Supplementation with sodium butyrate improves growth and antioxidant function in dairy calves before weaning

Table 3 Rumen fermentation characteristics of calves fed different levels of sodium butyrate

Items	Treatment^a				SEM	P-value
Items	SB0	SB15	SB30	SB45		Linear	Quadratic	Cubic	Trt^b × Day	Day
pH	6.42	6.59	6.41	6.32	0.06	0.221	0.134	0.258	0.790	<.0001
NH₃-N, mg/dL	18.13	17.96	16.50	18.22	0.40	0.865	0.533	0.501	0.723	0.032
Acetic acid, mmol/mL	27.86	27.64	29.83	29.77	0.59	0.377	0.967	0.577	0.718	<.0001
Propionic acid, mmol/mL	29.01	28.40	27.62	30.90	0.70	0.601	0.340	0.629	0.143	<.0001
Isobutyric acid, mmol/mL	0.61	0.62	0.64	0.52	0.03	0.375	0.313	0.569	0.323	0.001
Butyric acid, mmol/mL	7.27	9.42	9.73	9.39	0.57	0.120	0.172	0.757	0.417	<.0001
Isovaleric acid, mmol/mL	0.69	0.75	0.70	0.63	0.02	0.576	0.497	0.880	0.402	0.002
Valeric acid, mmol/mL	2.02	1.82	2.25	2.13	0.09	0.580	0.906	0.358	0.525	<.0001
Total VFA, mmol/mL	67.63	68.23	70.91	72.88	1.22	0.359	0.874	0.882	0.143	<.0001
Acetic: Propionic	1.21	1.23	1.32	1.190	0.03	0.946	0.244	0.270	0.409	<.0001

^a SB0, SB15, SB30, and SB45: 0, 15, 30, and 45 g of sodium butyrate per day, respectively, were supplemented
^b Trt Treatment (n = 10 per treatment group)

ISSN: 2049-1891