Nutritional Value and in Vitro Digestibility of Legume Pods From Seven Trees Species Present in the Tropical Deciduous Forest

Abstract

<p>The pods of trees from tropical deciduous forest are relevant in the dry season due to their high availability. Whole pods from seven plant species <em>Acacia pennatula</em> (Schltdl. & Cham.) Benth., <em>Caesalpinia gaumeri</em> (Britton & Rose) Greenm., <em>Leucaena leucocephala</em> (Lam.) de Wit, <em>Lysiloma latisiliquum</em> (L.) Benth., <em>Mimosa bahamensis</em> Benth., <em>Piscidia piscipula</em> (L.) Sarg. and <em>Senegalia gaumeri</em> (S. F. Blake) Britton & Rose which are reported as consumed by small ruminants were evaluated. Their nutritional value, phenolic compounds, <em>in vitro </em>dry matter (IVDMD) and organic matter digestibility (IVOMD) and metabolizable energy (ME) with and without the inclusion of polyethylene glycol (PEG) were evaluated. The pods from <em>P. piscipula</em> showed the highest crude protein content. The pods of <em>L. leucocephala</em>, <em>C. gaumeri</em>, and <em>A. pennatula</em> resulted with the highest IVDMD (46.3 and 44.5%)<em>, </em>IVOMD<em> </em>(44.8 and 45.4%) and ME (6.8 and 6.7 MJ) (P<0.05). The phenolic compounds were not detected in <em>C. gaumeri, L. latisiliquum </em>and <em>S. gaumeri </em>pods. The IVDMD, IVOMD and ME of <em>L latisiliquum</em> and <em>P. piscipula pods </em>(P<0.05) was lower when PEG was added. Pods from <em>A. pennatula, C. gaumeri </em>and <em>L. leucocephala </em>showed acceptable nutritional value for their use as supplement for ruminants.</p>