AUTHOR=Yaxing Zhao , Erdene Khas , Zhibi Bao , Changjin Ao , Chen Bai 

TITLE=Effects of Allium mongolicum regel essential oil supplementation on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, rumen fermentation, and bacterial communities in sheep

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Veterinary Science

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/veterinary-science/articles/10.3389/fvets.2022.926721

DOI=10.3389/fvets.2022.926721

ISSN=2297-1769

ABSTRACT=<p>The objectives of this research were to investigate the effects of <italic>Allium mongolicum</italic> Regel essential oil on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, rumen fermentation, and bacterial communities in sheep Twenty sheep were randomly divided into two dietary groups with 10 replicates each: (1) a basal diet without AMO as the control group (<italic>n</italic> = 10) and (2) a basal diet supplemented with 40 mg/kg AMO as the AMO group (<italic>n</italic> = 10). The average daily gain (ADG) was increased (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.05), and the feed conversion ratio (FCR) was reduced (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.05) in the AMO group compared with the control. The ruminal acetate, propionate, total volatile fatty acids (TVFA), and microbial protein (MCP) were higher (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.05) in the AMO group than in the control. Moreover, ruminal pH and ammonia nitrogen (NH<sub>3</sub>-N) were lower (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.05) in the AMO group than in the control. The relative abundances of the phylum levels of <italic>Firmicutes, Actinobacteriota</italic>, and <italic>Verrucomicrobiota</italic> were higher (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.05) in the AMO group than in the control, and the relative abundances of <italic>Bacteroidetes</italic> and <italic>Spirochaetota</italic> were lower (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.05) in the AMO group than in the control. The relative abundance of <italic>Prevotella</italic> and <italic>Prevotellaceae_UCG-003</italic> at the genus level was increased (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.05) in the AMO group compared with the control; however, the relative abundance of <italic>Succiniclasticum, Norank_f__F082, Christensenellaceae_R-7_group</italic>, and <italic>Norank_f__Muribaculaceae</italic> was decreased (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.05) in the AMO group compared with the control. The activities of cellulase, α-amylase, and proteinase were higher (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.05) in the AMO group than in the control. The apparent digestibility of dry matter (DM) and crude protein (CP) was increased (<italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.05) in the AMO group compared with the control. In conclusion, AMO supplementation has the potential to improve growth performance. Moreover, supplementation with AMO improved nutrient digestibility, rumen fermentation, and bacterial communities in the rumen of sheep.</p>