The estimation of the metabolizable energy of forage from its cell-wall content and digestible cell wall

Abstract

SUMMARYPublished data are used in support of a hypothesis that equal amounts of digestible cell walls and digestible non-cell walls do not contribute equally to the energy value of forages. The relationship between the concentration in the organic matter of metabolizable energy (kcal/g organic matter) determined at the maintenance level of feeding, and the percentages of cell wall and digestible cell wall in the forage organic matter is defined by:This equation derived from published data on 12 grasses appears to be applicable to both grasses and legumes.