Abstract

Researchers have been exploring seaweeds to reduce methane (CH4) emissions from livestock. This study aimed to investigate the potential of a red macroalga, B. hamifera, as an alternative to mitigate CH4 emissions. B. hamifera, harvested from the west coast of Sweden, was used in an in vitro experiment using a fully automated gas production system. The experiment was a randomized complete block design consisting of a 48 h incubation that included a control (grass silage) and B. hamifera inclusions at 2.5%, 5.0%, and 7.5% of grass silage OM mixed with buffered rumen fluid. Predicted in vivo CH4 production and total gas production were estimated by applying a set of models to the gas production data and in vitro fermentation characteristics were evaluated. The results demonstrated that the inclusion of B. hamifera reduced (p = 0.01) predicted in vivo CH4 and total gas productions, and total gas production linearly decreased (p = 0.03) with inclusion of B. hamifera. The molar proportion of propionate increased (p = 0.03) while isovalerate decreased (p = 0.04) with inclusion of B. hamifera. Chemical analyses revealed that B. hamifera had moderate concentrations of polyphenols. The iodine content was low, and there was no detectable bromoform, suggesting quality advantages over Asparagopsis taxiformis. Additionally, B. hamifera exhibited antioxidant activity similar to Resveratrol. The findings of this study indicated that B. hamifera harvested from temperate waters of Sweden possesses capacity to mitigate CH4 in vitro.

Keywords

dairy cow; greenhouse gas; macroalga; methane

Published in

Animals
2023, Volume: 13, number: 18, article number: 2925
Publisher: MDPI

SLU Authors

• Guinguina, Abdulai

  • Department of Agricultural Research for Northern Sweden, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    
  • Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke)

• Krizsan, Sophie Julie

  • Department of Applied Animal Science and Welfare, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
    

UKÄ Subject classification

Animal and Dairy Science


Publication identifier

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13182925

Permanent link to this page (URI)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/126612