تجزیه پذیری

Fiber materials often have little digestibility due to the presence of cell wall compounds (cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin) and this problem is the reason for longer shelf life of edible materials in the rumen, reducing feed consumption, reducing digestibility and reducing production in ruminants. For this reason, studies have sought to find a way to increase the digestibility and decomposability of fiber materials in the rumen. In various studies, it has been proven to improve the parameters of degradability and increase the attachment of bacteria to fiber particles of materials due to the use of electron beam methods. Conducting this research, a new horizon of the application of this industry in animal nutrition study, and can be a starting point for further study in this field. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of different levels of electron irradiation on the parameters of degradability of insoluble fibers in acid detergent, particle size distribution and relative abundance of fibrolytic bacteria in wheat straw, barley straw and sugarcane bagasse fibers. To perform this study, 3 fistulad Shall breed sheep with an mean weight of about 59 kg and an mean age of about 12 months were used to determine the parameters of decomposition. The sheep were housed in a covered and semi-open place, inside a metabolic cage with a ration slightly more than the maintenance level. Electron irradiation was performed on food items at Yazd radiation center with doses of 250 and 500 kgy. Irradiation was carried out using a TT 200 model electron accelerator with a constant energy of 10 megaelectron volts and with a maximum error of 10%.For this purpose, 3 sheep equipped with rumen fistula were used. To observe the condition of the cell wall of wooden materials, the LEO44Oi model electron microscope made in England was used. For this purpose, each food sample was photographed with three different doses (0, 250 and 500 kg) and with X800 magnification. The results of the effect of electron radiation on the parameters of the degradability of ADF of wheat straw, barley straw and sugarcane bagasse showed that there is a significant difference between the experimental treatments in the sections of rapidly degraded fraction, slowly degraded fraction, constant rate of degradation and effective degradability with different passage rate (P<0.05). Irradiation in wheat straw and barley straw at the levels of 250 and 500 kGy compared to the control group caused a significant increase in degradability parameters. Also, irradiation in sugarcane bagasse at the level of 500 kgy compared to other treatments caused a significant increase in degradability parameters in slowly degraded fraction and effective degradability with different passage rate. The results of the effect of electron irradiation on the relative frequency of ruminal fluid fibrolytic bacteria showed that there is a significant difference in the relative frequency of Ruminococcus flavofcins and Fibrobacter succinogenes between experimental treatments (P<0.05). By increasing the radiation level up to 500 kGy, an increase in the relative frequency of Ruminococcus flavofcins and Fibrobacter succinogenes bacteria was observed in some repetitions of the experiment, which was significantly higher than the control group. Scanning electron microscope images with different doses showed that by increasing the level of radiation up to 500 kGy, a significant increase in the creation of holes and surface fractures of the fibers was observed (P<0.05). The general result of the current study showed that radiation at 500 kGy levels caused a significant increase in the parameters of degradability of ADF, relative abundance of Ruminococcus flavofcins and Fibrobacter succinogenes bacteria,

In this first experiment, in order to determine the process of ruminal degradability of dry matter and crude protein of cottonseed using the nylon bag method, four splenic fistulated sheep were used.16 male lambs with an average weight of 27.57±1.3 kg and an age of 120±10 days were used in a completely randomized design with 4 treatments and 4 replications for 84 days. The experimental diets included: zero (control), seven, 14 and 21% of whole cotton seeds. The results of the present study showed that the potential degradability of dry matter and crude protein of cottonseed in this study was 61.26 and 87.39%, respectively, which indicates the high degradability of dry matter and crude protein of cottonseed in the rumen. in terms of average final weight, lambs receiving levels of 14% and 21% had the highest (46.47) and lowest (43.69) final weight respectively (P<0.05), The increase of cottonseed caused a significant decrease in the digestibility of dry matter, also the lambs receiving 21% of cottonseed had the highest digestibility of the ether extract. Also, the blood glucose levels were also higher in the lambs of the control group. And the recipient of seven percent cottonseed was more than the other two treatments, while the concentration of blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels of the lambs receiving the levels were 14 and 21% higher than the other two treatments (P<0.05). In general, according to the present results show that cottonseed can be used up to 14% in the diet of fattening lambs.

