Methane suppression by coconut oil and associated effects on nutrient and energy balance in sheep

Three different diets with increasing proportions of coconut oil (0, 3.5 and 7%) were fed to six sheep in an incomplete Latin square experiment with four replicates per diet. The diets were composed of hay and concentrates either without or with coconut oil. Concentrate comprised 28.8 and 54.6% of the diet DM in the treatments containing 3.5 and 7% coconut oil, respectively. Wethers on all treatments were fed at 1.2 x maintenance. Gaseous exchange was measured in respiratory chambers. Protozoa counts were reduced (P < 0.05) by 88 and 97% when diets contained 3.5 and 7% coconut oil, respectively, whereas bacteria counts increased (P < 0.05). Supplementation of coconut oil at proportions of 3.5 and 7% suppressed (P < 0.001) methane production by 28 and 73%, respectively, as related to the unsupplemented diet. This proportionately reduced (P < 0.001) the amount of gross energy lost through methane from 7.5 to 5.7 and 2.5%, in diets containing 0, 3.5 and 7% coconut oil, respectively. Assuming a linear suppressive effect of coconut oil, about half of the additional methane reduction with the 7% coconut oil diet as compared with the 3.5% diet was attributed to the substitution of concentrate for hay. Digestibility of cell wall constituents was numerically decreased by coconut oil. Apart from this and its effect on methane emissions coconut oil had no major influence on digestion or on energy and nitrogen balance.