Degradation Of Chitosan In Vivo And Its Effect On The Growth Performance In Goats

This experiment studied the chitosan degradability in vivo and its effect on ruminal fermentation and the growth performance in goats.It provided a theoretical basis of chitosan used in ruminant production.The study was divided into four experiments as follows:Exp 1:Measurement of Chitosan Degradability in Rumen by Nylon Dag TechniqueThree goats fitted with rumen cannulas were used for the measurement of degradation rate of dry matter(DM),decrease rate of nitrogen(N) and degree of deacetylation(DD) in the rumen of goats by nylon bags technique.The results showed that chitosan could degrade in the rumen of goats.Decrease rate of DM was 1.11% at 6h,but the quality of DM,N content and degree of deacetylation in the nylon bags increased as the time of stagnation in the rumen,then they outstripped the original value.Exp 2:Measurement of Chitosan Degradability in Small Intestine by Small Intestinal Fluid Freeze Dried Powder TechniqueThree goats fitted with rumen cannulas were used for the measurement of decrease rate of DM,decrease rate of N and DD in the small intestine of goats by invitro small intestinal fluid freeze dried powder technique.The results showed that the quality of DM could degrade in the small intestine of goats,but N content and degree of deacetylation as the time of stagnation in the culturing liquor,then they outstripped the original value.Exp 3:A Study of the Effect of chitosan on Fermentation in Goat Rumen by In-Vitro Gas ProductionIn vitro gas production was conducted to study the effect of chitosan on goat rumen fermentation.Through detecting the in vitro accumulative gas production (GP),degradation rate of neutral detergent fiber(NDF)and content of bacteria nitrogen(BN) for 24 hours.We studied the effect of different levels of chitosan on goat rumen fermentation . A single factorial trial was designed for the experiment.Chitosan was added at levels of 0,0.03%,0.06%,0.09% and 0.12% respectively,and each level included 4 repetitions.The results indicated that chitosan could promote fermentation in rumen,increase synthesis of microbe protein and decomposition of fiber.In this experiment,the optimal content of chitosan in goat diets was 0.09%-0.12%.Exp 4:Effect of Chitosan on Growth Performance in GoatsTwelve healthy goats(average weight of 20±2.38 kg) were selected for this experiment through the completely randomized design and divided into three groups,each group haved four goats.Chitosan was added at levels of 0,0.09% and 0.18% respectively.Total duration of the experiment was 70 days(14 days for adaptation and 56 days for tiral period).Weight of goats was measured on the 1th day and 56th day in the trial period , then feed ingestion was registered everyday.The results showed that compared with the control group,Average daily gain(ADG),average daily feed intake(ADFI) and the ratio of feed to gain(FCR) all were insignificant difference(p>0.05).In this experiment,Chitosan did not show growth-promoting role in goats.