| dc.description.abstract | The feeding value of five browse foliages (Acacia brevispica, Acacia mellifera,
Berchemia discolor, Zizyphus mucronata and Maerua angolensis) grown in semiarid area of
Kenya were evaluated. Their chemical composition including polyphenolics and in vitro gas
production characteristics were determined. The biological activity of the polyphenolics was
assessed as the increases in gas production profiles and in vitro true dry matter (DM) and
organic matter (OM) digestibility after in vitro incubation with or without addition of
polyethylene glycol (PEG) as a tannin binding reagent. The intake and palatability ranking of
the browse foliages by goats and sheep were also investigated. The browse foliages had
variable crude protein content (149.5–248.6 g/kg DM) and variable content of neutral
detergent fiber (205.1–424.0 g/kg DM). The content of total extractable tannins was … | en_US |
