Energy and Degradability Estimations of the Whole Meal and Starch ofPijiguao ( Bactris gasipaes Kunth in HBK) Fruits to Feed Ruminants

To know the degradability of the integral meal and the starch of the pijiguao fruits ( Bactris gasipaes in H.B.K.) as feed for rumiantes, the in vitro gas technique was used pijiguao fruits, previously dried at 50oC in continuous air flow, were grounded up to 1mm., and its starch extracted by humid separation and centrifugation. During the in vitro incubation, the volumes of gas produced at 24h (ml/g MS) were: 432.5 and 516.7 for the integral flour and starch, respectively. The fractional rates of each substrate were of 0.33; 0,035 ml/h, and the latency periods of 3.72; and 2.96 h, respectively. The degradability of the dry matter and the content of metabolizable energy for the integral flour and starch were 79.34; 98.68% and 14.11; 16.90 MJ/kg MS, respectively. From these results is concluded that both, the integral meal and the starch could be used as an energy source to feed ruminants.