Effects of sodium and calcium bentonite on growth performance and rumen ammonia in Holstein bulls

Mohsen Kazemi, Morteza Khabbaz Sirjani¹, Abdoul Mansour Tahmasbi¹, Elias Ibrahimi Khoram Abadi and Ameneh Eskandary Torbaghan²

Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture and Animal Science, University of Torbat-e Jam, Torbat-e Jam, Iran
phd1388@gmail.com
¹ Department of Animal science, Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran
² Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Torbat-e Jam Faculty of Medical Sciences, Torbat-e Jam, Iran

Abstract

This experiment was conducted to study the effects of supplementary sodium and calcium bentonite on growth performance and rumen ammonia in Holstein bulls (average weight 227±23 kg) fattened on a high-concentrate diet.  Experimental treatments were: CT (control), CB (plus 2% calcium bentonite)  and SB (plus 2% sodium bentonite).

Both sodium and calcium bentonite adsorbed rumen ammonia, increased the live weight gain and tended to improve feed conversion. There was an indication that sodium bentonite was more effective than calcium bentonite in improving animal performance.

Key words: adsorption, clay, contamination, feed conversion, toxins

Introduction

Bentonite is a composition of aluminosilicate which has a high capacity to adsorb toxins such as aflatoxins and other substances (Magnoli et al 2010). It is identified with a clay composition,  90% of which is montmorillonite (Aghashahi et al 2005). It has a high absorption property due to the presence of negative charges on the surface (Aghashahi et al 2005). Bentonite is used for different purposes such as growth performance improvement of cattle (Aghashahi et al 2005), to reduce radiocaesium contamination of soil (Vandenhove et al 2005), adsorption of organic contamination (Sreedharan and Sivapullaiah 2012) and improvement in the strength properties of feed pellets (Timofeeva and Nikitchenko 2014). The physical and chemical structure of bentonite facilitates the superficial absorption of proteins and amino acids (Fenn and Leng 1989). This attribute of bentonite is hypothesized to protect the proteins and amino acids from microbial fermentation occurring in the rumen. On the other hand, ion exchange facilitates exchange of ammonium ions and cations (Fenn and Leng 1989) thus optimizing growth of rumen microorganisms for microbial protein synthesis by gradually discharging ammonium ions (Nikkhah et al 2001).

Many commercial bentonites are produced in Iran, but their benefits for ruminants are unknown. Thus the purpose of the present experiment was to study the effects of dietary supplementation of commercial bentonites on rumen ammonia and growth performance of Holstein bulls.

Materials and methods

Preparing the treatments and animal management

The treatments were: CT (control), CB  2% calcium bentonite in the diet, SB 2% sodium bentonite in the diet. Eighteen Holstein bulls with average weight of 227±23 were used in a completely randomized design over a 63-day period. Aluminosilicate structured bentonite samples were supplied from Vivan Company (Vivian group, Zarin binder). The diet composition (Table 1) was based on the nutritional requirements of the beef cattle (NRC 2000).

Sampling and information recording

Samples of rumen fluid were collected via a stomach tube during days 21 and 63 of the experimental period. Rumen fluid was collected before morning feeding (time=0), 1 hour after morning feeding and 4 hours after that; pH of rumen fluid was measured using a digital meter (Metrohm model 691). To measure ammonia, 10 ml of filtered rumen fluid was collected at 21 and 63 days after treatment, mixed with 10 ml hydrochloric acid (2N), and then kept at -20 ° C until the further analysis. Blood (5ml) was withdrawn from the animals’ jugular vein before the morning feeding (time=0) and also 1 and 4 hours after that, on days 21 and 63 of the experiment. The blood plasma was prepared by centrifugation (3000 rpm; 15 min) of heparinized blood and frozen at -20 ° C for further analysis. Feed intake was recorded daily. Animals were weighed before the beginning of the experiment (before the morning feeding) and also at 21 and 63 days of the experimental period.

Laboratory analysis

The ammonia concentration was determined using KJELTEC Auto 1030 Analyzer. The dry matter, crude protein and crude fat of the diet were measured by AOAC (2000) methods. To determine acid detergent fiber (ADF) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF), the Van Soest et al (1991) method was applied. The blood urea nitrogen (BUN), total protein and glucose in plasma were determined using an auto-analyzer (Biosystems A15; 08030 Barcelona, Spain).

