Lr. Ndlovu et Fv. Nherera, CHEMICAL-COMPOSITION AND RELATIONSHIP TO IN-VITRO GAS-PRODUCTION OF ZIMBABWEAN BROWSABLE INDIGENOUS TREE SPECIES, Animal feed science and technology, 69(1-3), 1997, pp. 121-129
Seventeen Zimbabwean browse species were analysed for crude protein (C
P), neutral and acid detergent fibre (NDF and ADF), acid detergent lig
nin (ADL), insoluble; proanthocyanidins (IPAs) and protein precipitati
ng polyphenolics (PPPs). Gas production of the species was measured ov
er 96 h and gas-production constants estimated using the equation: gas
produced = b(1-e(-ct)). The browse varied greatly in their CP, fibre
and phenolic content. Crude protein ranged from 56 to 210 g kg(-1) dry
matter (DM), NDF from 294 to 835 g kg(-1) DM and PAs from 14.2 to 389
A(550 nm) g(-1) NDF. None of the polyphenolics assayed were related t
o gas-production constants (P > 0.05) but NDF, ADF and ADL were negati
vely correlated (P < 0.05) to rate and extent of gas production. The r
esults indicate that the effect of polyphenolics on gas production is
complex and varies across browse species and that the fibre fraction o
f browse may be more important than tannins in limiting fermentation i
n vitro. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.