Non-ruminants

Worldwide, a variety of plants have been shown to affect survival and/or reproduction of helminths of chicken and pigs in vitro or in vivo, in some cases, severe side effects on the host have been observed after use of some plant products (e.g. Akhtar and Riffat, 1985 Javed et al., 1994 Satrija et al., 1994). 

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It can be argued that the gut flora provides an additional trophic level in ruminants (Steinhour et al. 1982). This should result in a larger A N in ruminants than in non-ruminant herbivores. As many domesticated animals are ruminants this is a factor that has to be taken into account. Available 5 N data does not seem to show systematic differences between the categories ruminants and non-ruminants, although systematic species differences exist. 

Phytic acid (inisitol hexakisphosphate) is the main storage form of phosphorus in plants. The phosphorus is not bioavailable to non-ruminants as they lack the enzymes to break it down. Novozyme has developed a commercial enzyme, phytase, that can be added to animal feed to release the phosphorus. No inorganic phosphorus needs to be added. This shift in the source of phosphorous has a large impact on the environmental footprint of pig farming. 

Suttle, N.F. 1973. The nutritional significance of the Cu Mo interrelationship to ruminants and non-ruminants. Pages 245-249 in D.D. Hemphill (ed.). Trace Substances in Environmental Health. VII. Univ. Missouri, Columbia, MO. 

With non-ruminants, the only fibre determination required is by neutral detergent. Ruminants and other herbivores, which can partially digest fibre, will need the ADF or MADE methods. 

This is based on the method by Van Soest and Wine (1967) which has been modified according to subsequent recommendations. It is the only fibre determination suitable for non-ruminants. The residue consists of the plant cell-wall constituents cellulose, hemicellulose, lignin, cutin, NDF-insoluble tannin and ash. See the article by Cherney (2000) for current modifications these include the use of amylase to aid in the removal of starch from forages containing grain (Van Soest et al., 1991), which has been adopted by MAFF... 

Moir, K.W. (1982) Theory and practice of measuring the cell-wall content of food for ruminant and non-ruminant animals. Laboratory Practice 31, 732-733. Also (1972) Journal of the Agricultural Society, Cambridge 78, 351-353. 

Non-ruminants possess several intestinal Na+-dependent saturable transport systems. These include the well-known sodium-glucose co-transporter (SGLT1), responsible for the active uptake of glucose, and it appears to be specific for cinnamic and ferulic acid and possibly for other hydroxy-cinammic acids [112]. 

Ruminant milk fats contain a high level of butanoic add (C4 0) and other short-chain fatty acids. The method of expressing the results in Table 3.6 (%, w/w) under-represents the proportion of short-chain adds-if expressed as mol %, butanoic acid represents c. 10% of all fatty acids (up to 15% in some samples), i.e. there could be a butyrate residue in c. 30% of all triglyceride molecules. The high concentration of butyric (butanoic) acid in ruminant milk fats arises from the direct incorporation of jS-hydroxybutyrate (which is produced by micro-organisms in the rumen from carbohydrate and transported via the blood to the mammary gland where it is reduced to butanoic acid). Non-ruminant milk fats contain no butanoic or other short-chain adds the low concentrations of butyrate in milk fats of some monkeys and the brown bear require confirmation. 

In all species, the principal precursor for fatty acid synthesis is acetyl CoA, derived in non-ruminants from glucose and in ruminants from acetate or oxidation of /1-hydroxybutyrate. Acetyl CoA is first converted, in the cytoplasm, to malonyl CoA ... 

In non-ruminants, the malonyl CoA is combined with an acyl carrier protein (ACP) which is part of a six-enzyme complex (molecular weight c. 500 kDa) located in the cytoplasm. All subsequent steps in fatty acid synthesis occur attached to this complex through a series of steps and repeated cycles, the fatty acid is elongated by two carbon units per cycle (Figure 3.8, see also Lehninger, Nelson and Cox, 1993). 

The major class of compounds used as growth promotants in non-ruminant (single stomached) animals, such as pig and poultry, is that of the antimicrobials. Growth responses to antimicrobials were reported as early as 1946 but these findings were overlooked at the time. However, several years later, when growth responses were obtained with chlor-tetracycline, streptomycin (29), succinyl sulfathiazole and 3-nitro-4-hydroxyphenylarsonic acid, the practical aspects of growth responses to antimicrobials became clear. Since then, hundreds of antimicrobial compounds that promote growth have been reported in the scientific literature and in patents and many have been approved for use commercially. 

Another problem for the UK farmer and feed manufacturer is a current ban on the use of fishmeal in feedmills that produce feed for ruminants (an industry-wide rather than an organic regulation). This means that organic feed manufacturers with only one mill (and who cannot now use pure amino acids) who produce ruminant and non-ruminant diets can no longer use fishmeal at all. The result is that those mills in particular have a very difficult task in producing organic poultry diets of the necessary nutritional standard. 

