Effects of Andrographis paniculata (Burm.f.) wall. ex nees and Orthosiphon stamineus benth supplementation on rumen fermentation characteristics and microbial population in goats fed urea-treated rice straw

A. paniculata and O. stamineus have been used for centuries in Asia for treating various ailments in humans, notably common colds, influenza besides improving the blood circulatory system. In animals, some studies have shown that both of these herbs improved growth performance and meat quality through their antioxidant properties. The present study examines on the effect of A. paniculata and O. stamineus supplement on rumen fermentation characteristics and microbial population in goats fed treated rice straw. The in-vitro fermentability of urea-treated rice straw based diet supplemented with A. paniculata and O. stamineus was examined by incubating the tested diet in ruminal fluid obtained from two rumen-fistulated donor goats which had received fresh grass obtained from Ruminant Unit at the Department of Animal Science, Universiti Putra Malaysia. The fermentation process was carried out for 48 hours at 39 oC; using the method by Menke & Steingass (1988). The gas production of experimental diets was examined and the end products of the fermentation were also quantified. Higher cumulative gas was produced from the fermentation of basal diet + 0.5% of A. paniculata and 0.5% O. stamineus (AO) treatment diet and the gas production patterns of herbbased diets were found similar in trend. Besides, the rates of gas production, in-vitro dry matter digestibility and the rumen fermentation profiles have no significant effects (P>0.05) on the addition of both herbs. In the feeding trial, 4 fistulated Boer cross-bred (±25 kg of body weight) were used to test the effects of dietary treated rice straw supplemented with A. paniculata and O. stamineus on in-vivo rumen parameters and total viable bacterial population in the rumen goats. The study was conducted in 4 periods (4 x 4 Latin square design), where each period was for a duration of 22 days; 10 days of adaptation period, 5 days of sampling and 7 days of change-over. The animals were fed once daily at 0800 (3% body weight) with 60% of urea-treated rice straw and 40 % of one of four concentrate diets: basal diet + 1% A. paniculata (AP), basal diet + 1% O. stamineus (OS), AO and a basal diet without supplementation of herbs (BD). Clean water was provided ad libitum and the animals were individually penned. Rumen contents were sampled at 0, 2, 4, 6 and 12 hour after the onset feeding and the pH was recorded. In the in-vivo study, the pH, ammonia production total volatile fatty acids content, proportions of acetate, propionate and butyrate production were not significantly different (P>0.05) among the treatment diets. However, the production of valerate was found to have significant effect (P<0.05) on the treatment diet and hour of sampling where the lowest proportion of valerate was observed in treatment AP besides having the highest level of production at 6 hour. The rumen microbial populations in the ruminal contents were quantified using real-time PCR analysis. Significant reduction of total protozoa, methanogens, F. succinogens and R. albus number was observed in the herb-supplemented groups (P<0.05). Conclusively, the results of the present study indicated that dietary urea-treated rice straw supplemented with A. paniculata and O. stamineus was not able to enhance the rumen fermentation characteristics and microbial population which may be caused by the presence of secondary metabolites in the herbs where it is believed to have an inhibitory effect on the growth of microorganism in the rumen.

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