Nutrients intake and digestibility in sheep fed with residue from the extraction of tamarind pulp

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate nutrient intake and digestibility by sheep fed diets containing residue from the extraction of tamarind pulp (RETP). We used four sheep with a mean body weight (BW) of 40.38 kg, whose pens were distributed in a Latin square design. The diet treatments contained 0, 5, 10 and 15% of RETP. The variables were subjected to analysis of variance and the differences observed were tested using regression equations at 5% significance. The intake of dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP), total carbohydrates (TC), and non-fiber carbohydrates (NFC),expressed in g day-1, % BW and g kg0,75-1, were not significantly affected (p>0.05) by the inclusion of RETP. The intake of ether extract (EE) and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) showed a linear increase (p<0.05) as RETP content rose. However, the digestibility of DM, CP, TC, and total digestible nutrients (TDN) decreased linearly (p<0.05), while the digestibility of EE, NDF, ADF, and NFC, with average values of 62.12%; 79.95%; 41.59%; 37.12%, and 91.57%, respectively, were not significantly affected (p>0.05) when RETP was included in the diet. The inclusion of up to 15% of the residue from the extraction of tamarind pulp changes the intake of ether extract and neutral detergent fiber, and reduced dry matter, crude protein, and total carbohydrates in the sheep’s diet.