Small differences in biohydrogenation resulted from the similar retention times of fluid in the rumen of cattle grazing wet season C3 and C4 forage species

Abstract

The effects of forage type and season on retention time (RT) and the fatty acid (FA) profile of the rumen fluid (RF) of steers grazing a range of grasses and a legume/grass mix were evaluated. Four rumen cannulated steers (790 ± 17 kg body weight (BW) grazed individual wet season pastures (herbage mass 2600-6200 kg DM/ha of C3 ryegrass Lolium perenne and C4 grasses pangola Digitaria eriantha, signal grass Brachiaria decumbens, star grass Cynodon dactylon, kikuyu Pennisetum clandestinum, and speargrass Heteropogon contortus in both seasons, and a mixture of leucaena Leucaena leucocephala and green panic Panicum maximum in the dry season. Each grazing period consisted of at least 21 d, followed by a 3 d collection period. On d 22 CrEDTA was used to estimate RT (182 mg Cr/100 kg BW via the cannula) and RF samples were collected at 0, 4, 8, 12, 16, 24, 28, 32 and 48 h after dosing for Cr analysis. Diet crude protein (CP) and dry matter digestibility (DMD) were estimated by faecal NIRS. Concentration of NH₃N and volatile fatty acids (VFA) in RF was determined at 0, 8 and 16 h after dosing. Dry season speargrass had the lowest CP (18 and 39 g/kg DM in plucked sample (PS) and estimated by faecal NIRS, respectively) and DMD (49%), which was associated with a low NH₃N (9 mg NH₃N/L) and VFA concentration (70 mM) in RF, and much longer RT of Cr (20 h) than the other grasses. The RT of Cr of the other wet season grasses was similar across all forage species (8- to 11 hours). Total VFA in RF was lowest for steers grazing dry season grass, intermediate for grasses in the wet season and highest for steers grazing the legume/grass mix. Speargrass had the highest non-glucogenic:glucogenic VFA. Ryegrass had higher CP (190 g/kg DM) and DMD (68%), but steers grazing this pasture had similar NH₃N concentration in RF to steers grazing kikuyu and leaucaena/grass mix (above 100 mg NH₃N /L). Palmitic and stearic acid in RF were much higher than in plucked samples, but all grasses had similar total saturated FA in RF with a greater degree of saturation for ryegrass. A higher CLA c9,t11 in RF of steers grazing ryegrass most likely resulted from the linoleic content in the forage and the higher intake of ryegrass resulting in accumulation in RF. Total unsaturated FA (TUFA) content of RF was reduced markedly compared to forage samples with some small differences between species indicating an extensive biohydrogenation despite the grass type and season. It was concluded that RT of Cr in the rumen of cattle grazing wet season grasses was similar across all forage species (8 to 11 hours) and would not result in different times for biohydrogenation within the rumen.