Climate change causing deficiencies in freshwater resources and increasing salinity of soil and groundwater will lead to a scarcity of forage for ruminants in some countries. Halophyte crops that are adapted to soil and water salinity and high temperatures could provide suitable forage under these harsh conditions. Salicornia is an annual herbaceous halophyte belonging to the Amaranthaceae family, which has more than 175 genera and 2000 species of herbs and is a small shrub. Salicornia grows in temperate and subtropical climates and has yielded from 10 to 20 t/ha of dry biomass when irrigated with seawater. Salicornia is one of the few halophyte plants that can grow with direct use of sea water, although the salinity tolerance threshold of the plant is low in the germination stage. According to the limited studies related to the nutrition of halophyte plants in ruminants, this study aimed to investigate the nutritional value and degradability of different ecotypes of Salicornia spp. in in vitro condition.
First, Salicornia samples were collected from the farms of Urmia and Gamishan cities, and immediately after harvesting from the farm, the sample weight was determined to determine the dry matter (DM). In order to evaluate the nutritional value of Salicornia, chemical composition, minerals, gas production and degradability of DM were measured by in vitro.
The results showed that the DM percentage of Salicornia was 92 in Urmia ecotype and 85.31 in Gamishan ecotype (P<0.05). Salicornia crude fat percentage was 2.50 in Urmia ecotype and 1.20 in Gamishan ecotype (P<0.05). The ash content of Salicornia fodder in Urmia ecotype was 19.40%. The percentage of NDF and ADF of Salicornia in Urmia ecotype was lower than Gamishan ecotype (P<0.05). The amount of magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, sodium, manganese and iron of Salicornia in Urmia ecotype was higher than Gamishan ecotype (P<0.05). The amount of potassium, copper and zinc in Salicornia was similar between Urmia and Gamishan ecotypes. The amount of gas production of Salicornia fodder in Urmia ecotype was higher than Gamishan ecotype at 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 24 and 72 hours of incubation (P<0.05); While at 96 hours of incubation, the amount of gas production of Salicornia in Gamishan ecotype increased significantly compared to Urmia ecotype (P<0.05). The gas production potential (A) and gas production rate (C) were higher in Gamishan and Urmia ecotypes, respectively (P<0.05). The results showed that Metabolic energy, net energy and short chain fatty acids obtained from the gas production in Salicornia were higher in Urmia ecotype than Gamishan ecotype (P<0.05). In the Urmia and Gamishan ecotypes, the degradability of the rapidly degradable fraction (a) of Salicornia was 29.04% and 45.47 and slowly degradable fraction (b) 39.24%, and 38.17%, respectively. Effective degradability of Salicornia assuming passage rates of 0.04, 0.06 and 0.08 per hour in Urmia ecotype was 46.59, 42.37 and 40.20%, respectively.
Based on the results of this study, according to the higher amount of produced gas and estimated energy and short chain fatty acids in Urmia ecotype; its use in ruminant nutrition is recommended.

Today, the increase in the world's population, especially in third-world countries, has caused an increase in the demand for livestock products, which will subsequently require more livestock products and more food resources to meet these needs. The use of waste from factories of agricultural transformation industries in feeding livestock helps to make the cost of breeding more economical. Since cotton by-product is considered a product of cotton ginning factories, it can be said that due to its nutritional value, its use in animal diets is to avoid wasting this huge source of feed. Cotton by-product contains 86.9% dry matter, 12.3% crude protein, 57.7% NDF, 12.2% ash, 1.7% calcium, 0.31% phosphorus, and 1.06% net energy. The results of the studies showed that cotton waste can be used as a source of protein in the diet of fattening animals. This study aimed to assess the effect of feeding different levels of cotton by-products on performance, degradability, rumen fermentation parameters, microbial protein, and microbial population in fattening lambs.
In this study, 24 male Afshari lambs with a mean weight of 30±0.7 kg and a mean age of four months were used in a completely randomized design with four treatments and six replications for 90 days. The experimental treatments included: 1) a diet without cotton by-product (control), 2) a diet containing 33.33% cotton by-product instead of alfalfa, 3) a diet containing 66.66% cotton by-product instead of alfalfa, and 4) a diet containing 100% cotton by-product instead. Hay was based on dry matter. The cotton by-product used in this study was obtained from Mahosh cotton ginning factory located in Razavi Khorasan province, Neyshabur city, Iran. After entering the test site, it was chopped and then mixed with alfalfa in certain percentages; it was consumed by experimental lambs. Growth performance traits including daily feed intake, daily weight gain, and feed conversion ratio were measured during the experiment period. To measure ruminal fermentation parameters and bacteria and protozoa populations, the rumen fluid of the experimental lambs was taken from the rumen on the 90th day of the experiment, three hours after morning feeding using an esophageal tube. To determine urine purine derivatives, the total 24-hour urine production of each animal was collected in a special container under the metabolic cage on five sampling days. The number of three fistulaized Afshari sheep with a mean weight of about 50±2 kg and a mean age of approximately 11 months was used to estimate the parameters of degradability of dry matter, crude protein, and NDF.
The growth performance results showed that replacing 100% cotton by-products instead of dry alfalfa increased feed intake, increased daily weight, and decreased feed conversion ratio (P<0.05). The results of ruminal parameters showed that the treatment containing 66.66 and 100% replacement of cotton by-products instead of dry alfalfa had the highest concentration of total volatile fatty acids, acetic acid, and acetate to propionate ratio (P<0.05). There was no significant difference between the experimental treatments in the amounts of purine excretion derivatives and microbial protein production. The use of 66.66% of the substitute cotton by-product instead of dry alfalfa in the diet increased the total population of rumen fluid bacteria (P<0.05) but had no significant effect on the protozoan population. The results of meta-measures of dry matter degradability, crude protein, and NDF showed that there was no significant difference between experimental treatments.
The general results of the study showed that replacing cotton by-products by 66.66 or 100% instead of dry alfalfa in the diet improved the performance, increased the bacterial population, and concentration of total volatile fatty acids in the rumen fluid of fattening lambs. The use of cotton by-products can be a suitable substitute for alfalfa in the diet of fattening lambs without negative effects on growth performance and rumen fermentation indices.

