Nutrient digestibility and evaluation of protein and carbohydrate fractionation of citrus by-products.

The protein and carbohydrate fractionation and nutrient digestibility of citrus by-products were determined. Ruminal, intestinal and total tract CP disappearance values were measured by a modified three-step (MTSP) method and in vitro CP disappearance method (IVCP). Test feeds were orange pulp (OP), lime pulp (LP), lemon pulp (LEP), grapefruit pulp (GP), sweet lemon pulp (SLP), bitter lemon pulp (BLP), bergamot orange pulp (BP) and tangerine pulp (TP). The rumen undegradable protein (RUP) fractions of the feedstuffs were obtained by ruminal incubation in three cannulated wethers and incubation in protease solution (protease type xiv, Streptomyces griseus). The data were analysed using completely randomized design. There were significant differences between the tested feeds in protein fractions and acid detergent insoluble nitrogen (ADIN; C fraction) was highest in GP (14.56%) (p<0.001). For carbohydrate fraction, the highest C fraction was also observed in GP (2.67%) and in relation to the other citrus pulps (p<0.001). Ruminal CP disappearance was highest in OP (71.89%) (p<0.001). The level of post-ruminal CP disappearance, measured by MTSP, was highest for BP (34.94%) (p<0.001). The highest in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) was found for TP (80.44%) followed by that estimated for BP (78.38%) (p<0.001). The estimated metabolizable energy (MJ/kg DM) varied from 9.77 for LP to 12.91 for BP. Tangerine pulp had the highest true rumen digestibility (TRD) (p<0.001). According to the results, it could be concluded that citrus by-products have high nutritive value and also, the in vitro techniques can be easily used to determine of the nutritive value of citrus by-products.