Volume 5, Issue 4, April – 2020 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology

ISSN No:-2456-2165

Effect of Dietary Fats on Goat Rumen Condition

Niel L. Ningal1
1
University of the Philippines, Los Baños, College of Agriculture and Food Science,
Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines

Abstract:- Three (3) rumen-cannulated goats housed in the imported materials in manufacturing feeds such as
individual elevated metabolism stalls with customized soybean is a matter of concern due to high demand.
urine collection tools with five treatments on a
cross-over trial was conducted over time following the Abubakr, et al. (2013) mentioned the principle that
Complete Randomize Design (CRD). Animals were when oil is included in the feed concentrate, it converts
randomly selected on different dietary treatment at unsaturated fats to saturated state by acquiring the
different cycle. For each cycle, animals were provided Hydrogen in the rumen environment competing with the
with concentrate on the morning and ad libitum feeding potential methane produced. Thus, lessening the carbon
of Napier grass thereafter. Clean drinking water were emissions and has now provided new sources to nourish the
made available all the times in the respective animal animal by the saturated fats, it is aimed to find not only
watering troughs. The goats were supplemented with ways to reduce the methane emissions of ruminants but also
two types of dietary fats (VCO and lard) at 3 and 5%. ways to help improve the animals’ nutrition and
productivity (Okukpe et al., 2011). Hence, this study was
Data on rumen condition were collected conducted to determine and compare the quantitative
sequentially in every cycle of the study. There were changes in the rumen condition [total volatile fatty acid
seven (7) days lag period in every cycle for the animals (TVFAs), rumen NH3-N, pH, temperature and urine volume
to return to each natural state. On the 8th day of every for estimation of purine derivatives of goats with various
cycle, animals were given sequential dietary treatment dietary fat supplementations.
based on randomized assignment. Rumen fluid
collection was done on every last day of treatment. II. MATERIALS AND METHODS

Result showed that the rumen condition showed no The study was conducted from August 4, 2014 to
changes (P>0.05) on total volatile fatty acid (TVFAs) February 11, 2015 at the Metabolism Laboratory of the
concentration, NH3-N, temperature and pH while Institute of Animal and Dairy Sciences Cluster (ADSC),
purine derivatives showed significant difference University of the Philippines, Los Baňos, College, Laguna.
(P<0.05). This study showed that dietary fats of either
virgin coconut oil or lard supplemented did not Three (3) female (rumen-cannulated goats) weighting
influence the response of goat rumen ecology except for 27.33±1.53 kg were housed in individual elevated
purine derivatives. metabolism stalls provided with 30% concentrate in the
morning based on feed requirements [3% of their body
Keywords:- Dietary fats, Complete Randomize Design, weight (BW) dry matter (DM) basis) of the animals]. Ad
VCO, lard, goat rumen, Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines. libitum feeding of napier grass follows thereafter. Clean
drinking water were made available all the times in the
I. INTRODUCTION respective animal watering troughs.

There are several constraints why goat industry could All data were collected sequentially in every cycle of
not reach its full potential. One problem is the feed cost that the study. There were seven (7) days lag period in every
averages 64% of the variable cost of an animal farm cycle for the animals to return to each natural state.
operation. It is because of the high cost of supplemented
protein feed sources (i.e. soy bean). Any management On the 8th day of every cycle, animals were given
practices (i.e. fat supplementation – coconut oil and lard) different dietary treatment. Urine volume collections were
that can reduce feed cost will significantly improve done on the 11th to 13th day of feeding trial (3 days after
productivity and thus increases profit margin (Solaiman, treatment) and data on rumen pH and temperature and
2006). rumen fluid collection was done on the 14th day (6 days
after treatment) with corresponding dietary treatment
An additional problem is the availability of feeds. combinations.
Good nutrition is a requirement for good health, good
reproduction, high milk yield, fast growth rates and a Rumen fluid samples of different treatments were
successful goat production (Hussain, et al., 2010). subjected to total volatile fatty acid (TVFAs) production,
However, establishment of good nutrition is limited by feed rumen NH3-N production, rumen pH and temperature and
stuff and raw material procurement problems (Chidibelu urine volume for estimation of purine derivatives analysis.
and Njondjou, 1997; Hussain, et al., 2010). The supply of These analyses were performed at the Animal Nutrition
Analytical Service Laboratory (ANASL) of UPLB on

