Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-ndmmz Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-05-12T10:03:15.363Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Relative contribution of ruminal buffering systems to pH regulation in feedlot cattle fed either low- or high-forage diets

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 January 2016

G. E. Chibisa ,
K. A. Beauchemin  and
G. B. Penner
G. E. Chibisa
Affiliation:
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge Research Centre, Lethbridge, Canada, AB T1J 4B1
K. A. Beauchemin*
Affiliation:
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge Research Centre, Lethbridge, Canada, AB T1J 4B1
G. B. Penner
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Poultry Science, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Canada, SK S7N 5A8
*
†E-mail: Karen.Beauchemin@AGR.GC.CA
Get access

Abstract

The relative contribution of ruminal short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) absorption and salivary buffering to pH regulation could potentially change under different dietary conditions. Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the effects of altering the ruminal supply of rapidly fermentable carbohydrate (CHO) on absorptive function and salivation in beef cattle. Eight heifers (mean BW±SD=410±14 kg) were randomly allocated to two treatments in a crossover design with 37-day periods. Dietary treatments were barley silage at 30% low forage (LF) or 70% high forage (HF) of dietary dry matter (DM), with the remainder of the diet consisting of barley grain (65% or 25% on a DM basis) and a constant level (5%) of supplement. The LF and HF diets contained 45.3% and 30.9% starch, and 4.1% and 14.0% physically effective fiber (DM basis), respectively. Ruminal pH was continuously measured from day 17 to day 23, whereas ruminal fluid was collected on day 23 to determine SCFA concentration. Ruminal liquid passage rate was determined on day 23 using Cr-ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid. Eating or resting salivation was measured by collecting masticate (days 28 and 29) or saliva samples (days 30 and 31) at the cardia, respectively. On days 30 and 31, the temporarily isolated and washed reticulo-rumen technique was used to measure total, and Cl−-competitive (an indirect measure of protein-mediated transport) absorption of acetate, propionate and butyrate. As a result of the higher dietary starch content and DM intake, the ruminal supply of rapidly fermentable CHO, total ruminal SCFA concentration (118 v. 95 mM; P<0.001) and osmolality (330 v. 306 mOsm/kg; P=0.018) were greater in cattle fed LF compared with HF. In addition, feeding LF resulted in a longer duration (2.50 v. 0.09 h/day; P=0.02) and a larger area (0.44 v. 0.01 (pH×h)/day; P=0.050) that pH was below 5.5. There was no diet effect on total and Cl−-competitive absorption (mmol/h and %/h) of acetate, propionate, butyrate and total SCFA (acetate+propionate+butyrate), but eating salivation was less (131 v. 152 ml/min; P=0.02), and resting salivation tended to be less (87 v. 104 ml/min; P=0.10) in cattle fed an LF diet. In summary, lower ruminal pH in cattle with greater rapidly fermentable CHO intake was attributed to an increase in SCFA production and decrease in salivation, which were not compensated for by an increase in epithelial permeability.

Keywords

beef cattleruminal fermentable carbohydrate supplyshort-chain fatty acid absorptionsaliva productionruminal pH
Type
Research Article
Information
animal , Volume 10 , Issue 7 , July 2016 , pp. 1164 - 1172
Copyright
© The Animal Consortium and Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada 2016 

