. & Boekholt, H. A. (1972). Protein digestion in the stomachs and intestines of the cow. Netherlands Journal of Agricultural Science 20, 272–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Van't Klooster, A. Th. & Rogers, P. A. M. (1969). Observations on the digestion and absorption of food along the gastro-intestinal tract of fistulated cows. I. The rate of flow of digesta and the net absorption of dry matter, organic matter, ash, nitrogen and water. Mededelingen Landbouwhogeschool Wageningen 69–11, 319.Google Scholar
Weller, R. A., Gray, F. V. & Pilgrim, A. F. (1958). The conversion of plant nitrogen to microbial nitrogen in the rumen of the sheep. British Journal of Nutrition 12, 421–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed