Mitigation of Enteric Methane Emission in Cattle Through Indigenous Algae

Abstract

Climate change and global warming has major negative impacts on human health and a cause of concern to the environment and biodiversity as a whole. Greenhouse gases (GHGs), in particular, methane (CH4), are the major contributors of global warming. Livestock and farm animals alone produce more than half of total GHG emissions in the world contributing significantly to GHGs emissions through enteric fermentation and its manure. From nutritional perspective, enteric methane energy accounts for 2 – 12% of gross energy intake, and by any reduction in this energy can be diverted to production purposes. Given India’s largest population of cattle and buffalo in the world, country needs strategy in place to make animal production more efficient, environmental-friendly and more sustainable and at par or above the global standards. In an effort to mitigate methane emissions from ruminants, dietary modifications have been explored as a viable strategy, offering both environmental and nutritional benefits. Recently, Australian researchers proposed use of red seaweed in ruminants to tackle enteric methane problem. In vitro experiments have demonstrated that altering ruminant feed intake can substantially reduce methane emissions, with algal-derived feed additives showing the most promising anti-methanogenic effects with as much as 80% reduction in methane production in livestock. However, so far, there are no studies on Indian algae. The present study attempts to screen three different indigenous algae for their anti-methanogenic compounds and their potential to mitigate methane production in vitro using cow rumen fluid. Further, we determined the nutritive value of these seaweeds and attempts were also made for cultivation of algae and extraction of genomic DNA from these seaweeds. Such endeavours hold great potential for significantly reducing GHG emissions, thereby improving air quality, and combating climate change.