Statistical analysis of data

Data were analyzed by repeated measurement (with a completely randomized design) using the MIXED procedure of SAS (2003) and also based on the statistical model of
 Y_ijk = μ + A_i + C_k + (AC)_ik + ε_ijk.

In this model,Y_ijk, μ, A _i, C_k, (AC)_ik ,ε_ijk respectively correspond to: observation, overall mean observations, the effect of the of treatment, the effect of time, the interaction effect of treatment and time, experimental error. The comparison between means based on difference of least square means test was carried out at p<0.05.

Results and discussion

Ammonia nitrogen concentration of rumen fluid

The rumen ammonia concentration was reduced at 1 and 4h after feeding in both the CB and SB treatments (Table 2).

When SB was added to the diet of Angora goats at 2.5 and 5%, ammonia concentration of the rumen fluid was reduced (Mohsen and Tawfic 2002). When the ratio of nitrogen to energy increases in the rumen, ammonia production increases subsequently (Hammond 2006). For bentonite to adsorb ammonia (Nikkhah et al 2001), it seems to be necessary to have a surplus of nitrogen produced in the rumen. The protein degradability in the rumen is one of the most important parameters affecting the supplying of amino acids to the small intestine; whereas, proteolysis determines the accessibility to AN, amino acids, peptides and branched-chain fatty acids for rumen microbial protein synthesis (Stern et al 1994).

Rumen fluid pH

The pH of rumen fluid was not affected by the treatments at any sampling stage (Table 3). Bentonite is used in the diet of livestock to maintain the pH within a normal range (Erdman et al 1982; Snyder et al 1983). Hydrogen ions in rumen fluid have the potential to replace with cations available in bentonite (Stephenson et al 1992). It was reported that adding 2% SB to the diet of the fattening sheep didn’t affect the pH of rumen fluid (Ivan et al 2001). According to Helal and Abdel-Rahman (2010) adding 4% bentonite to the diet of lactating ewes had no effect on the pH of the rumen fluid. Ivan et al (1992) also showed that adding 0.5 % SB to the diet of fattening calves had no effect on the pH of the rumen fluid, which is inconsistent with our observations.

Urea nitrogen concentration, total protein and plasma glucose

The BUN and glucose concentrations (Table 4) were not affected by the treatments, however, plasma protein was  highest for treatments containing SB or CB during 0 and 1 hours after morning feeding. Adding 2.5% and 5% SB to the diet of angora goats decreased BUN concentration to 26.5 and 27.0 compared with 32.6 mg/dl for the control (Mohsen and Tawfik 2002).

In the current experiment, application of SB or CB had no effect on the BUN. In contrast, Saleh (1994) reported that BUN concentration was decreased in ruminants by adding bentonite to a diet containing urea.  Adding 4% SB to the diet of dairy goats had no effect on the plasma protein according to Helal and Abdel-Rahman (2010). By contrast, application of 2.5 and 5% bentonite in the diet of Angora goats increased the plasma protein according to Mohsen and Tawfic (2002). The plasma protein was increased when 4% bentonite was added to the diet of fattening Zandi lambs (Khadem et al 2007). They attributed the increase to high microbial protein synthesis which resulted from the bentonite effects on the ammonia of the rumen. By increasing protein in the diet of the dairy cows, the plasma protein was increased (Law et al 2009). This indicated that there is a close relationship between the diet protein and the plasma protein.

Average daily gain, feed intake and feed conversion ratio

The daily weight gain was improved, and there was a tendency for feed conversion to be better  (p=0.12)  for  both CB and SB treatments (Table 5).

Aghashahi et al (2005) reported that adding 4% bentonite to the diet of  fattening male cattle led to improvement of the ADG and also the FCR. Helal and Abdel-Rahman (2010) also observed an increase in the ADG by adding 4% SB to the diet of dairy goats.

Conclusion

• Both sodium and calcium bentonite adsorbed rumen ammonia, increased the live weight gain and tended to improve feed conversion
  
  
• There was an indication that sodium bentonite was more effective than calcium bentonite in improving animal performance.

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Received 29 April 2017; Accepted 6 July 2017; Published 1 August 2017

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