FREE SHIPPING over $40
OVER 9000 FIVE-STAR REVIEWS
5% OFF ALL SUBSCRIPTIONS
100% HAPPINESS GUARANTEE
Analyze Diet
0
Home / Equine Research Bank / Vet Med Sci / Comparison of forages’ digestion levels for different in v...
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.
Get Full Text
Publication Date: 2024-02-19 PubMed ID: 38369823DOI: 10.1002/vms3.1373Google Scholar: Lookup
The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
LinkedInCopy
  • English Abstract
  • Journal Article

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

References

This article includes 45 references
  1. Al Jassim RA, Andrews FM. The bacterial community of the horse gastrointestinal tract and its relation to fermentative acidosis, laminitis, colic, and stomach ulcers. Veterinary Clinics of North America: Equine Practice 25, 199-215.
    doi: 10.1016/j.cveq.2009.04.005google scholar: lookup
  2. Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC). Official methods of analysis. .
  3. Apajalahti J, Vienola K, Raatikainen K, Holder V, Moran CA. Conversion of branched-chain amino acids to corresponding isoacids-An in vitro tool for estimating ruminal protein degradability. Frontiers in Veterinary Science 6, 311.
    doi: 10.3389/fvets.2019.00311google scholar: lookup
  4. Cagri A, Kara K. The effect of safflower on the in vitro digestion parameters and methane production in horse and ruminant. Acta Veterinaria Eurasia 44, 73-84.
    doi: 10.26650/actavet.2018.409784google scholar: lookup
  5. Cichorska B, Komosa M, Nogowsk L, Maćkowiak P, Józefia D. Significance of nutrient digestibility in horse nutrition-A review. Annals of Animal Science 14, 779-797.
    doi: 10.2478/aoas-2014-0059google scholar: lookup
  6. Colombino E, Raspa F, Perotti M, Bergero D, Vervuert I, Valle E, Capucchio MT. Gut health of horses: Effects of high fibre vs high starch diet on histological and morphometrical parameters. BMC Veterinary Research 18, 338.
    doi: 10.1186/s12917-022-03433-ygoogle scholar: lookup
  7. Costa MC, Arroyo LG, Allen-Vercoe E, Stämpfli HR, Kim PT, Sturgeon A, Weese JS. Comparison of the fecal microbiota of healthy horses and horses with colitis by high throughput sequencing of the V3-V5 region of the 16S rRNA gene. PLoS ONE 7, e41484.
    doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0041484google scholar: lookup
  8. Den Besten G, van Eunen K, Groen AK, Venema K, Reijngoud D-J, Bakker BM. The role of short-chain fatty acids in the interplay between diet, gut microbiota, and host energy metabolism. Journal of Lipid Research 54, 2325-2340.
    doi: 10.1194/jlr.r036012google scholar: lookup
  9. Dicks L, Botha M, Dicks E, Botes M. The equine gastro-intestinal tract: An overview of the microbiota, disease and treatment. Livestock Science 160, 69-81.
    doi: 10.1016/j.livsci.2013.11.025google scholar: lookup
  10. Ersahince AC, Kara K. Nutrient composition and in vitro digestion parameters of Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus L.) herbage at different maturity stages in horse and ruminant. Journal of Animal and Feed Sciences 26, 213-225.
    doi: 10.22358/jafs/76477/2017google scholar: lookup
  11. Frape D. Equine nutrition and feeding. .
    doi: 10.1002/9780470751053google scholar: lookup
  12. Gandarillas M, Keim JP, Gapp EM. Associative effects between forages and concentrates on in vitro fermentation of working equine diets. Animals 11, 2212.
    doi: 10.3390/ani11082212google scholar: lookup
  13. Goering HK, Van Soest PJ. Forage fiber analyses: Apparatus reagents, procedures, and some applications (Agricultural Handbook No. 379). .
  14. Heimann E, Nyman M, Pålbrink A-K, Lindkvist-Petersson K, Degerman E. Branched short-chain fatty acids modulate glucose and lipid metabolism in primary adipocytes. Adipocyte 5, 359-368.
    doi: 10.1080/21623945.2016.1252011google scholar: lookup
  15. Hervera M, Baucells MD, Blanch F, Castrillo C. Prediction of digestible energy content of extruded dog food by in vitro analyses. Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition 91, 205-209.
