Chemical Composition, in vitro Gas Production and Ruminal Fermentation of Cottonseed Meal and Certain Conventional Protein Sources in Buffalo Inoculum

Background: The price of conventional protein sources like soybean and peanut has increased markedly in recent years resulting urgent need for exploring alternate sources. Due to increase availability cottonseed meal (CSM) cotton-growing areas India as compared other oil seed meals, CSM is becoming one the major components concentrate mixture (CM) fed animals. Methods: A study was undertaken assess chemical composition vitro nutritional worth comparison oilseed cakes used livestock feeding. Result: CP content varied from 47.85% 47.76% (SBM). net gas production (NGP, ml/g DM/24h) (160.48) lower (P less than 0.05) SBM (198.04) MC (199.55). metabolizable energy (ME, MJ/kg DM) higher lowest DMC. partitioning factor (PF, mg/ml), OM digestibility (%), DM NDF efficiency microbial mass (EMMP, %), fermented CO2 reported be cakes. TVFA (mM/dl) (6.63) GNC (6.45) but (6.97), (7.11) DMC (7.25). fermentation (FE, %) (74.70) (74.97) VFA utilization index (VFA UI) highest (3.81) (3.39). results revealed that potential a source