Influence of cinnamon essential oil and monensin on ruminal biogas kinetics of waste pomegranate seeds as a biofriendly agriculture environment

Abstract

The objective of present experiment was to compare the effect of cinnamon essential oil with monensin on the environmental biogas production kinetics of pomegranate seeds. Experimental treatments were: pomegranate seeds (control), pomegranate seeds with 12 mg monensin/kg dry matter, pomegranate seeds with 24 mg monensin/kg dry matter, pomegranate seeds with 150 mg cinnamon essential oil/kg dry matter and pomegranate seeds with 250 mg cinnamon essential oil/kg dry matter. The biogas produced by treatments incubation was recorded at 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 24, 36, 48, 72, 96 and 120 h after incubation. The results showed that biogas production decreased numerically at 120 h after incubation in the treatment containing monensin (at 24 mg/kg dry matter) and cinnamon essential oil (at 150 and 250 mg/kg dry matter) compared to the control treatment. The addition of monensin and cinnamon essential oil had a significant effect (P < 0.05) on increasing partitioning factor and fermentation efficiency compared to control treatment. Concentration of ammonia nitrogen at 120 h of incubation was reduced (P < 0.05) by adding different levels of cinnamon essential oil and monensin at the level of 24 mg, and total volatile fatty acids were significantly reduced in treatments containing cinnamon essential oil. Concentrations of ammonia nitrogen and total volatile fatty acids showed an incremental effect (P < 0.05) with the addition of 12 mg of monensin. In conclusion, cinnamon essential oil and monensin can be used in an environmentally conducive and acceptable way to diminish biogas emissions from ruminants; therewith ameliorate environmental conditions. However, the cinnamon essential oil can be easily used in livestock diets to improve fermentation and reduce biogas production.