Livestock Research for Rural Development 29 (4) 2017 Guide for preparation of papers LRRD Newsletter

Citation of this paper

Chemical composition and in vitro gas production of lesser known South Sudan browse species

M T Deng1, J O Ondiek and P A Onjoro

Department of Animal Science, Egerton University, P.O. Box 536, Njoro, Kenya
mamerjohn99@gmail.com
1 Department of Animal Production, Dr. John Garang Memorial University of Science and Technology, Bor, South Sudan

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the nutritive value of the selected South Sudan browse species namely, Grewia tenax, Balanites aegyptiaca, Cordia sinensis, Tamarindus indica, Ziziphus spina_christiand Kedrostis foetissima to fill feed nutrient deficiency gap in the area. Forages were analysed for chemical composition including polyphenolics, minerals and in vitro gas production characteristics.

Among the browse species, G. tenax had the highest crude protein value while the lowest value was recorded in T. indica. C. sinensis had the highest NDF and ADF contents while B. aegyptiaca and G. tenax had the lowest NDF and ADF contents, respectively. T. indica was observed to be highest in condensed tannin ((≥60g/kg). Mineral concentrations varied among species with enough quantities except manganese (Mn) which was deficient in C. sinensis. At 24hour, the highly digestible fraction was similar among the species however, Z. spina-christi had the highest gas production. It is concluded that, all the browse species have great potential to fill the feed protein gap and thus could be good protein supplements to poor quality roughages in the area.

Key words: Cordia sinensis, dried leaves, Grewia tenax, Kedrostis foetissima, nutrient deficiency


Introduction

The rearing of livestock plays an important role in enabling smallholders to have resilient livelihoods and to avoid both food insecurity and poverty. Randolph et al (2007) reported that livestock contributed one-third of the protein that people consumed that is necessary for thinking and physical development. However, during critical periods, these animals hardly meet their high potential production (milk or meat) due to poor and inadequate quality of feed causing nutrient deficiency (Elis 1982; Fadel Elseed et al 2002). Moreover, the conventional feed resources such as grains, cereals, legumes, grass hay and their residues are scarce and expensive. It will be worth persisting with the ways to improve use of locally available feed resources especially tree and shrub forages in the wild. B. aegyptiaca and Z. spina-christi crude protein could be adequate to meet the late dry season requirements of small ruminants (Lazim 2007). Tamarind trees growing in woodlands are often most preferred plant by wild ruminants, such as elephants or giraffe, perhaps because of its high crude protein content (El-Sidig et al 2006). K. foetissima (jacq.).Cogn despite its unpleasant smell, cattle have been seen in the study area feeding on it ravenously and is belief by the herds-men to increase milk production in lactating cows. Furthermore, Grewia species fruits help in treating anaemia (Mohammed et al 2010) besides being livestock forage. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to assess the potential nutritive value of the above mentioned native species from South Sudan rangeland based on chemical composition, mineral concentrations and in vitro digestibility.


Material and methods

Forages collection and preparation

The selected six browse forages because of their availability throughout the year used in this study include:G. tenax, T. indica, B. aegyptiaca, Z. spina_christi, C. sinensis and K. Foetidissima. All forages were harvested from Bor’s rangeland in South Sudan from late November to April. The area is located at an altitude of 407 m above sea level with average annual rainfall and temperature of 891 mm and 27.3 oC, respectively. The leaves of these species were harvested separately by hand picking. In each collection day, the harvested samples were then pooled for each individual tree species and then air dried in a well-ventilated room to constant weight and ground to pass through a 4 mm sieve. However, for laboratory analysis, the forages were further ground to pass through a 1.0 mm sieve and then sub-sampled to obtain three samples for each tree species.

Nutrient composition analysis

Proximate fractions, including DM, ash, OM, EE total N in feed was determined following standard methods (AOAC, 1990). CP was obtained by multiplying N in feeds by the factor (6.25). NDF and ADF were determine according to ANKOM200 fibre analyser operator`s manual (2014). The extraction of phenolic was carried out by using 70% aqueous acetone. TEPH were determined using Folin Ciocalteu procedures as described by Julkunen- Titto (1985) and Evitayani et al (2004). The CT were measured and calculated as leucocyanidin equivalent, following the method of Porter et al (1986). Macro and micro-elements were analysed using atomic absorption spectrophotometer.

