Authors : R. Foroughbakhch, A. Carrillo-Parra, M.L. Cardenas-Avila and S. Moreno-Limon
Abstract: Pods and leaves as an energy supplement is a basic forage, rich in protein and highly digestible. The nutritional values of pods and leaves differ among trees due to highly specific proteins of different digestibility. To estimate and compare seasonally, the chemical composition and in vitro digestibility of nutrients in leaves and entire pods of Gleditsia triacanthos L. plants were harvested from a native shrubs and trees during Fall 2004, Winter, Spring and Summer 2005. The in vitro technique was used to measure the digestibility of Dry Matter (DM) and Crude Protein (CP). The crude protein content varied within range of 7.8% (Winter) to 9.4% (Summer) for leaves and from 12% (Spring) to 15% (Fall) for entire pods. The annual means of acid detergent fiber (19.5%) and neutral detergent fiber (35.8%) content in leaves was lower than the alfalfa (26%) as feed reference. However, the annual means of ADF for pods (30.6%) was higher than the (Medicago sativa). The lignin content was high both in leaves (10.4%) as well as in pods (12.1%) in comparison to the alfalfa (9%). In general, during the Spring (71.4%) and Summer (73.4%) the entire pods were higher in CP and DM digestibility and during Winter (56.3-64.2%) were low.
R. Foroughbakhch, A. Carrillo-Parra, M.L. Cardenas-Avila and S. Moreno-Limon, 2012. Seasonal Changes in Alimentary Value and Digestibility of Gleditsia triacanthos L.. Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances, 11: 4279-4282.