Dose-dependent effect of spent coffee grounds on intake, apparent digestibility, fermentation pattern, methane emissions, microbial protein supply, and antioxidant status in Latxa sheep

Abstract

Spent coffee grounds (SCG) are the residue which remains after making coffee beverage, and they are usually seen as food waste. As a result, they are typically disposed of in landfill sites or incinerated. This disposal process releases approximately 650 million kilograms of CO2 into the atmosphere in Europe. Recently, considerable efforts have been made to reduce the negative impact of SCG by using them in various sectors, such as animal feeding, taking advantage of their nutritional composition and rich content of polyphenols. Supplementing animal feed with polyphenols has been shown to be an effective strategy for reducing CH4 emissions from livestock and improving antioxidant-immune status of animals. The purpose of this research was to investigate the effects of 3 levels of SCG inclusion in the concentrate of sheep. Eight dry Latxa ewes were randomly assigned to 1 of 4 treatments: Control (0 g/kg DM), SCG100 (100 g/kg DM), SCG150 (150 g/kg DM), and SCG200 (200 g/kg DM). Metabolic cages and respiratory chambers were used in this study. SCG reduced, in a dose-dependent manner, enteric CH4 emissions relative to intake and improved the antioxidant-immune status of sheep but reduced the apparent digestibility of crude protein and starch.