Control of rumen methanogenesis

The Department of Animal Production relies on more than 30 years of expertise in the field of in vitro studies of rumen fermentation and in particular study of rumen methanogenesis and its inhibition. In vitro techniques used are of the batch type. Recently in vivo techniques to quantify rumen methane production have been optimised, using ethane infusion as a tracer. Both in vitro and in vivo techniques are used to evaluate methane inhibitory properties of different products. Current strategies mainly rely on supplementation of polyunsaturated fatty acids or fatty acid rich products, which is found to be a promising intervention for the lowering of rumen methanogenesis accompanied by a modified rumen fatty acid metabolism, provoking optimised ruminant meat and milk fatty acid composition.

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