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Effect of Lignin on Rate of In Vitro Cell Wall and Cellulose Disappearance in Corn¹

Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana 47907

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to determine the effect of lignin percentage in corn (Zea mays L.) on the rate of cell wall constituent (CWC) and cellulose digestion. The stover portion of low lignin brown midrib-3 (bm₃) mutant and normal corn plants were used. Brown midrib-3 corn stover was 35 to 40% lower in lignin than normal corn. In vitro disappearance of CWC and cellulose were first-order reactions in which the rate constant was not significantly (P> .25) affected by the lignin concentration. The amount of CWC disappearance per unit of time was 35 to 60% greater for the low lignin corn than for normal corn but the difference was due to the effect of low lignin on the concentration of digestible CWC. Differences in dry matter intake when fed to sheep could not be attributed to differences in the magnitude of the CWC digestion rate constant.

¹ Journal Paper No. 5258. Purdue University Agricultural Experiment Station, Lafayette, Indiana 47907. Contribution from Departments of Agronomy and Animal Sciences.

² Assistant Professor of Agronomy, Associate Professor of Animal Sciences, and Professors of Agronomy, respectively.