Seasonal variation in fibre degrading enzymes activities in the rumen contents of slaughtered sheep, goat and buffalo.

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to determine the fibre degrading enzyme activities in the rumen contents (waste) of slaughtered animals during different months. The rumen contents from the spent animals slaughtered were collected from three animals in each species (sheep, goat, and buffalo) in the second week of every month for 12 months, and analyzed for various fibre degarding enzymes such as carboxymethyl cellulase (CMCase), amylase and xylanase. An average of 59.44, 190.58 and 158.42 CMCase, amylase and xylanase (U/L) activities, respectively were found in sheep. While in goat they were 63.53, 215.17 and 148.00 and in buffalo they were 49.56, 129.17 and 240.83. Rumen fibre degrading enzymes viz., CMCase, amylase and xylanase were significantly (P<0.05) affected by the month of collection of rumen content. In sheep the peak values of CMCase and amylase activities were found in November while xylanase activity was found in June. In goat, the peak values of CMCase and amylase activities were found in January while xylanase activity was found in July. In buffalo, the peak values of CMCase and xylanase activities were found in December while amylase activity was found in June. The overall results appear to suggest that clarified rumen liquor could provide a material that holds promise as a good alternative source of feed enzymes.