Effect of polyethylene glycol (PEG) on in vitro digestibility of dry matter of Leucaena species and signal grase (Brachiaria decumbens)

English. In vitro studies were conducted to investigate the effect of polyethylene glycol (PEG) supplementation in the solution on in vitro digestibility of legumes and grass. The results proved that the digestibility of Leucaena species varied coresponding to their nutrient and condensed tannin (CT) content for which Leucaena leucocephala (a lower CT) tended to have higher in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) of 60.0 percent and corrected in vitro dry matter digestibility (VDMD) of 61.2 percent. PEG increased to some extent the IVDMD (from 49.2 percent to 56.1 percent) or CIVDMD (from 49.3 percent to 61.7 percent). However, PEG did not have any effect on the dry matter digestibility of signal grass. There was an interaction between the level of PEG and Leucaena species; Leucaena species with a high CT content required more PEG to neutralize tannins than the species with low tannin content.

Indonesian. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan kecernaan bervariasi antara spesies dan tergantung pada kandungan CT. Legum dengan kandungan CT rendah (Leucaena leucocephala) cenderung mempunyai kecernaan bahan kering yang tinggi sebesar 60,0 dan 61,2 persen masing-masing untuk IVDMD dan CIVDMD. PEG meningkatkan kecernaan bahan kering (IVDMD) dari 49,2 persen menjadi 56,1 persen dan kecernaan bahan kering terkoreksi (CIVDMD) dari 48,2 persen menjadi 61,7 persen PEG tidak berpengaruh terhadap kecernaan bahan kering rumput. Legum yang mengandung CT yang tinggi membutuhkan PEG yang lebih banyak untuk menetralisir CT.