Classification of Legume Quality Based on Chemical Composition and Digestibility Values using Multivariate Analysis

International audience

إنجليزي. <div><p>The quality of the legume crops used as ruminant feed sources must be determined based on their characteristics and quality. The quality of legumes is primarily determined by their protein content, In the matter of fact, some legumes are also contained high fiber that further influence ruminant digestibility rates. Hence, the present study aimed to classify the quality of feed legumes according to legume type, climatic region of plant origin, edible parts, chemical composition, and digestibility. A database was built from the Feedipedia website platform, where 236 leguminous plants were introduced. All legumes were then classified according to their legume type, climatic region of plant origin, and edible parts. All classified legumes were statistically analyzed using R Studio software through a multivariate analysis model, such as principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis. Evidences showed that the PCA analysis was unable to differentiate legumes by their type, climatic region of plant origin, and edible parts. However, following nutrient content such as CP, EE, and GE of some legumes, they were positively related to digestibility rates, whereas some legumes were negatively related to the CF, NDF, ADF, and ash content. Moreover, based on their edible parts, the legume seeds which have high protein contents and are associated with high digestibility rates while the aerial and leaves parts were associated with high fiber and lower digestibility rates. From the cluster analysis, it was confirmed that some legumes had higher protein content and digestibility rates allocated in cluster 2, while in cluster 1 were legumes that had high fiber content with lower digestibility rates. In conclusion, good-quality legumes can be determined from their higher protein content with higher digestibility rates, while lower-quality legumes can be determined by their higher fiber content and lower digestibility rates.</p></div>