The digestion of safflower oil-casein particles protected against ruminal hydrogenation in sheep

Abstract

Three sheep were offered lucerne hay either alone or with a supplement of safflower oil-casein particles protected from microbial digestion by treatment with formaldehyde. The supplement provided an additional 70 g of long chain fatty acids and 9 g nitrogen. It was estimated that, as a result of providing the supplement, additional nutrients derived from the small intestine included about 10 g of nitrogen and 60 g of long chain fatty acids. About 38 g of these fatty acids was absorbed in polyunsaturated form. With the basal diet, negligible amounts of polyunsaturated acids were absorbed from the small intestine. The addition of safflower oil-casein particles was associated with slight but significant increases in the flow of digesta from the abomasum but had no effect on the volume of water in the rumen or on the rates of flow from the rumen or terminal ileum. It was calculated that the supplemented diet provided, per unit of organic matter intake, about 30% more metabolizable energy, 38% more net energy, and 70% more amino acids than the basal diet.