Beneficial effects of rumen-protected methionine on nitrogen-use efficiency, histological parameters, productivity and reproductive performance of ruminants

Providing essential amounts of balanced nutrients is one of the most vital aspects of livestock production. Among nutrients, protein has an essential role in many physiological functions of animals. Amino acids in needs for both high and medium yielding ruminant animals are not fully covered by microbial degraded feed sources in the rumen of animals, and they must be met by protecting the proteins from being broken down in the rumen; hence, the dietary supplementation of rumen-protected proteins (RPP), including mainly rumen-protected methionine (RPM), became imperative. Many researchers are interested in studying the role of (RPM) in ruminant animals concerning its effect on milk yield, growth performance, digestibility, dry matter intake and nitrogen utilization efficiency. Unfortunately, results obtained from several investigations regarding RPM indicated great fluctuation between its useful and useless effects in ruminant nutrition particularly during early and late lactation period; therefore, this review article may be helpful for ruminant farm owners when they decide to supplement RPM in animal's diet. Conclusively, supplementation of RPM often has a balanced positive influence, without any reported negative impact on milk yield, growth performance and blood parameters especially in early lactating ruminant animals and when used with the low crude protein diet.