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Volume 5, Issue 4, April – 2020 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-2165
November 4, 2014 to February 11, 2015. Analysis was dietary treatments were used in the study with dietary
based on the standard procedures of Association of Official treatment combinations as follows.
Analytical Chemists (AOAC, 1995).
 Treatment Combinations
III. RESEARCH DESIGN AND LAY-OUT The rumen-cannulated goats were supplemented with
different levels of two dietary fat sources with dietary
Three mature goats surgically fitted with rumen treatment combinations as follows.
cannula were used. The experimental animals were in good Treatment 1 - CONTROL
body condition prior to and throughout the duration of the Treatment 2 - 3% Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO)
study. Complete Randomized Design (CRD) was used to Treatment 3 - 5% Virgin Coconut Oil (VCO)
evaluate the effect of different dietary treatments. Five Treatment 4 - 3% Lard
Treatment 5 - 5% Lard

Treatment Initial 1st Cycle 2nd Cycle 3rd Cycle 4th Cycle
Animal 1 T3 T2 T5 T4 T1
Animal 2 T2 T3 T4 T1 T5
Animal 3 T5 T4 T3 T1 T2
Table 1:- Treatment assignment of goats for the entire duration of the study.

 Laboratory Analysis The method to measure allantoin were based on the

Evaluation of in situ rumen fluid analyses in rumen- colorimetric method describe by Young and Conway
cannulated goats fed with different dietary fats on the (1942). In this procedure, allantoin is initially hydrolyzed
concentrate were done through different biochemical under a weak alkaline condition at 100°C to produce
analysis of different parameters gathered such as. allantoin acid which is further degraded to urea and
glyoxylic acid in weak acid solution. The glyoxylic acid is
 Rumen pH then reacted with phynylhydrazine hydrochloride to
The pH of the rumen fluid was determined produce a phenyldrazone of the acid. The product then
immediately upon collection using a Jenway 3505® forms an unstable chromophore with potassium
portable glass electrode pH meter (Keison Products, United ferricyanide which is read at 522 nm.
Kingdom).
Using 15 ml tubes, 1 ml diluted urine sample
 Ruminal Temperature, ºC previously collected and stored at 4°C was thawed at room
Rumen temperature of each animal was obtained and temperature. The sample was further diluted with 5ml
recorded using a digital thermometer. distilled water and 1 ml of 0.5 M NaOH and incubated in
boiling water bath for 7 min. After cooling in cold water
 Total Volatile Fatty Acids (TVFA’s) bath, 1 ml of 0.5 M HCl and 1 ml of 0.023 M
The rumen fluid samples used steam distillation with phenylhydrazine solution were added to each test tube and
calculation. re-incubated in boiling water bath for another 7 min. After
cooling in icy ethanol, 3 ml of cooled (-20°C) 11.4 N
VFA (mmol/100ml) = (titrate (ml) x Na OH factor* x concentrated HCl and 1 ml of 0.05 M potassium
100)/vol. of rumen fluid. ferricyanide were added were added quickly to the samples.
After mixing, the solution was allowed to stand for 20 min.
* 0.05N solution factor should be determined using Absorbance at 522 nm was determined using Shimadzu
oxalic acid: Take 1.25ml of saturated NaOH and top up to model of UV-VIS spectrophotometer (Shimadzu).
500ml with H2O. Dissolve using phenolphthalein indicator. Concentration of allantoin from urine samples was
The colour changes from clear to red. estimated from a calibration curve using allantoin (Sigma-
Aldrich) as standard.
 Production Estimation by Purine Derivatives Analyses
To determine the effects of dietary fat on protein Total urine excretion of allantonic acid was calculated
nutrition of goats, microbial protein production was by considering in the calculation the dilution factors and by
estimated by analyzing allantoin in the urine (Chen and multiplying the allantoin concentration to the average daily
Gomez, 1992). On the average, allatoin and uric acid urine excretion of the animal. Computed values were
represent 85% and 15% of the total purine derivative converted as excretion considering that 85% of the total
excretion in goats respectively. Urine Volume was weighed purine derivative excreted in the urine of cattle and water
for the last 3 days of every 11th day of the in situ trial for buffaloes in the form of allantoin (Chen and Gomez, 1992).
each of the treatment cycle. Freshly collected urine sample Total purine derivative excretion values were subjected to
were diluted 10:1 with 10% H2SO4 to prevent bacterial ANOVA for Crossover Design.
breakdown of purine derivatives. Urine samples from each
animal were further diluted 20X with tap water.
Representative sample was kept at 4°C until use.