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

Allen, MS 1997. Relationship between fermentation acid production in the rumen and the requirement for physically effective fiber. Journal of Dairy Science 80, 1447–1462.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Amat, S, McKinnon, JJ, Penner, GB and Hendrick, S 2013. Effects of dietary sulfur concentration and forage-to-concentrate ratio on ruminal fermentation, sulfur metabolism, and short-chain fatty acid absorption in beef heifers. Journal of Animal Science 92, 712–723.Google Scholar
Aschenbach, JR, Bilk, S, Tadesse, G, Stumpff, F and Gäbel, G 2009. Bicarbonate-dependent and bicarbonate-independent mechanisms contribute to nondiffusive apical uptake of acetate in the ruminal epithelium of sheep. American Journal of Physiology-Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology 296, G1098–G1107.Google Scholar
Aschenbach, JR, Penner, GB, Stumpff, F and Gäbel, G 2011. Ruminant nutrition symposium: role of fermentation acid absorption in the regulation of ruminal pH. Journal of Animal Science 89, 1092–1107.Google Scholar
Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) 1990. Official methods of analysis. AOAC, Arlington, VA, USA.Google Scholar
Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) 1995. Official methods of analysis. AOAC, Arlington, VA, USA.Google Scholar
Bannink, A, Gerrits, WJJ, France, J and Dijkstra, J 2012. Variation in rumen fermentation and the rumen wall during the transition period in dairy cows. Animal Feed Science and Technology 172, 80–94.Google Scholar
Barnes, RJ, Comline, RS and Dobson, A 1983. Changes in the blood flow to the digestive organs of sheep induced by feeding. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Physiology 68, 77–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bergman, EN 1990. Energy contributions of volatile fatty acids from the gastrointestinal tract in various species. Physiological Reviews 70, 567–590.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Canadian Council on Animal Care 2009. CCAC guidelines on: the care and use of farm animals in research, teaching, and testing. CCAC, Ottawa, Canada.Google Scholar
Care, AD, Brown, RC, Farrar, AR and Pickard, DW 1984. Magnesium absorption from the digestive tract of sheep. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Physiology 69, 577–587.Google Scholar
Cassida, KA and Stokes, MR 1986. Eating and resting salivation in early lactation dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 69, 1282–1292.Google Scholar
Chibisa, GE, Gorka, P, Penner, GB, Berthiaume, R and Mutsvangwa, T 2015. Effects of partial replacement of dietary starch from barley or corn with lactose on ruminal function, short-chain fatty acid absorption, nitrogen utilization, and production performance of dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 98, 2627–2640.Google Scholar
Dijkstra, J, Boer, H, Van Bruchem, J, Bruining, M and Tamminga, S 1993. Absorption of volatile fatty acids from the rumen of lactating dairy cows as influenced by volatile fatty acid concentration, pH and rumen liquid volume. British Journal of Nutrition 69, 385–396.Google Scholar
Dijkstra, J, Ellis, JL, Kebreab, E, Strathe, AB, López, S, France, J and Bannick, A 2012. Ruminal pH regulation and nutritional consequences of low pH. Animal Feed Science and Technology 172, 22–33.Google Scholar
Duffield, T, Plaizier, JC, Fairfield, A, Bagg, R, Vessie, G, Dick, P, Wilson, J, Aramini, J and McBride, B 2004. Comparison of techniques for measurement of rumen pH in lactating dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 87, 59–66.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gäbel, G, Bestmann, M and Martens, H 1991. Influences of diet, short-chain fatty acids, lactate and chloride on bicarbonate movement across the reticulorumen wall of sheep. Zentralbl Veterinarmed A 38, 523–529.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gäbel, G and Martens, H 1988. Reversibility of acid induced changes in absorptive function of sheep rumen. Zentralbl Veterinarmed A 35, 157–160.Google Scholar
Gäbel, G, Martens, H, Suendermann, M and Galfi, P 1987. The effect of diet, intraruminal pH and osmolarity on sodium, chloride and magnesium absorption from the temporary isolated and washed reticulo-rumen of sheep. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Physiology 72, 501–511.Google Scholar
Grovum, WL and Williams, VJ 1973. Rate of passage of digesta in sheep. British Journal of Nutrition 30, 313–329.Google Scholar
Klevenhusen, F, Hollmann, M, Podstatzky-Lichtenstein, L, Krametter-Frötscher, R, Aschenbach, R and Zebeli, Q 2013. Feeding barley grain-rich diets altered electrophysiological properties and permeability of the ruminal wall in a goat model. Journal of Dairy Science 96, 2293–2302.Google Scholar
Kononoff, PJ, Heinrichs, AJ and Buckmaster, DR 2003. Modification of the Penn State forage and total mixed ration particle size separator and the effects of moisture content on its measurements. Journal of Dairy Science 86, 1858–1863.Google Scholar
Lammers, BP, Buckmaster, DR and Heinrichs, AJ 1996. A simple method for the analysis of particle sizes of forage and total mixed rations. Journal of Dairy Science 79, 922–928.Google Scholar
Maekawa, M, Beauchemin, KA and Christensen, DA 2002. Effect of concentrate level and feeding management on chewing activities, saliva production, and ruminal pH of lactating dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 85, 1165–1175.Google Scholar
Malhi, M, Gui, H, Yao, L, Aschenbach, JR, Gäbel, G and Shen, Z 2013. Increased papillae growth and enhanced short-chain fatty acid absorption in the rumen of goats are associated with transient increases in cyclin D1 expression after ruminal butyrate infusion. Journal of Dairy Science 96, 7603–7616.Google Scholar
National Research Council 2000. Nutrient requirements of beef cattle. 7th revised edition. National Academies Press, Washington, DC, USA.Google Scholar
Penner, GB, Aschenbach, JR, Gäbel, G and Oba, M 2009a. Epithelial capacity for the apical uptake of short chain fatty acids is a key determinant for intra-ruminal pH and the susceptibility to sub-acute ruminal acidosis in sheep. Journal of Nutrition 139, 1714–1720.Google Scholar
Penner, GB, Beauchemin, KA and Mutsvangwa, T 2006. An evaluation of the accuracy and precision of a stand-alone submersible continuous ruminal pH measurement system. Journal of Dairy Science 89, 2132–2140.Google Scholar
Penner, GB, Taniguchi, M, Guan, LL, Beauchemin, KA and Oba, M 2009b. The dietary forage to concentrate ratio does not affect the rate of volatile fatty acid absorption but alters the expression of genes regulating energy metabolism in rumen tissue. Journal of Dairy Science 92, 2767–2781.Google Scholar
Resende Júnior, JC, Pereira, MN, Bôer, H and Tamminga, S 2006. Comparison of techniques to determine the clearance of ruminal volatile fatty acids. Journal of Dairy Science 89, 3096–3106.Google Scholar
Schwaiger, T, Beauchemin, KA and Penner, GB 2013. Duration of time that beef cattle are fed a high-grain diet affects the recovery from a bout of ruminal acidosis: short-chain fatty acid and lactate absorption, saliva production, and blood metabolites. Journal of Animal Science 91, 5743–5753.Google Scholar
Storm, AC, Hanigan, MD and Kristensen, NB 2011. Effects of ruminal ammonia and butyrate concentrations on reticuloruminal epithelial blood flow and volatile fatty acid absorption kinetics under washed reticulorumen conditions in lactating dairy cows. Journal of Dairy Science 94, 3980–3994.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Van Soest, PJ, Robertson, JB and Lewis, BA 1991. Methods for dietary fiber, neutral detergent fiber, and non-starch polysaccharides in relation to animal nutrition. Journal of Dairy Science 74, 3583–3597.Google Scholar
Zebeli, Q, Aschenbach, JR, Tafaj, M, Boguhn, J, Ametaj, BN and Drochner, W 2012. Invited review: role of physically effective fiber and estimation of dietary fiber adequacy in high-producing dairy cattle. Journal of Dairy Science 95, 1041–1056.Google Scholar