Nowadays, excessive exploitation of natural resources and excessive grazing of pastures has led to a sharp decrease in feed sources for ruminant animals. Considering the fact that today most of the feed materials needed by livestock are expensive, replacing them with cheaper feed materials, in a way that does not result in a decrease in livestock productivity is of great importance. Oak fruit is one of the cheap feed that can be used in animal feed. Livestock feeding with oak fruit is particularly important due to high production per unit area, non-competition with human nutrition and easy access. The Alborz Mountains in the northern part of the country are covered by oak forests, from Talash forests to Naharkhoran forests in Gorgan, according to the climatic conditions and altitude, there are several species of oak trees. Therefore, considering the abundance of oak fruit in the forests of the central part of Mazandaran province and also the lack of scientific studies on the effects of consumption of oak fruit processed with sodium hydroxide and urea on degradability indicators and microbial protein production, the present study is to investigate the effect different levels of oak fruit processed with sodium hydroxide and urea on  ruminal fermentation, morphology, ruminal degradability and  microbial protein synthesis in crossed Zell and Atabai fattening male lambs.

In the first study, from the number of 20 fattening male lambs mixed with Zel and Atabai with an mean age of 5.5±0.38 months and an initial weight of 27±0.4 kg in a completely randomized design with 4 treatments and 5 repetitions for 90 The day was used. The experimental treatments included the control group (no oak fruit + polyethylene glycol) and treatments containing levels of 10, 20 and 40% in the dry matter of oak fruit processed with sodium hydroxide and urea in the diet. In the second study, the number of 3 fistulaized Zell sheep with mean weight of about 40 kg and an average age of approximately 10 months were used to estimate the parameters of degradability. The oak fruit used in this study was randomly collected from oak trees of the Bolandmazo species (Quercus castaneifolia C. A. Mey) in different forest areas of Mazandaran province from late summer to early autumn. Data obtained were analyzed by statistical software SAS (version 1.9).

The results of rumen fermentation parameters showed that there was a significant difference between experimental treatments in ammonia nitrogen, total volatile fatty acids, bacterial population and protozoa of rumen fluid (P<0.05). The highest and lowest concentrations of ammonia nitrogen were observed in the control group and the 20% processed oak fruit treatment, respectively. In the concentration of total volatile fatty acids, the treatment of 20% of processed oak fruit had the highest concentration and the treatment of 40% of processed oak fruit had the lowest concentration. There was no significant difference between the experimental treatments in the results of the morphological characteristics of the rumen villi. Degradability parameters of dry matter and crude protein were determined under the influence of experimental treatments (P<0.05). In the parameters of degradability of dry matter and crude protein, rapidly degraded fraction, constant rate of degradation and effective degradability with different passage rate had significant differences between experimental treatments (P<0.05). In dry matter degradability parameters, the control group and the treatment group of 40% processed oak fruit had the highest and lowest value of rapidly degraded fraction and constant rate of degradation, respectively. The results of gas production parameters showed that there was a significant difference between experimental treatments in gas production potential, short chain acids, digestibility of organic matter and metabolizable energy (P<0.05). The results of excretion of purine derivatives and microbial protein production showed that there was a significant difference between the experimental treatments in the amounts of excreted allantoin, xanthine+hypoxanthine, excreted purine derivatives, absorbed purine derivatives and microbial protein (P<0.05).

