NUTRITIONAL VALUE AND IN VITRO DIGESTIBILITY OF LEGUME PODS FROM SEVEN TREES SPECIES PRESENT IN THE TROPICAL DECIDUOUS FOREST

Abstract

The pods of trees from tropical deciduous forest are relevant in the dry season due to their high availability. Whole pods from seven plant species Acacia pennatula (Schltdl. & Cham.) Benth., Caesalpinia gaumeri (Britton & Rose) Greenm., Leucaena leucocephala (Lam.) de Wit, Lysiloma latisiliquum (L.) Benth., Mimosa bahamensis Benth., Piscidia piscipula (L.) Sarg. and Senegalia gaumeri (S. F. Blake) Britton & Rose which are reported as consumed by small ruminants were evaluated. Their nutritional value, phenolic compounds, in vitro dry matter (IVDMD) and organic matter digestibility (IVOMD) and metabolizable energy (ME) with and without the inclusion of polyethylene glycol (PEG) were evaluated. The pods from P. piscipula showed the highest crude protein content. The pods of L. leucocephala, C. gaumeri, and A. pennatula resulted with the highest IVDMD (46.3 and 44.5%), IVOMD (44.8 and 45.4%) and ME (6.8 and 6.7 MJ) (P<0.05). The phenolic compounds were not detected in C. gaumeri, L. latisiliquum and S. gaumeri pods. The IVDMD, IVOMD and ME of L latisiliquum and P. piscipula pods (P<0.05) was lower when PEG was added. Pods from A. pennatula, C. gaumeri and L. leucocephala showed acceptable nutritional value for their use as supplement for ruminants.