Performance and ingestive behavior of beef cattle fed a diet with low starch inclusion supplemented with orange essential oil

• Grant number: 25/17777-5
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: December 01, 2025
• End date: November 30, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Animal Husbandry - Animal Nutrition and Feeding
• Principal Investigator: Daniel Montanher Polizel
• Grantee: Manoel Volpi Basso
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia (FEIS). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Ilha Solteira. Ilha Solteira , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 23/09938-3 - Orange essential oil as additive for feedlot beef cattle, AP.R

Abstract

The present study aims to evaluate the effects of using orange essential oil in diets for feedlot cattle on performance and ingestive behavior. To this end, a study was proposed evaluating the inclusion of orange essential oil in a diet with lower starch content through the inclusion of a co-product from the corn ethanol agroindustry. Thirty-six non-castrated Guzerá bulls with an initial body weight of approximately 350 kg will be used. The experimental design to be used will be a randomized complete block design, with blocks defined by the animals' initial body weight. The experiment will last 120 days, with the first 15 days used for adaptation to high-concentrate diets, and 105 days for feeding the final diet. The treatments to be used will be: Control, a diet containing 88% concentrate, with high inclusion of dried distillers grains with solubles (DDGS - a diet with lower starch content), without the addition of additives; OEO: control diet with the inclusion of 1000 mg of orange essential oil. The animals will receive the diets daily at 8:00 a.m., allowing ad libitum intake. Refusals will be collected daily before diet delivery. The animals will be weighed at the beginning of the experiment (D0), after the adaptation period (D20), at the beginning of the final third of the feedlot period (D70), and at the end of the experiment (D120). On day 110 of the study, ingestive behavior will be evaluated over 24 hours, analyzing the animal's position (standing and lying) and behaviors (ruminating, idling, drinking water, and eating), allowing the analysis of the effect of orange essential oil on the ingestive behavior of the animals. Observations will be carried out every 5 minutes. For statistical analysis of the data, the SAS statistical package (version 9.4) will be used. The PROC MIXED procedure will be applied, and significance will be considered when P ¿ 0.05. (AU)