Comparison of in vitro digestibility and chemical composition among four crop straws treated by Pleurotus ostreatus

OBJECTIVE: The effects of Pleurotus ostreatus on the feed utilization of broad bean stalks (BBS), rape straw (RS), paddy straw (PS), and corn stalk (CS) was examined. METHODS: The four roughages were co-cultured with Pleurotus ostreatus. The chemical composition; enzyme activities of laccase, carboxymethylcellulase (CMCase) and xylanase; carbohydrate and protein fractions (based on The Cornell Net Carbohydrate and Protein System [CNCPS]) were assessed at different days after inoculation (7, 14, 21, 28 d) and un-inoculated roughages (control, 0 d). The digestibility of nutrient components and the gas production of roughage with various incubation times were monitored at 0, 2, 4, 6, 9, 12, 24, 36, 48, 60, and 72 h using an in vitro ruminal fermentation method. RESULTS: A higher CMCase activity (0.1039 U/mL) and earlier time to peak (14 d) were detected in Pleurotus ostreatus cultured with CS (p<0.05). Significantly, the incubation length-dependent responses of cumulative gas production were observed from 24 to 72 hours post fermentation (p<0.05), and these incubation length-dependent effects on cumulative gas production of PS and CS appeared earlier (24 h) for PS and CS than those (48 h) for BBS and RS (p<0.05). The fast-degradable carbohydrate (CA) content for all four roughages significantly increased over time (p<0.05). Nonetheless, increased degradation efficiency for CA treated with Pleurotus ostreatus was detected at both 21 and 28 days of incubation (p<0.05). With the exception of PS (p<0.05), there were no significant difference among the roughages (p>0.05) in slowly-degradable carbohydrate (CB2) at different incubation times (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: Assessment of the alterations in chemical composition, CNCPS system fractions, and the fermentation kinetics after biological pretreatment may yield a valuable database for evaluating the biological pretreatment of Pleurotus ostreatus in ruminant feed.