Nutritive Value of Ajuga iva as a Pastoral Plant for Ruminants: Plant Phytochemicals and In Vitro Gas Production and Digestibility

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Dear author:

Please consider the comments. 

Sincerely,

Comments for author File: Comments.docx

Author Response

Dear Reviwer, many thanks for your comments on our manuscript. We have taken into consideration all of them. Also English was reviwed by two native english speaker. 

Herein (attached) the new version modified as suggetsed by you and by the other reviwer. Responses to your question are below illustared (marqued in yellow)

Many thanks for your patience

Pr. Hajer Ammar

Comments to the Author

Dear author:

Please consider the comments. 

Sincerely,

Specific comments/Repsonses:

Abstract

L34:        “organic matter (OM)” not found in the results section. The authors reported in term of “Ash”, which the OM could be calculated from 100-Ash. Rewrite please!

Done

L36-37: delete “The lowest (P<0.01) concentrations of NDF and ADF have been observed in A. iva cultivated Mograne, while”

Done

L41-42: delete “The highest (P<0.01) asymptotic gas production, and digestible OM have been observed for A. iva cultivated in Dougga.” Because, the asymptotic gas production not different (P=0.209) among sites and the digestible OM not found in the results section.

Done

L44-47: Change “The highest (P=0.009) DM degradability determined using the Tilley and Terry method was for A. iva cultivated in Mograne, while what cultivated in Nabeul had the lowest values. DM digestibility determined using Goering and Van Soest method was high (P<0.01) for A. iva cultivated in Mograne while the lowest value was noted for that cultivated in the Nabeul region.”  to

“The highest (P<0.01) DM degradability determined from the method of Tilley and Terry and the method of Goering and Van Soest was for A. iva cultivated in Mograne and Dougga, while the lowest (P<0.01) value was noted for that cultivated in the Nabeul region.”  

Done

L48:    Please rewrite the sentence.

Sentence is rewriten

Introduction

Clearly expressed.

Thanks

Materials and Methods

Please, provide the information on animal ethic statement or guidance.

Answer: The etic guidance is provided

L95:        Please add “Year”

The year of the samplig is added "2018"

L95-96: Add the detail on latitude and longitude of each site.

Latitude and longetude for each sampling region are added

L98:        Please, provide the information on soil type of each site.

Informations are added

L99-100: Please rewrite the sentence.

L102:      Add the model of blender mill.

Done

L110:      Add “(ANKOM 2000, ANKOM Technology, Macedon, NY, USA)”

Detail is added

L112:      Add the (model, company, city, country) of spectrophotometer.

Response: Ths phrase was deleted  because an error occured before and the even data concerning the use of this spectro is not presneted, thus it was an error and the sentence as added before, now we delet it

L120:      Add the “company name and city” of the rotary evaporator.

The company name is Buchi and the city is USA,

Company name and all details are added

L130:      Please change “ml” to “mL”, and check throughout the manuscript.

Done

L133:      Add the model of spectrophotometer.

Model is added

L136:      Please change “0.25 ml…” to “Each diluted sample extract (0.25 mL) was…”

Done

L158:      Please use this sentence “Four mature Merino sheep were 49.4 ± 4.2 kg body weight (mean ± standard error), and fitted with…”

Done

L170:      under CO2 flushed…

Done

L172:      Change “(IDMD)” to “(IVDMD)”, and check throughout the manuscript.

Done

L186-187: Please check the model of Ankom Daisy Incubator, and rewrite to “(Daisy Incubator…., ANKOM Technology, Macedon, NY, USA)”

Reference is added

L201:      Rumen fluid was extracted from four mature slaughtered sheep…

Done

L202:      Change “(48.5±4.3 kg SE body weight)” to “(48.5±4.3 kg body weight)”

Done

L203:      Change “immediately o the” to “immediately to the”

Done

L225:      “INRA [20]” to “INRA [58]”

It was an error  in the code, now all references are reviwed and rectified. Changement of codes is Done

Results

Table 1: Change “Items.” to “Items”, and move to the left margin.

Done

L250: What is mean?

Answer: ARSA: anti-radical scavenging activity, abbreviation and is synonym is added

L259, 260: Change “(IDMD)” to “(IVDMD)”

Done

L261, L263: Change “(P < 0.05)” to “(P < 0.01)”

Done

L271-274: Please use this sentence “A. iva collected from Nabeul had the lowest (P<0.05) GP at 8, 16, and 24 h of incubation times, the yield of GP calculated at 24h (GY24), and average rate (AR) of GP compared with those collected from Dougga and Mograne regions.

Done

L281: Change “showed” to “shows”

Done

Table 4: Please move “Parameters” to the left margin and move “Regions” to the center.

Done

L264, 275, 290: Change “Ajuga. iva” to “A. iva”

Done

For the parameter lists in all Tables, please use the abbreviation as shown in M&M section, and described in the footnote.

Done

Discussion

L303: Change “Medeetraian regions” to “Mediterranean regions”

Done

L315: Change “A. iva” to “A. iva” 

Done

L380-385: Not clear rewrite please!

Revision is done and we decided to delete this paragraph was deleted because it does not bring some new thing as compared with the previous.

Conclusion

L433, 437: delete “leaves”

Conclusion is reviewed

References

The references are incomplete, please check carefully!

All references are reviewed and coded according to the text

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

conclusion drawn from study need to be improved as suggested

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Author Response

Dear Reviwer, many thanks for your comments on our manuscript. We have taken into consideration all of them and we rectified as suggested.

Your comments on our first conclusion: "Information on palatability of plant is not known and also not studied in the present experiment. How authors can recommend for feeding of animals. Modified the conclusion" was taken into consideration and we changed the conclusion appropriately to the study .

Herein the reviw version (modified according to your comments and to those suggetsed by other reviwer).

Many thanks for your patience and for time you interst you gave to reviw the manuscript.

Pr. Hajer Ammar

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Dear author:

Please consider the comments. 

L264: “EE = Ether extract”

L269: change “anti-radical scavenging activity (ARSA)” to “ARSA”

Please Add “DOM” in Table 4.

For References, please use the italic for all scientific names.

Sincerely,

Author Response

Dear Reviewer, t,hanks for your revision and apreciated comments. All of them have been taken into consideration in our new version submitted herein.

Responsess to all comments are below listed:

L264: “EE = Ether extract”

Done

L269: change “anti-radical scavenging activity (ARSA)” to “ARSA”

Done

Please Add “DOM” in Table 4.

Done

For References, please use the italic for all scientific names.

All scientific names are in italic form

Author Response File: Author Response.docx