Abstract

This study was intended to evaluate in situ rumen degradability characteristic of soybean curd residue (SCR) and peppermint compared to rice straw, which are used as a functional feed source for beef cattle for high quality beef production. Two steerswere fitted with rumen and duodenum cannulae and in situ degradable and nylon bagswere used to assess digestion of rice straw, SCR and peppermint in three replicated experiments. The highly effective dry matter (DM) degradability of peppermint was attributable to the high rate of the a and b fractions. Dry matter disappearance rate of SCR after 48 h was higher (p < 0.05) than that of peppermint. Based on DMdisappearance, SCR showed the highest digestibility (p < 0.05). Crude protein disappearance (%) was higher for SCR and peppermint than rice straw (p < 0.05), and neutral detergent fibre disappearance (%) was higher for SCR (p < 0.05).Soybean curd residue and peppermint have great nutritive values as feed sources for ruminants, and using SCR and peppermint would have possibilities for efficient and functional livestock production.

Key words: Beef cattle, digestibility, effective degradability, soybean curd residue, peppermint.

Abbreviation

SCR, Soybean curd residue; HPLC, high-performance liquid chromatography; CP, crude protein; NDF, neutral detergent fibre; CF, crude fibre; EE,ether extract; AD, acid detergent; NPN, non-protein nitrogen.