Authors : A.A. Hodjatpanah, M. Danesh Msegaran and A.R. Vakili
Abstract: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of diets containing Garlic oil (GA), Turmeric powder (TU) or Monensin (MO) on ruminal pH, ammonia nitrogen concentration and various blood metabolites concentrations and blood gases in sheep. Four rumen cannulated Baloochi sheep were used as a 4x4 Latin square design with 4 periods and 28 day each. Treatments were: basal diet including 55% concentrate and 45% dry alfalfa hay (control), basal diet+GA (420 mg/sheep/day), basal diet+TU (20 g/sheep/day) and basal diet+MO (200 mg/sheep/day). Diets were fed once daily ad libitum. Ruminal fluid samples were collected before the feeding and every 15 min until 8 h post feeding at days 25 of the each experimental period. Blood samples were taken from jugular vein before the feeding and 2, 4 and 6 h post feeding at day 27 and before the feeding and 6 h post feeding at day 28 of each period of the experiment. Adding GA, TU or MO to the basal diet had no significant effect on mean and minimum of ruminal pH and ammonia nitrogen concentration (p>0.05) while maximum value of ruminal pH was significantly decreased by MO and TU (p<0.05). The experimental treatments did not change the plasma concentrations of glucose and urea-N (p<0.05). Supplementation with MO caused a significant increase in jugular blood partial pressure of O2 and tended to raise blood percent O2 saturation (p<0.05).
A.A. Hodjatpanah, M. Danesh Msegaran and A.R. Vakili, 2010. Effects of Diets Containing Monensin, Garlic Oil or Turmeric Powder on Ruminal and Blood Metabolite Responses of Sheep. Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances, 9: 3104-3108.