The effect of polyethylene glycol (PEG 6000) supplementation on in vitro kinetics of pistachio epicarp

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of inclusion of polyethylene glycol (PEG, MV= 6000) on gas production kinetics, organic matter digestibility (OMD), the metabolisable energy (ME) and dry matter (DM) disappearance of pistachio epicarp by in vitro method. PEG used at rates 0, 300 and 600 mg/300g DM. Gas production volume and the amount of DM disappearance was determined after 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 24, 36, 48, 72 and 96 h of incubation. The data was analyzed using completely randomized design. Addition of PEG resulted in an increased gas production at all incubation times than control and this process continued until final hours of incubation (P<0.05). Addition of PEG resulted in increased ME and OMD than control (P<0.05). In vitro DM disappearance after 48 h incubation PEG at level 2 g had the highest DM disappearance amount (P<0.05). This study showed that inclusion of PEG demonstrated the negative effect of tannins in pistachio epicarp on digestibility.