In vitro gas production

The browse samples were incubated in vitro with rumen fluid in calibrated glass syringes following the procedure of Menke and Steingass (1988). Rumen liquor was obtained from three male goats through suction tube before morning feeding. Normally feeding was with Rhode grass and 200g DM browse each after a 14day adaptation period with free access to water and mineral lick. About 0.2g of 1 mm milled samples were weighed into 100 ml calibrated glass syringes in triplicates. About 30 ml of rumen-buffer mixture was added into each syringe and then all the syringes were incubated in a water bath maintained at 39oC. The syringes were gently shaken every hour during the first 8 hours of incubation. Readings were recorded after 3, 6, 12, 24, 48, 72 and 96 hours. The mean gas volume readings were fitted according to Ørskov et al (1979) model using Neway` computer program (X.B.Chen, Rowett Research Institute, Aberdeen).

Statistical analysis

The data collected were analysed using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) following General Linear Model procedure of Statistical Analysis System (SAS version 9.0 2002). Significant differences among the means was tested and adjusted using a multiple comparisons: Turkey at P<0.05) difference.


Results

Chemical composition of the forages

The nutrient composition of browse forages is presented in Table 1. The observed high CP (Figure 1) content of the browse species justifies their use as supplement to poor quality natural pastures. The concentration of CT ranged between (3-38 g/kg) which is of nutritional benefits to ruminants. T. indica, however had CT (≥60g/kg) which is detrimental (Figure 2).

Table 1. Chemical composition of selected tree/shrub forages of Bor, South Sudan and Chloris gayana (g/kg DM)

Species

Parameters

DM

OM

Ash

CP

EE

NDF

ADF

TEPH

CT

B.aegypt

635a

858f

142b

152c

39.3b

292e

222d

21.7c

6.74c

G. tenax

919a

894d

106d

224a

41.6b

358c

172f

12.5d

8.43c

Z. spina

927a

908c

89.5e

166c

29.3bc

364c

180f

42.6b

37.6b

K. foetissi

882a

976a

239a

195b

30.7bc

310de

248c

13.6d

3.56c

T. indica

919a

915bc

85.2ef

130d

88.1a

336cd

205e

73.3a

61.8a

C.sinensis

890a

881e

119c

160c

96.7a

423b

356b

5.47e

3.37c

C. gayana

921a

921b

79.0f

41.4e

20.8c

689a

494a

4.31e

1.97c

P

0.44

0.0001

0.0001

0.0001

0.0001

0.0001

0.0001

0.0001

0.0001

SEM

103

0.22

1.86

4.17

3.66

8.09

3.21

0.29

1.45

Means in the same column without common letter are different at P<0.05;
SEM=standard error of means;
DM=dry matter; OM=organic matter; CP=crude protein; EE= ether extract; ADF=acid detergent fibre;
NDF=neutral detergent fibre; CT=condensed tannins; TEPH=total extractable phenolic



Figure 1. The crude protein levels of the selected South Sudan browse species


Figure 2. The condensed tannin contents of the selected South Sudan browse species
Macro and micro mineral concentration of browse forages

Mineral concentration among the species are presented in Table 2. From all the species B. aegyptiaca was outstandingly high in Ca, Fe, Co and Mn. K. foetidissima, G. tenax and Z. spina_christi were abundant in P, K and Na respectively whereas T. indica was high in Mg and Cu. However, among the species Zn concentration was exceptionally higher in C. sinensis, but with Mn deficiency  (Table 1).

Table 2. Means concentration of macro and micro elements content of some browse species dried leaves of Bor, South Sudan

Macro mineral(g/kg DM)

Micro mineral(mg/kg DM)

Species

Ca

Na

P

Mg

K

Fe

Mn

Cu

Co

Zn

G. tenax

23.8c

118d

2.52c

5.07c

49.1a

124d

29.1b

94.9b

5.59d

123c

B.aegyptiaca

26.6a

119b

1.35f

11.3b

14.2d

266a

50.7a

53.2e

5.61a

87.3f

Z.spina_christi

17.0e

121a

1.95d

3.36d

20.5c

208b

19.7c

62.9d

5.30e

93.6e

T. indicus

21.5d

113e

1.87e

13.4a

9.11e

129c

19.8c

99.8a

5.60c

114d

K. foetissima

24.0b

119c

3.55a

13.4a

3.60g

120e

14.8d

72.0c

5.61b

125b

C. gayana

2.49g

ND

3.27b

1.29e

22.1b

0.004g

8.12e

0.40g

0.000f

0.013

C. sinensis

16.9f

0.75f

1.15g

5.07c

8.37f

74.6f

0.00f

29.3f

ND

336a

P

0.0001

0.0001

0.0001

0.0001

0.0001

0.0001

0.0001

0.0001

0.0001

0.0001

SEM

0.001

0.001

0.003

0.003

0.01

0.02

0.02

0.15

0.000

0.03

Means in the same column without common letter are different at P<0.05; SEM=standard error of means ;ND=not done