    doi: 10.1111/j.1439-0396.2007.00693.xgoogle scholar: lookup
  16. Hintz HF, Cymbaluk NF. Nutrition of the horse. Annual Review of Nutrition 14(1), 243-267.
    doi: 10.1146/annurev.nu.14.070194.001331google scholar: lookup
  17. Jansson A, Lindberg J. A forage-only diet alters the metabolic response of horses in training. Animal 6, 1939-1946.
    doi: 10.1017/s1751731112000948google scholar: lookup
  18. Julliand V, De Fombelle A, Varloud M. Starch digestion in horses: The impact of feed processing. Livestock Science 100, 44-52.
    doi: 10.1016/j.livprodsci.2005.11.001google scholar: lookup
  19. Julliand V, Grimm P. The impact of diet on the hindgut microbiome. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science 52, 23-28.
    doi: 10.1016/j.jevs.2017.03.002google scholar: lookup
  20. Kara K. Investigation of the effectiveness of tomato pulp on the in vitro fermentation of working horse diets. Journal of Applied Animal Research 50, 198-203.
    doi: 10.1080/09712119.2022.2054421google scholar: lookup
  21. Kara K, Baytok E. Effect of different levels of psyllium supplementation to horse diet on in vitro fermentation parameters and methane emission. Journal of The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine Istanbul University 43, 12-18.
    doi: 10.16988/iuvfd.255208google scholar: lookup
  22. Kara K, Güçlü BK, Baytok E. The effect of age and processing on the in vitro fermentation of fibrous feedstuffs by labrador retriever dogs. Veterinary Research Communications 46, 1131-1146.
    doi: 10.1007/s11259-022-09987-4google scholar: lookup
  23. Kara K, Yılmaz S, Önel SE, Özbilgin A. Effects of plantago species herbage and silage on in vitro ruminal fermentation and microbiome. Italian Journal of Animal Science 21, 1569-1583.
    doi: 10.1080/1828051x.2022.2139201google scholar: lookup
  24. Karimi P, Ugbede J, Enciso K, Burkart S. Cost-benefit analysis of on-farm management of improved forage varieties in Western Kenya (Policy Brief No. 72). .
  25. Kholif AE, Baza-García LA, Elghandour MM, Salem AZ, Barbabosa A, Dominguez-Vara IA, Sanchez-Torres JE. In vitro assessment of fecal inocula from horses fed on high-fiber diets with fibrolytic enzymes addition on gas, methane, and carbon dioxide productions as indicators of hindgut activity. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science 39, 44-50.
    doi: 10.1016/j.jevs.2015.11.006google scholar: lookup
  26. Kitessa S, Flinn PC, Irish GG. Comparison of methods used to predict the in vivo digestibility of feeds in ruminants. Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 50, 82541.
    doi: 10.1071/ar98169google scholar: lookup
  27. Kujawa TJ, van Doorn DA, Wambacq WA, Hesta M, Pellikaan WF. Evaluation of equine rectal inoculum as representative of the microbial activities within the horse hindgut using a fully automated in vitro gas production technique system. Journal of Animal Science 98, skaa050.
    doi: 10.1093/jas/skaa050google scholar: lookup
  28. Mackie RI, Wilkins CA. Enumeration of anaerobic bacterial microflora of the equine gastrointestinal tract. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 54, 2155-2160.
    doi: 10.1128/aem.54.9.2155-2160.1988google scholar: lookup
  29. Menke KH, Raab L, Salewski A, Steingass H, Fritz D, Schneider W. The estimation of the digestibility and metabolizable energy content of ruminant feedingstuffs from the gas production when they are incubated with rumen liquor in vitro. Journal of Agricultural Science 93, 217-222.
    doi: 10.1017/s0021859600086305google scholar: lookup
  30. Minekus M. The TNO gastro-intestinal model (TIM). In The impact of food bioactives on health: In vitro and ex vivo models.
  31. Moore-Colyer M, O'Gorman DM, Wakefield K. An in vitro investigation into the effects of a marine-derived, multimineral supplement in simulated equine stomach and hindgut environments. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science 34, 391-397.
    doi: 10.1016/j.jevs.2013.07.016google scholar: lookup
