Effect of Non-Ionic Surfactant (Tween 80) on Rumen Microbial Enzymes

Experiments were conducted to study the effect of various levels of non-ionic surfactant (Tween 80) on rumen microbial enzymes activity using different substrates. Two adult cross-bred fistulated animals were used as the donor of rumen liquor and fed as per their requirement. In experiment 1, the animals were fed concentrate mixture and wheat straw (60:40), whereas in experiments 2 and 3, the ratio of concentrate to roughage was 50:50. In experiment 2, roughage was wheat straw + maize (2:1) and in experiment 3, the roughage was berseem + wheat straw

(1:2) mixtures. In experiment 1, the best selected level of Tween 80 (0.2% v/v) was incubated under anaerobic conditions in vitro. In experiment 2 and 3, the level of Tween 80 was 0.1%(v/v). After incubation, the rumen enzymes namely carboxymethyl cellulase, β-glucosidase, cellobiohydrolase, xylanase and protease were estimated in cell free and cell bound fractions. Results indicated that out of three substrates tested, the effect of tween 80 at 0.10% level on concentrate and roughage (wheat straw and maize fodder mixed in the ratio of 2:1) at a ratio of

50:50 was observed to be the best in terms of highest increase in the activities of cellulolytic, hemicellulolytic and proteolytic enzymes in cell free fraction. Thus, the use of Tween 80 as a feed additive on forage based diets appeared to have a potential for manipulating the rumen which might ultimately increase the animal productivity.