Disappearance of dry matter and neutral detergent fibre (NDF) of sunflower meal treated with sodium hydroxide or formaldehyde by isolated mixed rumen bacteria usingin vitroculture

Abstract

Cellulolytic bacteria, such asRuminococcus albus,R. flavefaciensandFibrobacter succinogenesare major micro-organisms responsible for ruminal digestion of plant cell walls ingested by the animal due to their numerical predominance and metabolic diversity (Chenget al., 1991). It has been proposed that sodium hydroxide might breakdown hemicelluloses, expose the cellulose to microbial attachment and improve digestibility (Chenet al., 2006). The objective of this experiment was to estimate the disappearance of dry matter (DM) and neutral detergent fibre (NDF) of sunflower meal (25 g fat/kg DM; SM) as untreated or treated with formaldehyde (3 g/kg DM) or sodium hydroxide (40 g/kg DM) usingin vitroculture with isolated mixed rumen bacteria.