Improvement Utilization Efficiency of Sunflower Meal as a Feed for Ruminant Animals

This research was conducted to study the effect of blood, formaldehyde, heating or roasting on sunflower meal including chemical composition, particle size, solubility, in vitro digestion coefficient, dry matter and nitrogen degradability and true nitrogen digestion coefficient. Results of chemical composition indicated that treatments caused high significant (P<0.01) differences in comparison with untreated meal particularly in protein. It was shown that treatment with blood or roasting caused an increase in protein percentage about 7.75% and 3.81%; respectively. Treatments casued a highly significant (P<0.01) increase in particle size and reduction in small particle ratio in comparison with untreated meal. Superiority was for blood treatment. Meanwhile, solubility results reflected no significant differences between used solutions . Different treatments tended to reduce solubility compared to untreated meal. Significant reduction (p<0.01) in nitrogen solubility was for treating meal with blood or roasting . Results indicated that treatment tended to reduce (P<0.01) dry and organic mater digestion coefficients in comparison with untreated meal. Dry matter and nitrogen degradability was greatly reduced (P<0.01) compared to untreated meal, especially blood and roasting treatments . True nitrogen digestion coefficient showed high significance (P<0.01) due to treatment . This study indicated that sunflower meal protein could be protected effectively from degradation in rumen by treatment with blood or roasting without any inverse effect on nitrogen digestion and absorbability in ruminant animal abomasum and small intestine. (authors) 32 refs., 6 tabs