Effect of Aroeira (schinus terebinthifolius) leaf essential oils on rumen fermentation, nutrient digestibility, and nitrogen balance in lambs fed with high grain diet
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Evaluate the effect of Aroeira (Schinus terebinthifolius) leaf essential oils on rumen fermentation parameters, nutrient digestibility, and nitrogen balance in lambs. Treatments were a negative control (CTL - no additives), a positive control (MON - addition of 25 mg of monensin kg-1 of dry matter), doses of 1.25, 2.5, and 3.75 mL of essential oil kg-1 of diet as feed. Thirty crossbred Dorper x Santa Ines lambs with rumen cannulas and weighing 53.08 ± 11.04 kg were assigned to randomized blocks with five replicates per treatment. Across the entire observation period 0, 7, 14, and 21 days the feed additives proved effective in reducing butyrate and increasing ammonia. Linear increase in essential oils on isovalerate. Essential oils exhibited a quadratic effect on acetate, butyrate, C2/C3, and methane (p < 0.05), lower values in treatments at 1.25 and 2.5 mL kg-1. Treatments did not impact with nutrient intake and digestibility. The additives affected the reduction of nitrogen (N) intake and N retained (p < 0.05), Essential oils displayed an effect compared to monensin when decreasing N intake and N retained, with a linear decrease due to the essential oils level when decreasing N intake (p < 0.05). Doses of 1.25, 2.50 mL kg-1 reduced methane production and positively influenced the VFAs.
Source: Acta Scientiarum Animal Sciences
Authors: José Alípio Faleiro Neto, Alexandre Vaz Pires, Elizangela Mirian Moreira, Rogerio de Paula Lana, Evandro Maia Ferreira, Renato Shinkay Gentil, Clinton Krehbiel, Marcos Vinicius Ferraz de Castro Junior
Language: English
Subfield: Agronomy and Crop Science
Domain: Life Sciences
SDG: Zero hunger
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W4413040278