Effect of Vachellia tortilis leaf meal and sunflower oil Inclusion in supplementary diets of lambs on in vitro short-chain fatty acid and gas production and in vivo growth performance

dc.contributor.authorSerumula, Mahlogonolo Daniel
dc.contributor.authorPepeta, Bulelani Nangamso
dc.contributor.authorMoyo, Mehluli
dc.contributor.authorSuinyuy, Terence Nkwanwir
dc.contributor.authorNsahlai, Ignatius Verla
dc.date.accessioned2025-05-28T07:21:54Z
dc.date.available2025-05-28T07:21:54Z
dc.date.issued2025-03
dc.descriptionDATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT : The data is contained within the article.
dc.description.abstractThis study examined the effect of dietary Vachellia tortilis leaf meal and sunflower oil inclusion in supplementary diets on in vitro short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) and gas production and the in vivo growth performance of lambs. Four concentrate dietary treatments comprising control (CL), Vachellia tortilis leaf meal (VT), sunflower oil (SFO), and Vachellia tortilis leaf meal sunflower oil (VSFO) were formulated. Eight Merino lambs were blocked into two live weight blocks where animals within each block were randomly assigned to dietary treatments, making two animals per treatment. Lambs were offered a concentrate diet of 480 g/day per head, with urea-treated hay fed as a basal diet. Dietary effects were evaluated for in vitro short-chain fatty acid and gas production and 28-day growth performance of lambs over three study periods. The inclusion of VT and SFO showed no statistically significant effect on total SCFAs, acetate to propionate (A:P) ratio, methane (CH4), and carbon dioxide (CO2) production (p > 0.05), which might be attributable to low experimental units. The hourly A:P ratio and CH4 yield were the highest (p < 0.05) at 16 h of incubation. The inclusion of VT showed no statistically significant effect on growth performance and gas production due to the small sample size. Therefore, VT can be explored as a supplementary protein source in lamb diets given the impression of not showing any causative adverse effects on growth performance and in vitro gas production, although further research with larger sample sizes is needed to confirm these findings.
dc.description.abstractSIMPLE SUMMARY : This study investigated the potential effects of Vachellia tortilis leaf meal (VT) and sunflower oil (SFO) supplementation on in vitro short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production and gas production and the in vivo growth performance of lambs. The VT inclusion showed no statistically observed negative impact on growth performance or in vitro gas production, suggesting that VT might be a suitable supplementary protein source for lambs in the subtropical regions, given that further validation studies conform with the findings from the current study.
dc.description.departmentAnimal and Wildlife Sciences
dc.description.librarianhj2025
dc.description.sdgSDG-02: Zero Hunger
dc.description.sdgSDG-12: Responsible consumption and production
dc.description.sponsorshipThe National Research Foundation (NRF).
dc.description.urihttps://www.mdpi.com/journal/animals
dc.identifier.citationSerumula, M.D.; Pepeta, B.N.; Moyo, M.; Suinyuy, T.N.; Nsahlai, I.V. Effect of Vachellia tortilis Leaf Meal and Sunflower Oil Inclusion in Supplementary Diets of Lambs on In Vitro Short-Chain Fatty Acid and Gas Production and In Vivo Growth Performance. Animals 2025, 15, 863. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani15060863.
dc.identifier.issn2076-2615 (online)
dc.identifier.other10.3390/ani15060863
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/102550
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherMDPI
dc.rights© 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
dc.subjectVachellia tortilis leaf meal
dc.subjectSunflower oil (SFO)
dc.subjectLambs
dc.subjectSupplementary diets
dc.subjectShort-chain fatty acid (SCFA)
dc.subjectCondensed tannins
dc.subjectForage legumes
dc.subjectGas production
dc.subjectPolyunsaturated fatty acids
dc.titleEffect of Vachellia tortilis leaf meal and sunflower oil Inclusion in supplementary diets of lambs on in vitro short-chain fatty acid and gas production and in vivo growth performance
dc.typeArticle

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