Variation in nutritional value of cereal grains across livestock species

Variation in available energy content (MJ/kg DM) of Australian cereal grains has been examined across sheep, cattle, pigs, broiler chickens and laying hens. There were only small differences in the available energy content of individual grains across animal types, except for the low energy content of sorghum for cattle. Much of the variation between grains could be explained by gross chemical composition. However, other factors likely to affect the energy available from grains for animals include endosperm cell wall characteristics, grain hardness, fatty acid content and composition, relative proportions of amylose and amylopectins in starch, chemical and physical nature of the protein-starch matrix and phenolic acid bonds with lignin, polysaccharides and proteins.