Dry Matter Degradation Characteristics of Some Selected Browse Plants Using the In Sacco Technique

Three ruminally fistulated Yankasa rams were used to evaluate the nutritive value of some selected browse plants in the northern Guinea savanna, using the in sacco degradability method. The selected browse plants were: Shea butter ( Butyrospermum parkii ) leaf (SBL), Acacia ( Faidherbia albida ) leaf (FAL) and Parkia ( Parkia biglobosa ) leaf (PBL), were used for the study at this incubation periods 0, 3, 6, 12, 24 and 48 h. The result of the proximate analysis was different among the browse plants studied. The CP contents were of 12.19, 22.25 and 17.19% for PBL, SBL and FAL respectively. The tannin and saponin values (g/100mg) were 1.24, 1.28 for PBL, 1.26, 0.96 for SBL and 0.64, 0.84 for FAL respectively. The highest potential degradability (a+b) was in FAL, which was significantly (p<0.05) higher than in SBL and PBL. The rate of degradation constant (c) was significantly (p<0.05) lower in PBL (0.030) followed by SBL (0.037) and FAL (0.043) being the highest. Effective dry matter degradation significantly (p<0.05) decreased with increase in outflow rate across browse plants, with FAL having the highest followed by SBL and PBL. From the result of this study, FAL had the highest degradation characteristics over the other leaves.