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A cellulase digestion technique for predicting the dry matter digestibility of grasses
Author(s) -
Jones D. I. H.,
Hayward Margaret V.
Publication year - 1973
Publication title -
journal of the science of food and agriculture
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.782
H-Index - 142
eISSN - 1097-0010
pISSN - 0022-5142
DOI - 10.1002/jsfa.2740241113
Subject(s) - cellulase , dry matter , digestion (alchemy) , trichoderma viride , chemistry , food science , organic matter , cellulose , agronomy , botany , biology , biochemistry , chromatography , organic chemistry
A digestion technique using a commercially‐available crude cellulase preparation from Trichoderma viride is described. The enzyme showed cellulase, hemicellulase and proteolytic activity when tested on herbage or herbage polysaccharides. A high correlation ( r = 0.92, P < 0.001, residual standard deviation 2.5) was found between a simple one stage enzyme digestion and in vivo dry matter digestibility for a range of grass species and varieties. In vitro dry matter digestibility and detergent fibre were also determined on the same samples and the results correlated with in vivo dry matter digestibility. The cellulase method is rapid and reproducible and particularly well suited for the evaluation of plant material in breeding programmes.