**4. Ruminal degradability data of DM and CP from** *Erythrina edulis* **according to different incubation times**

Ruminal degradability data of DM and CP of *Erythrina edulis*, are shown in **Table 3**. Statistical differences in the DM degradability at 24/h between SV vs. SF


## *Nutritional Potential of* Erythrina edulis *as a Forage Alternative for Supplementation… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.107496*


**<sup>2.</sup>** *Correlation matrix amongst chemical composition and digestibility of dry matter and crude protein from* Erythrina edulis.

**Table**  *Nutritional Potential of* Erythrina edulis *as a Forage Alternative for Supplementation… DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.107496*

were observed (47.9 vs. 75.4 0.68%/h; *p* < 0.001; **Table 3**). Whereas at 72/h rumen incubation the SF had 38% higher DM degradability than to the observed in SF (86.1 vs. 53.1 0.68%/h, *p* < 0.001; **Table 3**). With regard to CP degradability, at 24/h incubation time the SV showed lower data than SF (53.4 vs. 61.3 2.50%/h; *p* < 0.001), with marked differences at 72 h rumen incubation (53.4 vs. 77.9 2.50%/h; *p* < 0.001; **Table 3**).

In situ procedures of the artificial synthetic fiber bag which have evolved since the earlier part of the 20th century, there is a standard means of estimating the extent of feed degradation [30, 56]. Consequently, degradation kinetics in the reticulorumen are one key tool for evaluating ruminant feedstuffs [5, 57, 58]. Naranjo [35] found a lower DM degradability value than our study (40 vs. 53%/h), although our value was similar to the obtained by Rosales [13]. In contrast, other reports have shown high degradability values at a 48 h incubation time (81.45%/h, on average) by Pedraza et al. [59] and Camero et al. [12] (68%/h, on average) although with other *Erythrina* varieties (*berteroana*, *variegate and poeppiginia*). Anyway, the SF showed high DM degradability at 48 h incubation time (84.1%/h). Unfortunately, there were not more reports on the rumen degradability kinetics with sheath of *E. edulis*, and our data are proposed as referential values. In summary, our work showed acceptable values compared with other forage used for livestock feeding [33, 60–62].

According to Jian et al. [63] and Buxton et al. [64] DM intake is essential for dairy ruminants to maintain and production performance [65]. However, the contents of NDF and ADF in forage are also considered the major factors affecting feed intake and feed conversion efficiency of ruminants, influencing animal performance [49, 66, 67]. Therefore, in this study, the lower DM and CP degradability observed in SV could be explained due to higher hemicellulose and the degree of lignification, which reflects the difficulty of degradation [68]. Despite that, no correlation was observed between ADL contents and DM degradability (*p* = 0.95; **Table 2**).


*1 SV, leaves.*

*2 SF, sheath without seeds.*

*ab*

*Mean values with different letter in the same column differ (*<sup>p</sup> *<sup>&</sup>lt; 0.05). <sup>A</sup>GMean values with different letter in the same row differ (*<sup>p</sup> *<sup>&</sup>lt; 0.05); SEM, standard error of the mean.*

#### **Table 3.**

*Average of DM and CP degradability (%) after 0, 3, 6, 12, 24, 48, and 72 h incubation in situ technique.*
