Evaluation of diets enriched with co-product of the processing of macadamia nut for sheep: apparent digestibility, animal performance, carcass and meat characteristics and methane mitigation potential

Abstract

The use of macadamia nut by the industry is increasing and it may be used for fresh consumption as well as in processed foods, or oil extract for food and for cosmetic industry. Since is rich in oil with high content of unsaturated fatty acids such as palmitoléico, oleic, linoleic and linoleic acid, may also which also be considered as functional food. Generally, the co-product generated in oil extraction does not pass by any value process because their nutritional and economic potential are unknown. Considering the animal feeding as a link between the macadamia industry and livestock production, we propose the study of the macadamia oil extraction co-product as a feedstuff for lambs termination aiming to evaluated animal performance and its potential to reduce environmental impact by mitigating enteric methane emission thus generating the possibility of developing an alternative route for this co-product. The digestibility assays will be conduct, as well as ruminal parameters, growing performance, carcass and meat characteristics and methane emission of lambs fed macadamia co-product. The treatments proposed are composed of different inclusion levels (0, 8, 16 and 24%) of this co-product in the concentrate which will be offered to the animals. The feed to be tested will be provided by the QueenNut Macadamia company that through FAPESP (process 13/19023-0) has generated this kind of material.