Abstract :
[en] The nutritive value of 20 forage plants commonly used for feeding pigs in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo was studied to determine chemical composition, protein amino acid
profiles, mineral content, and in vitro digestibility using a two-step method combining an
enzymatic pepsin and pancreatin hydrolysis followed by a 72 h gas-test fermentation. The
highest protein contents (270–320 g/kg DM) were obtained for Vigna unguiculata, Psophocarpus
scandens, Leucaena leucocephala, Manihot esculenta, and Moringa oleifera. Grasses,
Acacia mangium, and Eichhornia crassipes, showed the lowest crude protein (CP) and highest
NDF contents. Cajanus cajan and Trypsacum andersonii had the most balanced amino
acid profile, being deficient in lysine and slightly deficient in histidine, while Megathyrsus
maximus displayed the highest number of essential amino acids deficiencies. High mineral
contents were obtained from, in ascending order, with M. oleifera, V. unguiculata, E. crassipes,
Ipomea batatas and Amaranthus hybridus. In vitro dry matter digestibility ranged from
0.25 to 0.52, in vitro CP digestibility from 0.23 to 0.80, in vitro energy digestibility from 0.23
to 0.52. M. esculenta, M. oleifera, I. batatas, Mucuna pruriens, V. unguiculata, P. scandens and A. hybridus showed high digestibilities for all nutrients. Gas production during fermentation
of the pepsin and pancreatin-indigestible fraction of the plants varied from 42 ml/g DM
for A. mangium to 202 ml/g DM for I. batatas (P<0.001). Short-chain fatty acid production
during fermentation varied from 157 to 405 mg/g of the pepsin and pancreatin indigestible
fraction. It is concluded that some of these species are interesting sources of proteins and
minerals with a good digestibility that might be used more economically than concentrate,
especially in smallholder production systems, to improve pig feeding, mineral intake and
intestinal health in pigs reared in the tropics.
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