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Volume 5, Issue 4, April – 2020 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-2165
 Rumen Ammonia-N Analysis IV. RESULT AND DISCUSSION
Ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) concentration was
measured using ammonia electrode (Model 95-12) in  Rumen Temperature (°C)
conjunction with an Orion Ion Analyzer (Model 501 Rumen temperature of goats fed with Napier grass
pH/mV meter). supplemented with different dietary fats (Figure 1) showed
that among treatments, goat given with 3% VCO in the
 Statistical Analysis concentrate feed got the highest rumen temperature of
The statistical analysis was carried out using 28.1°C followed by 5% with 27.9°C, 5% VCO with 27.3°C
Statistical Analysis System (SAS® for windows© v.9.1.3. rumen temperature, without dietary fat supplement with
sp.4) software (SAS Institute, 2003). All results were 27.2 °C (T1) and the lowest rumen temperature was with
presented as means ± SD and level of significant at 3% lard having 25.7 °C.
P<0.05).
Although more than 2 °C was observed between the
lowest to highest rumen temperature, no significant
difference (P > 0.05) among treatment means was
observed., This implies that supplementing 3 to 5% dietary
fats from two different sources (VCO and Lard) in
ruminant diet do not influence the rumen temperature of
mature female goats.

Fig 1:- Mean (± SD) rumen temperature (°C) of female matured goats.

 Rumen pH This only showed that dietary fats supplementation at a

Rumen pH was gathered simultaneously with rumen maximum of 5% did not influenced rumen pH.
fluid using digital pH meter in the laboratory. The highest
rumen pH was observed in animal supplemented with 5% The result confirms the study conducted by Drackey,
VCO in the concentrate feed with 6.6 followed by 5% lard J.K., et al. (1993) showing that no significant difference (P
with 6.38, 3% VCO with 6.37, 3% lard with 6.24 and the > 0.05) among treatments on rumen pH among Holstein
lowest rumen pH was coming from control group with cows fed with partially hydrogenated tallow at the
5.93. maximum of 6% of total DM as replacement for shelled
corn in the diet. However, the pH values in all dietary
No significant differences (P> 0.05) in the rumen pH treatments were within the range of 5.8–7.0 below which
were observed on different sources of fats and levels of fats the rumen function might be negatively affected (de Veth
(3 and 5%) in concentrate feeds of mature female goats. and Kolver, 2001).

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Volume 5, Issue 4, April – 2020 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-2165

Fig 2:- Mean (± SD) rumen pH of female matured goats.

 Total Volatile Fatty Acids

On the 14th day of feeding trial, rumen fluid was preserved by adding 50% H2SO4 solution for the total volatile fatty acids
(VFAs) production on the goat rumen.

The result showed (Figure 3) that the highest total volatile fatty acids was coming from treatment supplemented with 3%
coco oil of 6.91 mg/l followed with the control with 6.84 mg/l. Treatment supplemented with 3% lard, 5% coco oil and 5% lard
got 6.73 mg/l, 6.07 mg/l and 4.07 mg/l respectively.

Fig 3:- Mean (± SD) total volatile fatty acids (VFAs) production of female matured goats.

