Rumen fermentation and degradability in buffalo and cattle using the in vitro gas production technique

An in vitro trial was conducted to investigate the effect of different inocu-
lum sources (buffalo vs. cattle) on rumen fermentation and degradabili-
ty. Incubations were carried out using rumen fluid obtained from
buffalo or cattle fed the same diet [60% grass hay and 40% concentrate;
18 kg dry matter (DM)/day]. The fermentation kinetics of eight feeds
commonly used in ruminant nutrition (alfalfa hay, barley meal, beet
pulp, corn meal and silage, ryegrass hay and silage and soya bean meal
s.e.) were studied with the in vitro gas production technique and rumen
fermentation parameters (substrate disappearance, pH and volatile fatty
acids production) were determined after 120 h of incubation. The linear
relationship indicates that the microbial metabolic pathways of the two
inocula for all the substrates were qualitatively similar, albeit often quan-
titatively different. In this in vitro study, a significant influence of rumen
inoculum (buffalo vs. cow) on fermentation and degradability of the
examined substrates was found. The differences in buffalo and cattle
rumen fermentation can be explained with a different microbial activity
of the two ruminant species, because of different amount of microbial
population or microbial population constituted by different species of
bacteria and protozoa.