  32. Murray J-AM, Longland A, Moore-Colyer M. In vitro fermentation of different ratios of high-temperature dried lucerne and sugar beet pulp incubated with an equine faecal inoculum. Animal Feed Science and Technology 129, 89-98.
    doi: 10.1016/j.anifeedsci.2005.12.001google scholar: lookup
  33. National Research Council (NRC). Nutrient requirements of dairy cattle (7th ed.). .
    doi: 10.17226/9825google scholar: lookup
  34. National Research Council (NRC). Nutrient requirements of horses (6th revised ed.). .
    doi: 10.17226/11653google scholar: lookup
  35. Perkins GA, Bakker HCD, Burton AJ, Erb HN, McDonough SP, McDonough PL, Parker J, Rosenthal RL, Wiedmann M, Dowd SE, Simpson KW. Equine stomachs harbor an abundant and diverse mucosal microbiota. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 78, 2522-2532.
    doi: 10.1128/aem.06252-11google scholar: lookup
  36. Raspa F, Tarantola M, Muca E, Bergero D, Soglia D, Cavallini D, Vervuert I, Bordin C, De Palo P, Valle E. Does feeding management make a difference to behavioural activities and welfare of horses reared for meat production?. Animals 12, 1740.
    doi: 10.3390/ani12141740google scholar: lookup
  37. Raspa F, Vervuert I, Capucchio MT, Colombino E, Bergero D, Forte C, Greppi M, Cavallarin L, Giribaldi M, Antoniazzi S, Cavallini D, Valvassori E, Valle E. A high-starch vs. high-fibre diet: Effects on the gut environment of the different intestinal compartments of the horse digestive tract. BMC Veterinary Research 18, 187.
    doi: 10.1186/s12917-022-03289-2google scholar: lookup
  38. Stang FL, Bjerregaard R, Müller CE, Ergon Å, Halling M, Thorringer NW, Kidane A, Jensen RB. The effect of harvest time of forage on carbohydrate digestion in horses quantified by in vitro and mobile bag techniques. Journal of Animal Science 101, skac422.
    doi: 10.1093/jas/skac422google scholar: lookup
  39. Strauch S, Wichert B, Greef JM, Hillegeist D, Zeyner A, Liesegang A. Evaluation of an in vitro system to simulate equine foregut digestion and the influence of acidity on protein and fructan degradation in the horse′s stomach. Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition 101, 51-58.
    doi: 10.1111/jpn.12635google scholar: lookup
  40. Sunvold GD, Fahey GC, Merchen NR, Reinhart GA. In vitro fermentation of selected fibrous substrates by dog and cat fecal inoculum: Influence of diet composition on substrate organic matter disappearance and short-chain fatty acid production. Journal of Animal Science 73, 1110-1122.
    doi: 10.2527/1995.7341110xgoogle scholar: lookup
  41. Tassone S, Renna M, Barbera S, Valle E, Fortina R. In vitro digestibility measurement of feedstuffs in donkeys using the DaisyII incubator. Journal of Equine Veterinary Science 75, 122-126.
    doi: 10.1016/j.jevs.2019.02.002google scholar: lookup
  42. Theodorou MK, Williams BA, Dhanoa MS, McAllan AB, France J. A simple gas production method using a pressure transducer to determine the fermentation kinetics of ruminant feeds. Animal Feed Science and Technology 48, 185-197.
    doi: 10.1016/0377-8401(94)90171-6google scholar: lookup
  43. Van Soest PJ, Robertson JB, Lewis BA. Methods for dietary fiber, neutral detergent fiber, and nonstarch polysaccharides in relation to animal nutrition. Journal of Dairy Science 74, 3583-3597.
    doi: 10.3168/jds.s0022-0302(91)78551-2google scholar: lookup
  44. Vinassa M, Cavallini D, Galaverna D, Baragli P, Raspa F, Nery J, Valle E. Palatability assessment in horses in relation to lateralization and temperament. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 232, 105110.
    doi: 10.1016/j.applanim.2020.105110google scholar: lookup
  45. Vondran S, Venner M, Vervuert I. Effects of two alfalfa preparations with different particle sizes on the gastric mucosa in weanlings: Alfalfa chaff versus alfalfa pellets. BMC Veterinary Research 12, 110.
    doi: 10.1186/s12917-016-0733-5google scholar: lookup

Citations

This article has been cited 0 times.
Subscribe to our newsletter
Join 99,357 horse owners like you who receive our email updates on horse health and nutrition.