Dietary inclusion of diallyl disulfide, yucca powder, calcium fumarate, an extruded linseed product, or medium-chain fatty acids does not affect methane production in lactating dairy cows

Two similar experiments were conducted to assess the effect of diallyl disulfide (DADS), yucca powder (YP), calcium fumarate (CAFU), an extruded linseed product (UNSAT), or a mixture of capric and caprylic acid (MCFA) on methane production, energy balance, and dairy cow performance. In experiment 1, a control diet (CON1) and diets supplemented with 56 mg of DADS/kg of dry matter (DM), 3 g of YP/kg of DM, or 25 g of CAFU/kg of DM were evaluated. In experiment 2, an inert saturated fat source in the control diet (CON2) was exchanged isolipidically for an extruded linseed source (100 g/kg of DM; UNSAT) or a mixture of C8:0 and C10:0 (MCFA; 20.3 g/kg of DM). In experiment 2, a higher inclusion level of DADS (200 mg/kg of DM) was also tested. Both experiments were conducted using 40 lactating Holstein-Friesian dairy cows. Cows were adapted to the diet for 12 d and were subsequently kept in respiration chambers for 5 d to evaluate methane production, diet digestibility, energy balance, and animal performance. Feed intake was restricted to avoid confounding effects of possible differences in ad libitum feed intake on methane production. Feed intake was, on average, 17.5 and 16.6 kg of DM/d in experiments 1 and 2, respectively. None of the additives reduced methane production in vivo. Methane production in experiment 1 was 450, 453, 446, and 423 g/d for CON1 and the diets supplemented with DADS, YP, and CAFU, respectively. In experiment 2, methane production was 371, 394, 388, and 386 g/d for CON2 and the diets supplemented with UNSAT, MCFA, and DADS, respectively. No effects of the additives on energy balance or neutral detergent fiber digestibility were observed. The addition of MCFA increased milk fat content (5.38% vs. 4.82% for control) and fat digestibility (78.5% vs. 59.8% for control), but did not affect milk yield or other milk components. The other products did not affect milk yield or composition. Results from these experiments emphasize the need to confirm methane reductions observed in vitro with in vivo data.