A study on the nutritional characteristics of some plants and their effects on ruminal microbial fermentation and protozoa population

AMB Express

Table 4 Protozoa population (× 10⁴cells/ml) of the culture medium after plant incubation

Plant species	Total protozoa		Entodinium spec		Diplodinium spec		Epidinium spec		Ophryoscolex spec		Isotricha spec		Dasytrichia spec
Plant species	2019	2020	2019	2020	2019	2020	2019	2020	2019	2020	2019	2020	2019	2020
Dracocephalum moldavica L	22.0^a	20.3^abc	17.7^abc	17.7^a	1.67^bc	1.07^b	0.96^a	0.95^abc	0.33^a	0.27^a	0.24^a	0.21^bc	0.13^a	0.11^de
Melissa officinalis L	21.5^a	21.1^a	18.4^a	18.0^a	1.46^c	1.52^a	0.95^a	0.95^bc	0.32^a	0.27^a	0.24^a	0.23^a	0.13^a	0.14^a
Ruta graveolens L	21.8^a	21.0^ab	18.2^a	18.2^a	1.98^ab	1.12^b	0.94^b	0.96^a	0.33^a	0.27^a	0.24^a	0.23^ab	0.13^a	0.13^ab
Perovskia abrotanoides Kar	15.6^c	16.7^d	14.4^d	14.6^b	0.11^f	0.70^c	0.69^d	0.91^bc	0.15^c	0.21^b	0.15^c	0.19^d	0.11^b	0.11^e
Cichorium intybus L	18.3^b	18.6^c	16.2^c	16.1^ab	0.69^de	0.99^b	0.87^c	0.91^bc	0.27^b	0.23^ab	0.20^b	0.20^cd	0.11^b	0.12^bcde
Borago officinalis L	21.9^a	20.2^abc	18.0^ab	17.2^a	2.16^a	1.52^a	0.98^a	0.96^ab	0.34^a	0.25^ab	0.25^a	0.22^abc	0.14^a	0.13^abc
Peganum harmala L	18.9^b	19.1^bc	16.6^bc	16.6^ab	0.74^d	0.96^b	0.89^bc	0.94^abc	0.28^b	0.25^ab	0.21^b	0.21^abc	0.11^b	0.13^abcd
Teucrium polium L	18.0^bc	18.6^c	16.2^c	16.0^ab	0.35^ef	1.10^b	0.88^c	0.91^c	0.27^b	0.24^ab	0.20^b	0.20^cd	0.11^b	0.12^cde
Medicago sativa	22.6^a	21.6^a	18.9^a	18.4^a	2.07^a	1.55^a	0.96^a	0.97^a	0.33^a	0.27^a	0.24^a	0.23^ab	0.13^a	0.14^a
SEM	0.46	0.30	0.27	0.30	0.13	0.053	0.015	0.006	0.010	0.005	0.006	0.003	0.002	0.002
p-value	< 0.0001	< 0.0001	< 0.0001	0.021	< 0.0001	< 0.0001	< 0.0001	0.019	< 0.0001	< 0.0001	< 0.0001	< 0.0001	< 0.0001	0.0006

Means with different letters among the same row indicate significant differences according to the p-value presented
SEM standard error of the mean