Óleos essenciais como modificadores da fermentação ruminal em substituição a monensina sódica in vitro

The objective of this study to evaluate the effect of secondary plant compounds present in essential oils in replacement of monensin on in vitro ruminal fermentation parameters. It was adopted a completely randomized design with nine treatments and four replicates. The treatments were: control (CON), monensin (MON), garlic oil (ALH), cinnamon oil (CAN), clove oil (CRA), mint oil (HOR), juniper oil (JUN), bitter orange oil (LAR), and melaleuca oil (MEL). The in vitro gas technique was used to record total gas production at 4, 8, 12 and 24 h after incubation. MON, CAN and CRA increased gas production Only the garlic and cinnamon treatments reduced the digestibility of organic matter in 20 and 26% in relation to the control treatment. Methane production reduced (P