The certification committee allows the farm to purchase conventional feed and forage during a shortage of organic feed. Flowever, the conventional feed and forage cannot exceed 15% for non-ruminants on a dry matter basis. Daily maximum intake of conventional feed intake cannot exceed 25% of the total daily feed intake on a dry matter basis. Exemptions due to severe weather and disasters are permitted. Detailed feed records must be kept and the conventional feed must be OFDC-approved. 

Like all other animals, poultry require five components in their diet as a source of nutrients energy, protein, minerals, vitamins and water. A nutrient shortage or imbalance in relation to other nutrients will affect performance adversely. Poultry need a well-balanced and easily digested diet for optimal production of eggs and meat and are very sensitive to dietary quality because they grow quickly and make relatively little use of fibrous, bulky feeds such as lucerne hay or pasture, since they are non-ruminants (have a simple stomach compartment). 

Cobalt is a component of the vitamin B12 molecule but a deficiency of cobalt has not been demonstrated in poultry fed a diet adequate in vitamin B12. Therefore, supplementation with this element is not normally necessary. Diets containing no ingredients of animal origin (which contain vitamin B12) contain no vitamin B12. Therefore, poultry fed on all-plant diets may require dietary cobalt, unless the diet is supplemented with vitamin B12. In practice, many feed manufacturers use a cobalt-iodized salt for all species since cobalt is needed in ruminant diets. This avoids the need to stock separate salt types for ruminant and non-ruminant diets and the inclusion of cobalt provides some insurance in case the poultry diet is lacking sufficient vitamin B12. 

Importance in diet All animals Non-ruminants only (generally)... 

Wiseman, J. (1984) Assessment of the digestibility and metabolizable energy of fats for non-ruminants. In Wiseman, J. (ed.) Fats in Animal Nutrition. Butterworths, London, pp. 227-297. 

In common with many other legume seeds, raw lentils contain some undesirable constituents, although the levels of these are not likely to be of concern in poultry feeding. Weder (1981) reported the presence of several protease inhibitors in lentils. Marquardt and Bell (1988) also identified lectins (hemagglutinins), phytic acid, saponins and tannins as potential problems but could find no evidence that these had adversely affected performance of pigs fed lentils. It is known that cooking improves the nutritive value of lentils for humans but the effects of consumption of raw lentils by non-ruminants have not been well documented (Castell, 1990). 

Gatel, F. (1993) Protein quality of legume seeds for non-ruminant animals a literature review. Animal Feed Science and Technology 45, 317-348. 

Wiseman, J. (1987) Feeding of Non-Ruminant Livestock collective edited work by the research staff of the Departement de Televage des monogastriques, INRA, under the responsibility of Jean-Claude Blum translated and edited by Julian Wiseman. Butterworths, London. 

Fig. 8.22. Jejunal villi of ruminant and non-ruminant showing paths followed by oncospheres of Echinococcus granulosus and Taenia pisiformis (and some other Taenia spp.). The larger diameter of the E. granulosus oncosphere probably enables it to reach the lymphatic before being translocated in a venule. (Reprinted with permission from International Journal of Parasitology, 1, Heath, D. D., The migration of oncospheres of Taenia pisiformis, T. serialis and Echinococcus granulosus within the intermediate host, 1971, Pergamon Journals Ltd.)...

Teunissen MJ, Smits AA, Op den Camp HJ, Huis in t Veld JH, Vogels GD (1991) Fermentation of cellulose and production of cellulolytic and xylanolytic enzymes by anaerobic fungi from ruminant and non-ruminant herbivores. Arch Microbiol 156 290-296 Tielens AG, Rotte C, van Hellemond JJ, Martin W (2002) Mitochondria as we don t know them. Trends Biochem Sci 27 564-572... 

The fatty acids in milk fat are derived from two sources, de novo synthesis of fatty acids in the mammary gland and plasma lipids (see Pal-quist, Chapter 2). De novo synthesis generally involves short-chain and medium-chain fatty acids and some 16 0. The proportions of various fatty acids depend on the specific balance between enzymatic chain elongation and chain termination. The plasma lipids are derived from the diet and also from storage in the body tissues. For non-ruminants, the diet has a large influence on the fatty acid composition but for ruminants, biohydrogenation in the rumen results in much less impact of diet on the final fatty acids absorbed into the bloodstream. 

Generally, the milk fat of non-ruminants has a higher level of polyunsaturated fatty acids than the milk fat of ruminants, due to the direct absorption of these fatty acids from the diet (Table 1.17). Marine mammals, such as the fur seal, have also high levels of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, 20 5 and 22 6, due to the presence of these fatty acids in the diet (Iverson et al., 1997). 

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