The general results of the current research showed that an increase in the concentration of volatile fatty acids, degradability of dry matter and crude protein, as well as the production of microbial protein was observed with consumption of 40% processed oak fruit. Also, an increase in the population of ruminal fluid bacteria and protozoa was observed in the treatment of 20% processed oak fruit. In general, it is recommended to use the level of 40% of processed oak fruit in feeding fattening lambs.

Investigating the performance of quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa willd.) forage and determining its digestibility in dried and ensiled formABSTRACT

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa willd.) is a dual-purpose crop for grain and forage production. Quinoa has excellent properties such as low water requirement for growth, resistance to drought, salinity and nutritional good quality, which are the reason for the great interest in Iran. The objective of this study was to investigate the performance of quinoa forage and determine its digestibility in dried and ensiled forms.

Three genotypes of quinoa forage (Sejama, Titicaca and Q12) were used in a completely randomized design in dry in the shade and silage forms. All genotypes were sown at the same time and harvested at the time dough of seeds and then were calculated performance of quinoa forage. The harvested forages were chopped and one part was dried in the shade and the other part was ensiled during 60 days in experimental silos. The silages were appearance characteristics evaluated after opening the silos. The samples were ground to pass a 1-mm screen, and then were used for evaluation of rumen degradability and rumen disappearance of dry matter (via incubating the samples inside the bag (pores 50 micrometers) in the rumen of steers) and post-ruminal disappearance of dry matter (via incubating the samples inside the bag in the DAISYII incubator). The samples were incubated in the rumen using polyester bags. All variables were statistically analyzed in a completely randomized design by the Statistical Analysis Systems (SAS).

The results show that, the duration of sowing to the dough stage of seeds was 60 days in Kerman condition, and wet plant yield for Sejama, Titicaca and Q12 genotypes were 34500, 30400 and 36610 kg/ha respectively. The appearance characteristics of silages were in an acceptable condition and were scored 16.75, 17.50 and 18.13 for Sejama, Titicaca and Q12 genotypes respectively in a 0 to 20 scoring system (P<0.01). The average of ruminal and gastro intestinal tract DM disappearance varied between 64.64 to 69.86 % and 69.64 to 75.19 % respectively (P<0.01). Furthermore, rapidly degradable DM fraction (a), in dried forage was lower (39.65 vs. 45.23 %) than in ensiled forage, and slowly degradable DM fraction (b) and rate constant of degradation of the b fraction (c) in dried forage was higher (41.46 vs. 36.39 % and 0.079 vs. 0.063 per hour respectively) than ensiled forage (P<0.01).

In general, the results have shown that quinoa forage had an acceptable digestibility and can be used as a substitution feedstuff with low water requirement in ruminant nutrition.

Sunflower is primarily an oil crop but the plant itself and its crop residues are used as animal feed. This study was to investigate the replacing of sunflower head wastes with wheat straw.

This research was conducted in the form of two experiments. In the first experiment, in order to determine the degradability of dry matter and neutral detergent fibre (NDF) of sunflower heads, three rams of Dalagh breed with rumen fistula were used and in the second experiment, 8 male Afshari lambs with an average live weight of 30±4.5 kg were tested in the change-over design with zero, 7, 14 and 21% in the diet. In this research, feed intake, digestibility, blood parameters, and chewing activity were measured.

The results showed that degradation percentage of DM and NDF was 20.41 and 25.59, respectively at time zero, and at 96 hour later it reached to the highest level of degradation equal to 73.47% and 46.40%, respectively. In this study dry matter intake (DM) was influenced by the experimental treatments (P=0.003). Replacing wheat straw with sunflower head improved digestibility of dry matter, organic matter and neutral detergent fiber but not significant. The feed conversion rate was improved with sunflower head treatments but not significant. Lambs that were used sunflower head residues, had more weight gain compared to the control group. None of the treatments containing sunflower head residues had a significant effect on blood parameters. Eating and chewing activity and whole chewing activity were influenced by the experimental treatments (p=0.01). The highest rumination activity per kg neutral detergent fiber, was related to the control treatment.

In general, replacing wheat straw with sunflower head residues up to 21 percent in the diet, can be done successfully. In general, according to daily weight gain, sunflower head residues can be replaced up to 21% levels in the diet by wheat straw.

