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Interactions between dietary carbohydrate and nitrogen and digestion in sheep

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

J. D. Oldham ,
P. J. Buttery ,
H. Swan  and
D. Lewis
J. D. Oldham
Affiliation:
University of Nottingham, School of Agriculture, Sutton Bonington, Loughborough, Leics. LE12 5RD
P. J. Buttery
Affiliation:
University of Nottingham, School of Agriculture, Sutton Bonington, Loughborough, Leics. LE12 5RD
H. Swan
Affiliation:
University of Nottingham, School of Agriculture, Sutton Bonington, Loughborough, Leics. LE12 5RD
D. Lewis
Affiliation:
University of Nottingham, School of Agriculture, Sutton Bonington, Loughborough, Leics. LE12 5RD
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Summary

Rumen fermentation, duodenal digesta flow and N balance were studied in three sheep fed diets which contained urea or fishmeal as nitrogen supplement and either barley straw, barley + corn starch or molassed wheat straw (60% molasses) as carbo-hydrate source.

The molar composition of rumen volatile fatty acids (VFA) with straw diets was high in acetate (64–68%), with barley diets high in propionate (32–36%) and with molasses diets high in butyrate (28–34%). Rumen ammonia concentrations (RAC) were low and constant with fishmeal diets (< 10 mM) but varied with carbohydrate source with urea diets. RAC was very high (24 mM) after feeding molasses + urea.

With barley and molasses diets 73–75% of digestible dry matter (DDM) was digested in the stomach, but only 54–59% with ground and pelleted straw diets. For all diets less N passed the duodenum than was eaten. The lowest daily duodenal N passage was with molasses + urea. Daily urinary N output was highest (P < 0·01) for this diet and nitrogen balance lowest.

Daily intakes of amino acids differed widely between diets but differences in duodenal passage were not so great. Molasses + urea provided the lowest values for daily duodenal amino acid flow. The amino acid content of duodenal N (mM amino acid/16 g N) was relatively constant despite broad variation between diets. Digesta alanine and valine (mM/16 g N) were higher for barley than for straw diets (P < 0·05). Digesta methionine (mM/16 g N) was lower for fishmeal than for urea diets (P < 0·01).

Very little sucrose reached the duodenum with any diet.

It was concluded that the form of energy-yielding nutrient inuflenced duodenal N flow by affecting ammonia-N capture in the rumen, but that the amino acid content of duodenal N was little affected. The interaction between molasses and urea was not beneficial to efficient use of urea-N in this work when molasses was the major carbohydrate component of the diet.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 89 , Issue 2 , October 1977 , pp. 467 - 479
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1977

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