Noteworthy of Rumen Microbial Degradation of Defatted Oilseeds Incubated in a Consecutive Batch Culture (CBC) System

Fat has an important role in ruminant diet. It can be utilised as energy source, although might be reduce the growth of rumen microbes. An investigation was conducted to examine the microbial degradation of defatted whole cottonseed (WCS) in comparison with other oilseeds in a consecutive batch culture (CBC) system. The selection of the oilseeds were DRS1= defatted rape seed cv. Bienvenu, DRS2 = defatted rape seed cv. Libravo, DRS3 = defatted rape seed cv. Samourai, DMS = defatted mustard seed, DLS = defatted linseed. The CBC system was established according to the methods of Theodorou [1]. The results of this experiment indicated that removal fat from rape seeds and linseed increased DM loss and gas production. In contrast, removing fat from WCS did not improve its DM loss (p<0.05, SED = 12.7) indicating that the low DM loss of WCS was not due to the fat content. In conclusion, although WCS contains higher fibre content than other oilseeds, it need further investigation whether the fibre content, fat content or anti-nutrients may cause the low microbial fermentation of WCS.