In vitro gas production and fermentation parameters

Gas production and fermentation parameters are presented in Table 3. At 24 and 48h, T. indica produced the lowest gas volume while in potential gas production the highest and the lowest were recorded in Z. spina-christi and B. aegyptiaca, respectively (Figure 3). The rate of gas production was highest in Z. spina-christi and the lowest in T. indica. The in vitro gas production and fermentation parameters indicate the presence of potential degradable nutrient in browse species which underscores the importance of these indigenous browse species as source of nutrition for ruminant animals.

Table 3. Means of in vitro gas production (ml/200mg DM) and characteristic parameters of browse species

Species

In vitro gas characteristics

Reading hour

Estimate parameters

24h

48h

a

b

a+b

c(%h)

rsd

T. indica

4.71c

7.48bc

0.45a

6.02f

6.47e

0.04f

1.98f

B. aegyptiaca

9.92ab

6.62c

0.37a

6.06e

6.43f

13.0c

4.22b

K. foetissima

9.83ab

7.19c

0.81a

6.46d

7.27d

18.6b

3.00e

Grewia tenax

6.53bc

16.7a

0.43a

8.01c

8.45c

0.08d

4.74a

C. sinensis

7.49bc

14.2a

0.45a

8.37b

8.82b

0.07e

3.85d

Z.spina_christi

12.6a

12.9ab

0.89a

8.67a

9.56a

20.9a

3.96c

P

0.0007

0.0002

0.81

0.0001

0.0001

0.0001

0.0001

SEM

0.92

1.16

0.71

0.0008

0.0006

0.0007

0.0009

Means in the same column without common letter are different at P<0.05;
SEM=standard error of means; a= soluble fraction; b= insoluble fraction; a+b= potential gas production



 
Figure 3. The gas production after 24h from the selected South Sudan browse species


Discussion

Crude protein contents for the most of species were consistent with values reported by (Welay et al 2011; Balehegn et al 2015 and Elseed et al 2015) for B. aegyptiaca and Z. spina_christi and for other species in the tropical region rangelands. NDF and ADF characteristic values were consistent to the values reported by (Singh and Oosting 1992; Bakshi 2007). The CT and TEPH agrees with the values reported by (Welay et al 2011; Balehegn et al 2015 and Elseed et al 2015). The mineral contents for T. indica were consistent to the work reported by (Nordeide et al 1996; El_siddig et al 2006; De Caluwe et al 2010) except Zn whereas, G. tenax, B. aegyptiaca and Z. spina_christi mineral contents were consistent to the work of (Rubanza et al 2007; Saleem et al 2012; Elseed et al 2015). In contrast, Kuria et al (2004) reported higher (Na, Fe, K, Ca) and lower Cu, Zn) contents in C. sinensis and lower Cu, Zn, K, and Na in G. tenax and B. aegyptiaca. The high extent of gas production in Z. spina-christi might be due to high OM availability which was fermented to form volatile fatty acids and therefore high gas volumes was produced. The observed low gas production in T. indica might be due to its high tannin content which reduces the population of fiber degrading bacteria in the rumen and hence low activity (Makkar and Becker 1996; Getachew et al 2000). B. aegyptiaca ranked the lowest in gas production potential, this trend could be due to level of tannins and other anti-nutritive factors. The highest rate of feed OM degradability observed in Z. spina-christi is probably due to presence of high fermentable carbohydrate, on the other hand, it is a reflection of microbial growth and accessibility of feed to microbial enzymes (Getachew et al 2000).


Conclusion


Acknowledgement

The senior author is grateful to USAID through BHEARD, (Michigan State University) for funding this work.


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Received 23 December 2016; Accepted 11 February 2017; Published 1 April 2017

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