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Veterinary medicine and science2024; 10(2); e31373; doi: 10.1002/vms3.1373

Comparison of forages’ digestion levels for different in vitro digestion techniques in horses

Abstract: Forages are widely used in horse diets. Different in vitro techniques are being tried to determine the fermentation levels of forages in the horse digestive tract. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the digestion levels of four dry forages commonly used in horse nutrition: alfalfa herbage, meadow hay, wheat straw, and Italian ryegrass. In vitro total digestion (TDT), in vitro Sunvold-large intestine digestion (SDT) and in vitro Menke-large intestine digestion (MDT) techniques were compared. Methods: The study determined in vitro true dry matter digestion (T-DMD), in vitro true organic matter digestion (T-OMD) and in vitro true neutral detergent fibre digestion (T-NDFD). Additionally, concentrations of straight short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs; acetic acid - AA, propionic acid , butyric acid, and valeric acid ) and branched short-chain fatty acids (BSCFA) were assessed. Results: The highest in vitro T-DMD, T-OMD and T-NDFD values were determined by the in vitro TDT for the four forages (p < 0.05). In vitro T-DMD and T-OMD values of alfalfa herbage were higher than those of Italian ryegrass, meadow hay and wheat straw in the in vitro TDT (p < 0.001). In addition, in vitro T-DMD and T-OMD values of alfalfa herbage in the in vitro SDT were higher than those of meadow hay and wheat straw (p < 0.001). In the in vitro TDT, the molarity of AA, total SCFA and BSCFA in the digestion fluid of alfalfa herbage was higher than those of other forages (p < 0.05). Conclusions: The in vitro total enzymatic + fermentative digestion technique for horse forages revealed higher values than the in vitro fermentative digestion techniques. In general, the higher the non-structural carbohydrate and crude protein contents in the forage, the higher the results of the in vitro TDT compared to the other techniques.
© 2024 The Authors. Veterinary Medicine and Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
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Publication Date: 2024-02-19 PubMed ID: 38369823DOI: 10.1002/vms3.1373Google Scholar: Lookup
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Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

This scientific research aims to understand the level at which horses can digest four common types of dry feed: alfalfa, meadow hay, wheat straw, and Italian ryegrass. The researchers use in-vitro methods to monitor digestion levels and measure the production of essential acids and base their conclusions on comparisons between different digestion techniques.

Objective

  • The research seeks to compare different in-vitro methods used to determine the digestion levels of four common forages (alfalfa, meadow hay, wheat straw, and Italian ryegrass) fed to horses.

Methods

  • Three in vitro techniques used in this research include Total Digestion (TDT), Sunvold-large Intestine Digestion (SDT) and Menke-Large Intestine Digestion (MDT).
  • Tests were made to find the True Dry Matter Digestion (T-DMD), True Organic Matter Digestion (T-OMD), True Neutral Detergent Fibre Digestion (T-NDFD), and measure the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and branched short-chain fatty acids (BSCFA).

Results

  • After comparing the different digestion techniques, the research found that the TDT assay showed the highest in-vitro digestion values for T-DMD, T-OMD, and T-NDFD.
  • In comparing the forages, alfalfa showed higher digestion values (T-DMD and T-OMD) compared to Italian ryegrass, meadow hay, and wheat straw when using the TDT digestion technique.
  • The study also found that there was a higher concentration of SCFAs and BSCFAs in the digestion fluid of alfalfa when compared to the other forages.

Conclusions

  • This study concludes that the in-vitro Total Digestion technique gives more optimal results for the digestion of horse forages than the other in-vitro methods compared.
  • Feed materials with more non-structural carbohydrates and crude protein content (like alfalfa) tends to perform better with the TDT technique.

This descriptive interpretation of the research provides an understanding of the techniques best suited for evaluating the digestion of horse forages, as well as the type of materials that yield better results with these techniques.

Cite This Article

APA
Kara K, Altınsoy A. (2024). Comparison of forages’ digestion levels for different in vitro digestion techniques in horses Vet Med Sci, 10(2), e31373. https://doi.org/10.1002/vms3.1373

Publication

Veterinary medicine and science
ISSN: 2053-1095
NlmUniqueID: 101678837
Country: England
Language: fre
Volume: 10
Issue: 2
Pages: e31373

Researcher Affiliations

Kara, Kanber
  • Department of Animal Nutrition and Nutritional Diseases, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Türkiye.
Altınsoy, Abdullah
  • Health Sciences Institute, Department of Animal Nutrition and Nutritional Diseases, Erciyes University, Kayseri, Türkiye.

MeSH Terms

  • Animals
  • Horses
  • Animal Feed / analysis
  • Digestion
  • Diet / veterinary
  • Triticum
  • Fatty Acids, Volatile
  • In Vitro Techniques / veterinary

Grant Funding

  • TYL-2022-11824 / Bilimsel Arau015ftu0131rma Projeleri, Erciyes u00dcniversitesi

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Citations

This article has been cited 1 times.
  1. Wei L, Wei J, Liu X, Chen W, Wang C, Khan MZ, Zhang Z. Effects of Feeding Strategies on Gut Microbial Communities in Donkeys: A Comprehensive Narrative Review. Vet Sci 2025 Dec 20;13(1).
    doi: 10.3390/vetsci13010007pubmed: 41600662google scholar: lookup
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