Kinetic of glycerol in sheep

Abstract

Experiments will be conducted to elucidate the metabolism of glycerol in finishing sheep. In experiment 1 the performance and carcass characteristics of crossbred sheep will be assessed. Fourty lambs (approximately 20 kg BW) will be used, which will be divided by weight in a complete randomized block design and subjected to four experimental diets containing 0, 10, 20, or 30% crude glycerin, on dry matter . The crude glycerin will replace 100% of the corn used in the control treatment. Behavioral variables will be evaluated during three days of confinement, and blood samples will be collected to evaluate variables of energy metabolism and hepatic enzymes. When reach 35kg, the animals will be slaughtered and the carcasses will be evaluated. In the second trial, eight sheep fitted with permanent rumen cannulas will be used, which will serve as donors of rumen fluid for "in vitro" production of greenhouse gases, pH, SCFA, NH3-N, digestibility, as well as for incubations on the occasion of ruminal degradability trial. The experiment 3 will be divided into two phases in which 24 sheep will be used to evaluate the kinetics of glycerol and the apparent digestibility of the diets using the technique of total fecal collection. The first one will be assessed using the technique of radioactive isotopes of carbon. The animals will receive injections of 14C, and after 7 days it will be sacrificed and the ruminal fluid, blood, muscles, and liver will be evaluated for the presence and amount of labeled carbon, by liquid scintillation spectrometry. The data from the first trial will be assessed linear and quadratic effects of the inclusion of crude glycerin and the contrast between the control treatment × treatments crude glycerin. In the third experiment it will be compared the mean radiation obtained in different tissues for different treatments. In experiment 2, the data will be evaluated on Latin square 4 × 4 and repeated measures will be used. In all trials, the MIXED procedure of SAS statistical software will be used considering a significance of 5% and a tendency of 10%.