Use of propolis extract as a strategy to reduce enteric methane emissions in dairy cattle
JOURNAL OF KING SAUD UNIVERSITY SCIENCE, cilt.38, sa.8, ss.1-9, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 38 Sayı: 8
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.25259/jksus_1748_2025
- Dergi Adı: JOURNAL OF KING SAUD UNIVERSITY SCIENCE
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, BIOSIS, zbMATH, Academic Search Ultimate (EBSCO)
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.1-9
- Anahtar Kelimeler: In vitro digestibility, Methane production, Propolis, Rumen fermentation, Ruminants
- Açık Arşiv Koleksiyonu: AVESİS Açık Erişim Koleksiyonu
- Atatürk Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Natural feed additives known for their antimicrobial and antioxidant properties have recently attracted attention due to their potential to reduce methane emissions. This study investigated the effects of different doses of propolis extract supplemented to total mixed rations (TMR) of dairy cattle on in vitro gas, methane production, and digestibility parameters. This was an in vitro experiment using rumen fluid collected from three Simmental lactating cows. Six groups were formed in the experiment: a control group without propolis and five groups supplemented with 0.1%, 0.2%, 0.4%, 0.8%, and 1,6% propolis, respectively. Research findings show that with increasing propolis dose added to TMRs, there was a tendency for methane production to decrease (CH4) production, with the lowest values observed in the 1,6% propolis group (P<0.01). Supplementation with propolis extract had no significant effect on in vitro digestibility parameters of dairy cows. Despite no statistically significant difference in daisy digestibility parameters being observed between different doses, there was a slight decrease in neutral detergent fiber digestibility (DNDFD) (%) values with increasing propolis dose, and the lowest value was seen at 1.6% dose. With increasing doses of propolis added to TMRs, there was a significant decrease in pH and NH₃-N concentration (P<0.01). Additionally, slight decreases were observed in ME, NEL, and organic matter digestibility (OMD) (%), but these differences were not found to be statistically significant. According to the correlation analysis, while there was a strong negative relationship between pH and MY, it was observed that ME, NEL and OMD (%) values increased with CH4 production; pH, CH4 (%) and gas production parameters digestible gas production (DGP), digestable methane production (DMP) were positively correlated, while PF and microbial protein synthesis efficiency (MPSE) were negatively correlated with CH4 and gas parameters. Principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical clustering analyses classified different propolis doses into three groups according to in vitro gas, digestibility, energy, NH₃-N, and pH parameters; it was observed that OMD, NH₃-N, DNDFD, CH4, DMP, DGP, ME, and NEL values were close to each other, while there was a negative relationship between PF, DOMD, and MPSE and NH₃-N, CH4, and gas parameters.