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Volume 5, Issue 4, April – 2020 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-2165
Analysis of variance show no significant mean 0.0467 mg/l followed by 3% coco oil with 0.0333 mg/l and
differences (P>0.05) but numeral means show that upon the treatment supplemented with 5% coco oil, 3% and 5% lard
increase of the amount of fats in the concentrate, there were got the same concentration of NH3-N having 0.0300 mg/l.
drastic decrease on the amount of TVFA’s produced in the
rumen. The results confirmed the claim of Drackey, J.K. et Results of the analysis of variance for the percentage
al. (1993) that concentration of total VFAs did not differ production of ruminal ammonia nitrogen with the influence
among Holstein cows fed with partially hydrogenated of lard and virgin coconut oil supplementation in the
tallow at the maximum of 6% of total DM as replacement concentrate was presented in Figure 4. Analysis shows that
for shelled corn in the diet. However, result showed that supplementation of fat regardless of level or proportion on
treatment with 5% dietary fat supplementation got the the basal diet did not significantly (P>0.05) affect ruminal
lower total VFAs produced. This was brought by the ammonia nitrogen production. Although there seems to be a
present of oleic, linoleic and palmitoleic fatty acids in both trend in numerical decreased in the NH3-N production in
lard and VCO. An unsaturated fatty acid those are toxic to the rumen with dietary fat inclusion in feed. This apparent
many of the species of the rumen bacteria, particularly decline may imply that continuous increased in fat
those that are involved in fiber digestion. Devendra and supplementation in the basal diet may be considered further
Lewis (1974) reported that fat could depress cell wall in reducing methane emission to the environment as
degradation by four mechanisms: physical coating of fiber associated to N-NH3.
by lipids, shortage of cations (e.g. Ca) due to the formation
of insoluble soaps, inhibition of the rumen microbial The result supports the study of Cieslak (2010) that
activity, and the modification of microbial population. The dietary fat supplementation reduced the loss of protein, thus
results of the experiment conducted clearly showed that reducing the amount of ammonia emitted to the
dietary fat decreases the rumen bacteria population environment. The study also confirmed the report of
resulting to lower rumen fermentation consequential to Lapierre, et.al., (2005) that the most important source of
lower VFAs production. nitrogen for the growth of ruminal bacteria is ruminal
ammonia, which makes them independent from the sources
 Rumen Ammonia Nitrogen Production of protein, peptides or amino acids (AA). However,
The rumen ammonia nitrogen was analyzed using excessive nitrogen-ammonia production in the rumen
rumen fluid. The rumen fluid samples were preserved by results to high protein but low efficiency of its utilization
adding 2 ml of 10% (w/v) NaOH solution. This was that results in the excretion of the surplus amount of
collected on the 14th day of every cycle of the feeding trial. ammonia in the urine (Styler, et. al, 1975).
Treatment in control group got the highest NH3-N of

Fig 4:- Mean (± SD) NH3-N production of female matured goats.

 Purine Derivatives Estimation

The analysis of microbial N supply in ruminant is based on estimated purine derivative (PD) excretion and calculates the PD
absorbed subsequently estimating the microbial supply to the small intestine.

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Volume 5, Issue 4, April – 2020 International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology
ISSN No:-2456-2165
The result showed that goat supplemented with 5% lard got the highest urinary allantoin of 1.5850 mg/l of urine followed by
goat supplemented with 3% lard, 3% coco oil, 5% coco oil and control groups of 1.1433 mg/l, 1.0100 mg/l, 0.8633 mg/l and
0.6750 mg/l respectively.

Fig 5:- Mean (± SD) purine derivatives estimation of female matured goats. Different letters indicate significant mean differences
(P<0.05).

Results of the analysis of variance for the purine V. CONCLUSION

derivatives estimation of goat supplemented with different
dietary fats was presented in Figure 5. This study showed that dietary fats of either virgin
coconut oil or lard supplemented influence the response of
Analysis revealed that supplementation of 5% lard on goat rumen ecology. At 5% level of lard, there were
the concentrate results to significant (P<0.05) production significant the response of microbes in terms of production
(1.5850 mg/l per day) of purine derivatives. This may estimation of purine derivatives and rumen NH3-N,
explain that animal supplemented with animal fat such as however total VFAs production, pH and temperature
lard give higher effect of production of microbial protein showed no significant differences with different dietary
compare to plant-based oil such as the virgin coconut oil. fats.
The reason is due to high amount of unsaturated fatty acids
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