Nutrient utilization and rumen metabolism in sheep fed Prosopis juliflora pods and Cenchrus grass

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Table 2 Nutrient intake, digestibility, nitrogen balance and ruminal attributes of sheep on different diets

Parameters	G1	G2	G3	SEM	'P’ value	Significance
						Linear	Quadratic
*Feed and nutrient intake (g/d)*
Roughage DM (g/d)	1026	1026	1061	34.3	0.721	0.486	0.699
Concentrate DM (g/d)	408	419	434	14.2	0.456	0.222	0.898
Total DM (g/d)	1434	1445	1495	43.6	0.591	0.343	0.729
Roughage % in diet	71.5	71.0	70.9	0.66	0.822	0.561	0.843
Organic matter	1286	1297	1342	39.0	0.575	0.328	0.735
Crude protein	179	173	175	51.6	0.658	0.551	0.497
Neutral detergent fibre	854	875	912	27.3	0.349	0.160	0.818
Acid detergent fibre	507	524	564	16.4	0.079	0.031	0.563
Hemicellulose	347	352	348	10.9	0.952	0.952	0.763
Cellulose	424	440	460	13.8	0.223	0.090	0.913
Metabolizable energy (MJ)	11.24	11.56	12.01	0.450	0.493	0.246	0.908
*Digestibility (g/kg)*
Dry matter	561	570	572	16.7	0.896	0.664	0.883
Organic matter	562	571	575	16.4	0.832	0.563	0.889
Crude protein	804	813	804	12.2	0.845	0.980	0.570
Neutral detergent fibre	461	482	495	21.7	0.556	0.294	0.867
Acid detergent fibre	452	475	499	20.6	0.304	0.131	0.997
Hemicellulose	561	560	590	19.4	0.486	0.313	0.527
Cellulose	506	534	525	19.2	0.696	0.578	0.529
*Nitrogen (N) balance*
N intake (g/d)	28.72	27.65	28.00	0.825	0.658	0.551	0.497
Faecal N (g/d)	5.64	5.18	5.49	0.389	0.707	0.790	0.439
Urinary N (g/d)	8.27	8.26	9.86	0.543	0.097	0.062	0.249
N retained (g/d)	14.81	14.21	12.66	0.645	0.090	0.036	0.556
N retained % of intake	51.4^b	51.5^b	45.2^a	1.70	0.033	0.023	0.148
N retained % of absorbed	64.0^b	63.4^b	56.2^a	2.00	0.031	0.017	0.207
*Ruminal attributes*
pH	6.34	6.31	6.23	0.061	0.085	0.190	0.767
Total volatile fatty acids (mM/L)	95.0	100.8	99.2	6.05	0.487	0.621	0.615
Total N (g/L)	2.68	2.90	2.96	0.019	0.202	0.149	0.635

Means bearing different superscripts in a row differ significantly (P < 0.05).
G1 (Control), Concentrate + Cenchrus; G2, Concentrate with 30% P. juliflora pods + Cenchrus; G3, Concentrate with 40% P. juliflora pods + Cenchrus.