Nutrient content and nutrient availability of sorghum wet distiller's grain in comparison with the parental grain for ruminants

BACKGROUND The present study aimed to compare wet sorghum distiller's grain ( WSDG ) with sorghum grain ( SG ) in terms of: (i) chemical composition; (ii) in situ rumen degradation kinetics of organic matter ( OM ) and neutral detergent fiber ( NDF ); (iii) crude protein ( CP ) sub‐fractions; (iv) in situ disappearance at 12 and 48 h; and (v) energy values. The WSDG intestinal digestibility ( ID ) of undegradable crude protein ( UCP ) was compared to soybean meal ( SBM ). RESULTS Compared to SG , WSDG exhibited: (i) lower ( P  < 0.01) dry matter and non‐fiber carbohydrate content, whereas the other chemical components were higher ( P  < 0.01); (ii) higher ( P  < 0.01) degradation rates of OM and NDF and lower ( P  < 0.01) degradable fraction of OM and NDF ; (iii) lower ( P  < 0.05) contents of CP sub‐fractions A, B1 and B2 , and higher ( P  < 0.05) contents of B3 and C; (iv) lower ( P  < 0.05) protein disappearance at 12 and 48 h and higher UCP ; and (v) lower ( P  < 0.05) energy content. The ID of UCP for WSDG was lower ( P  < 0.05) compared to SBM . CONCLUSION The WSDG as a supplement provides a good source of energy. To enable its use as a protein supplement, further studies should be performed. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry