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Influence of Dietary Alfalfa:Orchardgrass Hay and Lasalocid on In Vitro Estimates of Dry Matter Digestibility and Volatile Fatty Acid Concentrations of Cecal Contents and Rate of Digesta Passage in Sows

University of Illinois, Urbana 61801

Abstract

Four mature crossbred sows were fistulated in the cecum, with two sows fed a corn-alfalfa:orchardgrass hay (46%) diet (CH) and two fed a corn-soybean meal diet (CS). Four experiments were conducted to evaluate buffers, incubation times, buffer pH and substrate and inocula sources in an in vitro, anaerobic, mixed-culture system. In vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) and substrate solubility in buffer (SS) were determined. In Exp. 1, substrates were CH and CS diets with cecal inocula obtained from CH- and CS-fed sows. The bicarbonate (B) buffer resulted in lower (P<.01) and less variable SS for all treatments. In vitro dry matter digestibility was higher (P<.01) for the CS diet at both 24 and 48 h incubation. Use of the B buffer also resulted in higher (P<.001) IVDMD values. In Exp. 2, substrates were either as in Exp. 1 or were freeze-dried cecal contents (CC) from CH- or CS-fed sows. In vitro dry matter digestibility of CC was lower (P<.006) than IVDMD of diet, while IVDMD was higher (P<.02) with cecal inocula than fecal inocula. In Exp. 3, substrateinocula treatments were CH-CH, CH-CS, CS-CH and CS-CS. Substrate solubility was lower (P<.05) at pH 5.8 than at pH 6.8. In vitro dry matter digestibility was higher when substrate and inocula were from the same source and at pH 5.8. In Exp. 4, CC and inocula were from sows fed CH and CS diets with or without lasalocid. In vitro dry matter digestibility was higher with CC from lasalocid-fed sows and inocula from sows fed no lasalocid. The CH diet resulted in higher acetate (Ac) and lower propionate (Pr) molar proportions than did the CS diet, while lasalocid increased molar proportion Pr and decreased molar proportion Ac in cecal contents from sows fed either diet. Corn-alfalfa:orchardgrass hay-fed sows had a faster rate of digesta passage and shorter cecal retention time than did CS-fed sows.

¹ Present address: Farmland Industries, Kansas City, KS.

² Dept. of Anim. Sci.

³ The authors gratefully acknowledge partial financial support of this research by Hoffman-LaRoche, Inc., Nutley, NJ.