In vitro Evaluation of Different Substitution Levels of Soybean Meal by Guar Meal in a Fattening Diet for Lambs

The aim of the current study was to evaluate the replacement effect of soybean meal (SBM) at different levels (0 as D1, 33 as D2, 67 as D3 and 100% as D4 based on crude protein (CP) content) by guar meal (GM) on ruminal gas production kinetics, ruminal digestibility and fermentation characteristics of a fattening diet for lambs. Three experiments were conducted. The first experiment of 144-h incubations was aimed to determine comparatively the gas production kinetics of SBM and GM. The gas production kinetics and the ruminal digestibility and fermentation of the fattening diet, containing different proportions of SBM and GM, were also studied by the incubations of 144-h and 24-h in the second and last experiments, respectively. The results of the first kinetic experiment indicated a higher asymptote of gas production (a), half time to asymptote of gas production (T1/2) and metabolizable energy (ME) and a lower fractional rate of gas production (µ) for SBM than GM (P 0.05). However, the gas produced after 24-h of incubation (GP24), in vitro true dry mater degradability (IVTDMD), in vitro true organic matter degradability (IVTOMD), partitioning factor (PF), microbial biomass production (MBP) and total volatile fatty acids (TVFA) concentration increased with D2 compared to D1 and D3 in the last experiment. The ammonia concentration decreased with D2 and D3 compared to D4 (P0.05). These results demonstrated that the protein from SBM might been replaced by that from GM in fattening diets for lambs at the levels up to 67%, but the 33% substitution is recommended because of its beneficial effects on ruminal digestibility and fermentation.