An inhibitor persistently decreased enteric methane emission from dairy cows with no negative effect on milk production - PubMed (original) (raw)

Randomized Controlled Trial

. 2015 Aug 25;112(34):10663-8.

doi: 10.1073/pnas.1504124112. Epub 2015 Jul 30.

Joonpyo Oh 2, Fabio Giallongo 2, Tyler W Frederick 2, Michael T Harper 2, Holley L Weeks 2, Antonio F Branco 3, Peter J Moate 4, Matthew H Deighton 4, S Richard O Williams 4, Maik Kindermann 5, Stephane Duval 6

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Randomized Controlled Trial

An inhibitor persistently decreased enteric methane emission from dairy cows with no negative effect on milk production

Alexander N Hristov et al. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2015.

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Abstract

A quarter of all anthropogenic methane emissions in the United States are from enteric fermentation, primarily from ruminant livestock. This study was undertaken to test the effect of a methane inhibitor, 3-nitrooxypropanol (3NOP), on enteric methane emission in lactating Holstein cows. An experiment was conducted using 48 cows in a randomized block design with a 2-wk covariate period and a 12-wk data collection period. Feed intake, milk production, and fiber digestibility were not affected by the inhibitor. Milk protein and lactose yields were increased by 3NOP. Rumen methane emission was linearly decreased by 3NOP, averaging about 30% lower than the control. Methane emission per unit of feed dry matter intake or per unit of energy-corrected milk were also about 30% less for the 3NOP-treated cows. On average, the body weight gain of 3NOP-treated cows was 80% greater than control cows during the 12-wk experiment. The experiment demonstrated that the methane inhibitor 3NOP, applied at 40 to 80 mg/kg feed dry matter, decreased methane emissions from high-producing dairy cows by 30% and increased body weight gain without negatively affecting feed intake or milk production and composition. The inhibitory effect persisted over 12 wk of treatment, thus offering an effective methane mitigation practice for the livestock industries.

Keywords: 3-nitrooxypropanol; dairy cattle; enteric methane; hydrogen; livestock.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest statement: M.K. and S.D. are employees of DSM Nutritional Products. The study was partially funded by DSM Nutritional Products.

Figures

Fig. 1.

Fig. 1.

Methane emission of dairy cows treated with 3-nitrooxypropanol (3NOP). Control = 0 mg/kg of 3NOP, Low3NOP = 40 mg/kg of 3NOP, Medium3NOP = 60 mg/kg 3NOP, and High3NOP = 80 mg/kg 3NOP (dietary dry matter basis). Methane emission was measured using the GreenFeed system (C-Lock, Inc.). Data are treatment means and bars represent SE; n = 12 (number of independent data points for each mean value).

Fig. 2.

Fig. 2.

Hydrogen emission of dairy cows treated with 3-nitrooxypropanol (3NOP). Control = 0 mg/kg of 3NOP, Low3NOP = 40 mg/kg of 3NOP, Medium3NOP = 60 mg/kg 3NOP, and High3NOP = 80 mg/kg 3NOP (dietary dry matter basis). Hydrogen emission was measured using the GreenFeed system (C-Lock, Inc.). Data are treatment means and bars represent SE; n = 12 (number of independent data points for each mean value). Where not visible, error bars are smaller than the symbols. Hydrogen data were not collected during the covariate period for all treatments and during experimental week 2 for the control cows.

Fig. S1.

Fig. S1.

Methane emission per unit of feed dry matter intake of dairy cows treated with 3-nitrooxypropanol (3NOP). Control = 0 mg/kg of 3NOP, Low3NOP = 40 mg/kg of 3NOP, Medium3NOP = 60 mg/kg 3NOP, and High3NOP = 80 mg/kg 3NOP (dietary dry matter basis). Methane emission was measured using the GreenFeed system (C-Lock, Inc.). Data are treatment means and bars represent SE; n = 12 (number of independent data points for each mean value).

Fig. S2.

Fig. S2.

Methane emission per unit of energy-corrected milk of dairy cows treated with 3-nitrooxypropanol (3NOP). Control = 0 mg/kg of 3NOP, Low3NOP = 40 mg/kg of 3NOP, Medium3NOP = 60 mg/kg 3NOP, and High3NOP = 80 mg/kg 3NOP (dietary dry matter basis). Methane emission was measured using the GreenFeed system (C-Lock, Inc.). Data are treatment means and bars represent SE; n = 12 (number of independent data points for each mean value).

Fig. S3.

Fig. S3.

Relationship between feed dry matter intake and enteric methane emission in all cows (i.e., cows not treated and treated with 3-nitrooxypropanol): Methane, g/d = 103.2 (SE = 84.59) + 9.8 (SE = 3.04) × dry matter intake, kg/d (n = 48; _R_2 = 0.19; P = 0.002). Methane emission was measured using the GreenFeed system (C-Lock, Inc.).

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