Chemical composition and digestibility of some browse plant species collected from Algerian arid rangelands

Abstract

Many wild browse and bush species are undervalued mainly because of insufficient knowledge about their potential feeding value. The objective was to evaluate some nutritional attributes of various Algerian browse and shub species (Atriplex halimus, Artemisia campestris, Artemisia herba-alba, Astragalus gombiformis, Calobota saharae, Retama raetam, Stipagrostis pungens, Lygeum spartum and Stipa tenacissima). Chemical composition, phenols and tannins concentration, in vitro digestibility, in vitro gas production kinetics and in vitro bio-assay for assessment of tannins using buffered rumen fluid, and in situ disappearence of the edible parts of the plants (leaves, thin twigs and flowers) were determined. In general, protein content in dicotyledon species was always greater than in monocotyledon grasses, these showing higher neutral and acid detergent fibre and lower lignin contents than dicots. The tannin concentrations varied considerably between species, but in general the plants investigated in this study had low tannin contents (except for Artemisia spp. and S. tenacissima). Monocots showed lower in vitro and in situ digestibilities, fermentation rate, cumulative gas production and extent of degradation than dicot species. The plants were clustered by principal components analysis in two groups: poor-quality grasses and the most digestible dicot species. Chemical composition (neutral detergent fibre and protein) and digestibility were the main influential variables determining the ranking. In conclusion, A. halimus, A. campestris, A. herba-alba and A. gombiformis can be considered of greater nutritional value than the highly fibrous and low digestible grasses (S. pungens, L. spartum and S. tenacissima) that should be considered emergency roughages.

In vitro assessment of nutritive value of date palm by-products as feed for ruminants

“…The CP contents of DPBP found in the present work for waste dates were in agreement with those reported by Longuo et al (1989), Chehma and Longuo (2004) and Genin et al (2004) who reported a low nitrogen content (4.5%) for waste dates of deglet noor variety. The CP content of DPBP was thus below the level required (70-80 g CP/kg DM) for optimum rumen function (Van Soest, 1994;Boufennara et al, 2012). Norton et al (1994) concluded that such a low dietary N supply is not sufficient to ensure an optimal metabolic activity and growth of ruminal microbiota.…”

Temporal variations in leaf traits, chemical composition and in vitro true digestibility of four temperate fodder tree species

“…The knowledge of the importance of tree foliage for ruminant nutrition has led to several studies aimed at evaluating leaf forage productivity, chemical composition and digestibility (e.g. Boufennara et al 2012). Proximate and fatty acid (FA) composition, phenolic concentration and digestibility have been largely assessed for various fodder tree species in several environments such as savanna (Tefera et al 2008), tropics (Arigbede et al 2012), subtropics (Prakash et al 2009), American temperate region (Ricklefs and Matthew 1982), Mediterranean region (Kökten et al 2012) and non-European alpine areas (Khanal and Subba 2001).…”

Assessment of Chemical Composition of Grain Crops Depending on Vegetative Stage for Feeding

“…Among them there are influence of heat stress on protein quality and breeding drought tolerant varieties of plants (Thomas, 2015), efficient use of cultures under dryland conditions (Robles et al, 2008;Boufennara et al, 2012), increasing the bioavailability of minerals from grain crops (Gupta et al, 2015). More efficient use of perennial crops that require less protection chemicals and Asian J.…”