Abstract

VICTOR, Reina; OJEDA, Álvaro; GONZALEZ, Rafael  and  COLMENARES, Omar. Effect of polyethylene glycol on in vitro organic matter apparent degradability and metabolizable energy content of eleven sorghum cultivars grain (Sorghun bicolor). Zootecnia Trop. [online]. 2007, vol.25, n.3, pp.157-165. ISSN 0798-7269.

ABSTRACT In order to evaluate the effect of polyethylene glycol 8000 (PEG) addition on the in vitro organic matter apparent degradability and metabolizable energy of 11 sorghum commercial cultivars (Sorghun bicolor (L) Moench), named Criollo 1, Criollo 27, Chaguaramas III, Chaguaramas VII, Guanipa 95, Himeca 101, Himeca 400, Pioneer 81-G67, Pioneer 83-G88, Pioneer 86-P42, and Tecsem 120), it was collected 1 kg grain/cultivars harvested from farms located in Portuguesa state, Venezuela. The samples were drying at room temperature and mills with 1 mm screen to evaluated the in vitro gas production with or without added PEG as inactivating agent of extractable condensed tannins fraction. The gas production was measured with a digital pressure transducer (0-15 psi) at 3, 6, 9, 12, 16, 24, 30, 36, 48, 60, 72, and 96 h, and using animal rumen fluid inoculum collected from three ruminally fistulated cows. The potential gas production was 335.8 ± 30.7 mL/g MS, with a fractional rate of 0.06 ± 0.01mL/h and a lag time of 4.5 ± 1.1 h. During the first 12 h of incubation, the addition of PEG increases the gas production in 12% and the lag time was reduced in 3.4%.  The apparent organic matter degradability and metabolizable energy content were 83.7 ± 2.4% and 12.5 ± 0.5 MJ/kg MS, respectively. The PEG addition showed that the highest biological activity of condensed tannins fraction was during first 12 h of in vitro incubation, with the major impact from this secondary metabolites on the accumulated in vitro gas production and incubation lag time in Chaguaramas VII, Criollo 1, Guanipa 95, Himeca 101, and Pioneer 83-G88 cultivars

Keywords : Ruminants; sorghum; gas production; in vitro; degradability; metabolizable energy.