Title
Evaluating the protein value of fresh tropical forage grasses and forage legumes using in vitro and chemical fractionation methods
Date Issued
01 October 2021
Access level
open access
Resource Type
journal article
Author(s)
Dickhoefer U.
University of Hohenheim
Publisher(s)
MDPI
Abstract
The objectives of the present study were (1) to assess the adequacy of the in vitro and chemical methods to predict post-ruminal crude protein supply (PRCP) from fresh tropical forage, and (2) to identify PRCP supply predictors. Twenty-three fresh forage grasses and 15 forage legumes commonly used in domestic cattle feeding in the tropics and subtropics were incubated in the rumen of cows to determine ruminal crude protein (CP) degradation. The PRCP supply was calculated from in situ rumen-undegraded CP and in vitro organic matter digestibility (i.e., reference method), from ammonia-nitrogen release during in vitro incubation (i.e., in vitro method), and from the concentrations of chemical CP fractions (i.e., chemical method). The adequacy was evaluated using error-index and dimensionless parameters, and stepwise regression was used to select PRCP predictors. Adequacy ranged from poor to moderate (0.53 to 0.74) for the in vitro method being lower for forage legumes at a slow rumen passage rate (0.20), and even poorer (0.02 to 0.13) for the chemical method. Hence, the in vitro method can estimate PRCP supply in tropical forages with moderate to high but not with slow passage rates. Equations developed in the present study appear to predict PRCP supply with reasonable adequacy.
Volume
11
Issue
10
Language
English
OCDE Knowledge area
Biotecnología agrícola, Biotecnología alimentaria
Agricultura
Subjects
Scopus EID
2-s2.0-85115969918
Source
Animals
ISSN of the container
20762615
Sponsor(s)
Funding: This research was funded by the Program of Accompanying Research for Agricultural Innovation (PARI) of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), grant number 2014.0690.9 and the National Fund for Scientific, Technological Development and Technological Development of Peru, grant number 129-2016.
Sources of information:
Directorio de Producción Científica
Scopus