The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the effects of inclusion of essential oil of Lemongrass (Cymbopogon flexuosus) in rumen fermentation parameters, nutrients digestibility and nitrogen balance in lambs feeding. The treatments were: negative control or CN (no additives); positive control or MON (addition of 25 mg of monensin kg-1 of dry matter); and 1.25, 2.5 and 3.75 mL essential oil kg-1 of diet as feed. Thirty crossbred Dorper x Santa Ines lamb cannulated in the rumen with 59.66 ± 10.03 kg of body weight (BW) were allocated into randomized complete blocks design with five replicates per treatment. Based on the total data of collections, the treatment 1.25 mL of essential oil of lemon grass was able to positively manipulate ruminal fermentation in which it was observed higher concentration of total short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), higher concentrations of acetate and propionate -together with lower acetate/propionate ratio, but with higher methane concentration. The treatments did not influence dry matter intake, but the its digestibility. Organic matter and ether extract were higher for the three doses of essential oil of lemon grass compared to the CN and MON treatments, respectively. The lemon grass essential oil did not affect the nitrogen balance in sheep. Thus, it is concluded that the best dosage was 1.25 mL in terms of total SCFA, propionate and decreased acetate/propionate ratio, however, these same treatments can be evaluated in sheep performance and thus ensure the best dose of this essential oil so that it can have a better feed efficiency in sheep.
Neto et al. (Mon,) studied this question.