Effects of clay on toxin binding capacity, ruminal fermentation, diet digestibility, and growth of steers fed high-concentrate diets 1,2

Three experiments were conducted to determine the effect of increasing concentrations of a smectite clay on toxin binding capacity, ruminal fermentation, diet digestibility, and growth of feedlot cattle. In Exp. 1, 72 Angus x Simmental steers were blocked by BW (395 ± 9.9 kg) and randomly allotted t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of animal science 2017-10, Vol.95 (10), p.4658-4667
Main Authors: Antonelo, D S, Lancaster, N A, Melnichenko, S, Muegge, C R, Schoonmaker, J P
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acetic acid
Aflatoxin B1
Binding
Cattle
Clay
Diet
Digestibility
Enzymatic activity
Enzyme activity
Ergotamine
Feeds
Fermentation
Hydrogen ions
Lactic acid
Liver
Pens
Performance enhancement
pH effects
Propionic acid
Toxins
Urine
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Summary:Three experiments were conducted to determine the effect of increasing concentrations of a smectite clay on toxin binding capacity, ruminal fermentation, diet digestibility, and growth of feedlot cattle. In Exp. 1, 72 Angus x Simmental steers were blocked by BW (395 ± 9.9 kg) and randomly allotted to 3 treatments (4 pens/treatment and 6 steers/pen) to determine the effects of increasing amounts of clay (0, 1, or 2%) on performance. The clay was top-dressed on an 80% concentrate diet at a rate of 0, 113, or 226 g/ steer daily to achieve the 0, 1, and 2% treatments, respectively. Steers were slaughtered at a target BW of 606 kg. In Exp. 2, 6 steers (596 ± 22.2 kg initial BW) were randomly allotted to the same 3 treatments in a replicated 3 x 3 Latin square design (21-d periods) to determine the effects of increasing amounts of clay on ruminal pH, VFA, and nutrient digestibility. In Exp. 3, 150 mg of clay was incubated in 10 mL of rumen fluid with 3 incremental concentrations (6 replicates per concentration) of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) or ergotamine tartate (ET) to determine binding capacity. During the first 33-d period, there was a quadratic effect of clay on ADG (P < 0.01) and G:F (P < 0.01), increasing from 0 to 1% clay and then decreasing from 1 to 2% clay. However, during the second 30-d period, clay linearly decreased ADG and G:F (P ≤ 0.03) and overall ADG, DMI, and G:F were not impacted (P ≥ 0.46). Clay linearly decreased marbling score (P = 0.05). Hepatic enzyme activity did not differ among treatments on d 0 or at slaughter (P ≥ 0.15). Clay linearly decreased ruminal lactate and propionate, linearly increased formate and the acetate:propionate ratio (P ≤ 0.04), and tended (P = 0.07) to linearly increase butyrate. Clay tended to linearly increase (P = 0.06) OM and CP apparent digestibility. Ruminal pH, urine pH, and other digestibility measures did not differ among treatments (P ≥ 0.15). Clay was able to effectively bind AFB1 and ET at concentrations above the normal physiological range (52 and 520 µg/mL), but proportional adsorption was decreased to 35.5 and 91.1% at 5,200 µg/mL (P < 0.01) for AFB1 and ET, respectively. In conclusion, clay effectively binds ruminal toxins, decreases ruminal lactate, and improves performance only during adaptation to a high-concentrate feedlot diet.
ISSN:0021-8812
1525-3163
DOI:10.2527/jas2017.1473