China Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine ›› 2024, Vol. 51 ›› Issue (1): 106-113.doi: 10.16431/j.cnki.1671-7236.2024.01.011

• Nutrition and Feed • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Research Progress of Oregano Essential Oil in Alleviating Ruminal Methane Emission in Ruminants

LI Xiaopeng1,2, GAO Pengxiang2, JIANG Linshu2, TU Yan1   

  1. 1. Feed Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Key Laboratory of Feed Biotechnology, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Beijing 100081, China;
    2. Beijing Key Laboratory of Cow Nutrition, College of Animal Science and Technology, Beijing University of Agriculture, Beijing 102206, China
  • Received:2023-07-19 Online:2024-01-05 Published:2023-12-27

Abstract: The greenhouse gas emissions of ruminants account for 80% of the total greenhouse gas emissions of livestock and poultry.Methane, as a by-product of rumen microbial metabolism, not only causes serious harmness to the environment but also reduces the feed energy utilization of ruminants.Plant extracts have become one of the research hotspots in the field of methane emission reduction due to their ability to regulate rumen microbial communities.Oregano essential oil is a plant extract extracted from oregano that contains a variety of biologically active substances.With thymol and carvacrol as the main active factors, it can improve the rumen environment, change the composition of rumen microorganisms, and regulate rumen fermentation.Biological functions have broad application prospects in the field of ruminant breeding.The methane-lowering effect of oregano essential oil has been studied on a variety of animals.The results show that oregano essential oil can reduce ruminal methane emissions by regulating rumen microorganisms and their metabolism, but the research on its mechanism of action is not in-depth enough.This article takes ruminants as the subject and reviews the mechanism of oregano essential oil to improve methane emissions by regulating the abundance and composition of bacteria, archaea and protozoa in the rumen, regulating rumen metabolism, inhibiting the carbon dioxide reduction pathway and the acetate fermentation pathway, and to provide reference for the application of oregano essential oil in feed.

Key words: oregano essential oil; ruminants; rumen; methane emissions

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