Effect of Ration on Vitamin Synthesis in Rumen of Sheep

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Synthesis of riboflavin, nicotinic acid and pantothenic acid by the rumen microorganisms in vivo as affected by variations in the composition of the ration was studied, using sheep. Addition of nitrogen (either as soybean meal or urea) together with corn caused a sharp increase in the synthesis of all vitamins by animals fed a basal diet of prairie hay. Substitution of sorghum silage or alfalfa hay for prairie hay in the ration did not markedly change the absolute amounts of the vitamins present in the rumen material, although the percentage increase during the rumen fermentation was variable. Addition of alfalfa ash to a ration containing corn cobs as the principal roughage resulted in increased synthesis of all vitamins with respect to the changes occurring in the unsupplemented ration.