*Division of Dairy Cattle Nutrition, National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal-132001 (Haryana), India.
Department of Biochemistry and Nutrition, University of New England, Armidale-2351, Australia
Online published on 21 January, 2012.
Effect of altering rumen fluid cut How by feeding salt on the protozoal population and their production rates were studied by infusion of 14C-choline labelled protozoa in sheep. All the fistulated sheep were fed on oaten chaff, lucerne chaff and dried powdered molasses diet. Common salt at the level of 0, 50 and 100 g was mixed in the feed of animals in group A, B and C respectively. Rumen fluid volume and its out flow rate were determined by infusion of Cr-EDTA complex as marker.
Addition of salt increased rumen fluid volume and its out flow rates non-significantly. While, the time required to reduce the Cr concentration to half (t½) in rumen decreased from 443.3±36.83 to 390.5±10.89 min, dilution rate increased from 0.39±0:02 to 0.43±0.04. Protozoal population decreased significantly (P<0.01) from 12.26±0.36 x l05/ml in group A to 5.64±0.50 x 105/ml of rumen fluid in group C due to increase in rumen fluid outflow rate. The protozoal pool decreased significantly from 1398.05±314.6 mg in group A to 657.51±71.67 mg in group C and their production rate decreased from 1.978±0.43 g in group A to 1.032±0.21 g in group C (P <0.05).
