Effects of 2-methylbutyrate on rumen fermentation, ruminal enzyme activities, urinary excretion of purine derivatives and feed digestibility in steers

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of 2-methylbutyrate (2MB) supplementation on rumen fermentation, ruminal enzyme activities, urinary excretion of purine derivatives and feed digestibility in the total tract of steers. Eight ruminally cannulated Simmental steers were used in a replicated 4×4 Latin square experiment. The treatments were: control (without 2MB), L2MB, M2MB and H2MB with 8.4, 16.8 and 25.2g 2MB per steer per …