Effects of feed carbohydrates with contrasting properties on rumen fermentation and methane release in vitro

Abstract

The RUSITEC system was used to test eight diets where the supplements differed in their main carbohydrate source. The forage-to-supplement ratio was 1:1. The eight feeds characterizing the supplements by specific carbohydrates were oat hulls (modeling lignified fiber), soybean hulls (non-lignified fiber), apple pulp (pectin), sugar beet pulp (hemicelluloses and pectin), guar gum (galactomannan), Jerusalem artichoke tubers (fructan), molasses (sucrose), and wheat (starch). Supplements were iso-energetic and iso-nitrogenous. The dietary carbohydrate fractions were analyzed in detail with a combination of enzymatic and chemical methods. The methane release (mmol g-1 degraded organic matter) increased in the order of diets characterized by oat hulls (0.92), guar gum (0.99), wheat (1.04), soybean hulls (1.13), apple pulp (1.15), Jerusalem artichoke (1.21), sugar beet pulp (1.24), and molasses (1.37). According to multiple regression analysis, diets with high sugar content enhanced methane release while methane was low with high dietary lignin content. Regressions also showed that different fibrous carbohydrates had only a minor effect on methane release, probably due to lignification of the fiber. The present results suggest that equations for the estimation of methane emission of ruminants should consider dietary carbohydrate composition and lignin content. Key words: Methane, carbohydrates, lignin, Jerusalem artichoke, guar gum, ruminant