The Effect of Addition of Mixture of Garlic Oil and Sunflower Oil on In Vitro Gas Production Parameters and Protozoa Population

Abstract

Introduction: This experiment was aimed to study the effect of mixture of garlic oil and
sunflower oil in diet containing equal ratio of concentrate to forage.
Materials & Methods: The mixture of garlic oil and sunflower oil was added at 2% of diet
DM. Gas production parameters, pH, N-ammonia and total protozoa population were
measured and metabolizable energy (ME), short -chain fatty acid (SCFA) and organic
matter digestibility (OMD) was estimated.
Results: The results showed that the mixture of garlic oil and sunflower oil increased gas
production (128.64 vs 108.51 mL, P<0.05) but had no significant effect on gas production
rate, half-life and lag phase. The addition of the mixture of garlic oil and sunflower oil to
diet, increased OMD, SCFA and ME in compare to the control diet (P<0.05). The
concentration of Ammonia-N, pH, total protozoa population, Entodinium, Diplodinium and
Ophryoscolex population did not affected by the inclusion of the oil mixture.
Conclusion: It is concluded that the addition of a mixture of garlic oil and sunflower oil not
only had no negative effect on rumen fermentation but also, improved some of the
fermentation parameters.