title: Effects of Coconut Materials on In vitro Ruminal Methanogenesis and Fermentation Characteristics.
abstract: The objective of this study was to evaluate the in vitro effects of coconut materials on ruminal methanogenesis and fermentation characteristics, in particular their effectiveness for mitigating ruminal methanogenesis. Fistulated Holstein cows were used as the donor of rumen fluid. Coconut materials were added to an in vitro fermentation incubated with rumen fluid-buffer mixture and timothy substrate for 24 h incubation. Total gas production, gas profiles, total volatile fatty acids (tVFAs) and the ruminal methanogens diversity were measured. Although gas profiles in added coconut oil and coconut powder were not significantly different, in vitro ruminal methane production was decreased with the level of reduction between 15% and 19% as compared to control, respectively. Coconut oil and coconut powder also inhibited gas production. The tVFAs concentration was increased by coconut materials, but was not affected significantly as compared to control. Acetate concentration was significantly lower (p<0.05), while propionate was significantly higher (p<0.05) by addition of the coconut materials than that of the control. The acetate:propionate ratio was significantly lowered with addition of coconut oil and coconut powder (p<0.05). The methanogens and ciliate-associated methanogens in all added coconut materials were shown to decrease as compared with control. This study showed that ciliate-associated methanogens diversity was reduced by more than 50% in both coconut oil and coconut powder treatments. In conclusion, these results indicate that coconut powder is a potential agent for decreasing in vitro ruminal methane production and as effective as coconut oil.
authors.affiliation: Resources Development Institute, Seoul 134-851, Korea .
authors.forename: E T
authors.initials: ET
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Resources Development Institute, Seoul 134-851, Korea .
authors.forename: C G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Resources Development Institute, Seoul 134-851, Korea .
authors.forename: D H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Lim
authors.affiliation: Resources Development Institute, Seoul 134-851, Korea .
authors.forename: E G
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Kwon
authors.affiliation: Resources Development Institute, Seoul 134-851, Korea .
authors.forename: K S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Ki
authors.affiliation: Rural Development Administration, Jeonju 560-550, Korea .
authors.forename: S B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Animal Science and Biotechnology, Gyeongnam National University of Science and Technology, Jinju 660-758, Korea .
authors.forename: Y H
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Moon
authors.affiliation: Gyengsangnamdo Livestock Veterinary Research Institute, Sancheong 666-962, Korea .
authors.forename: N H
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.affiliation: Division of Applied Life Science, Graduate School of Gyeongsang National University (Institute of Agriculture and Life Science), Jinju 660-701, Korea .
authors.forename: S S
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Lee
keywords: Coconut; Methanogens; Real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction; Relative Quantification; Ruminal Methane Production