Development of a rumen fluid preservation technique and application to an in vitro dry matter digestibility assay

Citation

Zeigler LD, Schlegel ML, Edwards MS. 2003. Development of a rumen fluid preservation technique and application to an in vitro dry matter digestibility assay. In Ward A, Brooks M, Maslanka M, Eds. Proceedings of the Fifth Conference on Zoo and Wildlife Nutrition, AZA Nutrition Advisory Group, Minneapolis, MN.

Abstract

The objective of this study was to develop a rumen-fluid freezing and thawing protocol to be used with a two-stage in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) assay. Rumen fluid was collected on three different days (one week apart) from a domestic steer (Bos taurus) and preserved via freezing, freezing with 5% glycerol (GLY) or freezing with 5% glycerol plus a buffer solution (BUF). The IVDMD of frozen preparations were compared to those of fresh rumen fluid. Yellow corn, soybean meal, high fiber herbivore pelleted diet and coastal bermudagrass hay were used as reference feed substrates. Frozen rumen fluid preparations were thawed in a warm (39°C) water bath, pre-incubated and infused with CO2 overnight (12 h) prior to use. Frozen rumen fluid gave similar IVDMD results when compared to fresh samples (P > 0.05), whereas IVDMD values determined using GLY and BUF preparations were different from fresh samples (P < 0.05).

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