Evaluation of Chemical Composition and In vitro Digestibility of Appennine Pasture Plants Using Yak (Bos grunniens) Rumen Fluid or Faecal Extract as Inoculum Source

Pastures of the Apennines of Central Italy contribute to feed resources of high altitude (above 1,300 m sea level) grazing systems. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of faecal extract from the yak (Bos grunnienes) as an alternative microbial inoculum to rumen fluid for estimation of digestibility of several forage species. Forage samples produced at high altitude were tested in this study: four legumes (Lathyrus sativus L., Lotus corniculatus L., Onobrychis viciaefolia L. and Trifolium pratense L.), three forbs (Achillea millefolium L., Potentilla reptans L. and Teucrium flavum L.) and one grass (Brachipodyum pinnatum L.) were incubated with yak rumen fluid or faecal extract. A large variability in chemical composition was observed among the species collected. Rumen liquor and faecal samples were collected from adult healthy yak. The $Daisy^{II}$ incubator was used to evaluate the nutrient digestibility of forages using rumen liquor as control and faecal extract as alternative microbial inoculum sources. Filter bags containing samples of browse species were added to the four digestion vessels along with their respective inoculum and then incubated for 48 h and dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP), neutral and detergent fiber (NDF) digestibility was determined. There was a significant relationship between estimates, indicating that faecal liquor has the potential to be used instead of rumen fluid for estimation of in vitro digestibility of plants. It is concluded that the $Daisy^{II}$ incubator results are appropriate for the determination of in vitro digestibility of nutrients using faecal liquor to define the potential for adaptation of yak to new pastures.