Effects of phenolic compounds in propolis on digestive and
ruminal parameters in dairy cows
R. Bras. Zootec, vol.43 no.4 Viçosa Apr. 2014
Four rumen-cannulated primiparous lactating cows were
studied in a 4 × 4 Latin square design experiment to evaluate the effects of
propolis-based products (PBP) with different concentrations of propolis and
alcohol levels on total digestibility, (TD), ruminal digestibility (RD),
intestinal digestibility (ID), pH, ruminal ammonia-nitrogen production (NH3-N),
rumen microbial synthesis, and blood parameters.
The feed consisted of 591.9
g/kg corn silage and 408.1 g/kg concentrate (dry matter [DM] basis), and
treatments differed with regard to the inclusion (via ruminal cannula) or
exclusion of PBP as follows: control (without the PBP), PBP B1 (3.81 mg of
phenolic compounds/kg of ingested DM), PBP C1 (3.27 mg of phenolic compounds/kg
of ingested DM), and PBP C3 (1.93 mg of phenolic compounds/kg of ingested DM).
Inclusion of PBP reduced the RD of dietary crude protein (CP). Treatment PBP C1
reduced ruminal NH3-N production, while PBP B1 increased the ID of CP relative
to that in the control.
These findings indicate that propolis had a positive
effect on rumen nitrogen metabolism. Rumen pH, efficiency of microbial protein
synthesis, and blood parameters were not affected by addition of PBP, but there
were significant effects on the other parameters when the treatments containing
propolis were contrasted. Higher TD of DM (0.717 vs. 0.685), OM (0.737 vs.
0.703), and CP (0.760 vs. 0.739), as well as higher NDF (0.622 vs. 0.558) and
TDN (0.747 vs. 0.712) were observed when comparing PBP C1 with C3.
Inclusion of
propolis in diets for dairy cows have positive effects on protein metabolism in
the rumen. Variation in the amounts of phenolic compounds in the different PBP
may explain the diverse effects on the digestive parameters evaluated.
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