The aim of this study was to compare different processing methods on chemical composition, ruminal degradability and in vitro digestibility of soybean seed. For this purpose, three ruminally fistulated bulls were used to measure ruminal degradability of crude protein (CP) and dry matter (DM) by nylon bag technique. Treatments were included: control, gamma irradiated soybean seeds in doses of 20 and 40 kGy, electron beam irradiated soybean seeds in doses of 20 and 40 kGy, microwave irradiated soybean seeds in 15 and 30 minutes, heated soybean seeds for 15 and 30 minutes. The results showed that gamma and electron irradiation with doses of 20 and 40 KGy and also heating for 15 and 30 minutes reduced the rapidly degradable fraction (a) of DM and CP and increased slowly degradable fraction (b) of DM and CP (P <0.05). Gamma and electron irradiation at doses of 20 and 40 KGy and heating for 15 minutes significantly reduced the effective rumen degradability of DM at rumen out flow rates of 2, 5 and 8 %/h to unprocessed treatment. (P<0.05). Gamma irradiation at doses of 20 and 40 kGy reduced the effective rumen degradability of CP at rumen outflow rates of 2 %/h compared to the non-irradiated treatment. Therefore, electron irradiation is recommended for improving nutritional value of soybeans for using in ruminant diets

Agricultural by-products, which contain high fibre and have low nutritional value, are one of the feed sources for ruminant animals. A variety of cereal residues including wheat straw, corn stover and paddy straw are generally used to supplement the green forage as animal feed. Wheat is an important cereal crop, which generates a huge amount of lignocellulose in the form of straw. Some various strategies have attempted to improve forage quality. These methods include physical treatments (heat, steam and pressure) as well as treatment with chemical treatments such as acids, alkalis, NH3 and ozone. However, using them is associated with some problems as they require complex material and have detriments such as secondary pollution. Recently the researches have focused on biological alternatives, especially since they are environmentally benign and widely acceptable. One of the biological methods is to use micro-organisms including fungi and bacteria many of which had been found to degrade cellulose and other plant cell wall fibers. The cellulase activity of the fungus is premier, whereas bacteria have a faster growth rate than fungi, and there is increasing interest in cellulase production by bacteria and they can generate cellulase much better. Cellulolytic bacteria are present in a variety of sources such as composting heaps, decaying agricultural wastes, soil and gastrointestinal tract of herbivores. These bacteria are presumed to live in both the rumen and in the colon that digest plant cell walls. Annually, large amounts of agricultural residues are produced in countries around the world, including Iran. These agricultural residues are important foods in the diet of ruminants. However, the use of these products as a food source in the diet of ruminants is limited due to their limited biological structure and low protein. Different physical, chemical and biological methods have been used to process wheat straw, all of which aim to break down lignin and make more cellulose and hemicellulose available for fermentation in the rumen. The use of biological processing method by fungi has received more attention due to the lack of environmental pollution. White rot fungi are the only organisms that are able to aerobically break down lignin into CO2 and water. Schizophyllum commune is an edible fungus of the basidiomycete’s family. Spraying of lacase enzyme from Schizophyllum (liquid culture lacase, solid culture lacase and purified lacase) on wheat straw, corn straw and sorghum straw gradually reduces the amount of Neutral Detergent Fiber of straws and As a result, it increases the digestibility of straws. Lignin is an important constituent of these agro-residues which is resistant to most of the bacterial enzymatic systems, as well as non-digestible by ruminants and rumen microflora. Solid state bioprocessing of agro residues by ligninolytic fungi have got the potential to convert these materials into better feed. Beside lignin, these agro residues contain complex polysaccharides (hemicellulose and cellulose) and water-soluble fractions (soluble sugars, some pectin component, some soluble proteins and organic acids). Lignin binds with hemicellulose and cellulose to form a matrix and make these polysaccharides unavailable for the ruminants. Bio delignification of agro-residues has got the potential to convert this biomass into more nutritive and easily digestible feed. Most studied white rot fungi species are quite efficient lignin degrader but it also degrades an enormous amount of organic matter thus limiting its practical use for improvement of animal feed quality. while the pretreated straw may be useful for other purposes including biofuel production. It necessitates the need to look for organisms which can degrade the lignin without causing major loss of other important constituents like hemicellulose and cellulose. The purpose of this experiment was to determine the chemical composition, volume of gas produced, dry matter degradability, degradability of Neutral Detergent Fiber and volatile fatty acids produced by wheat straw processed with Schizophyllum commune under liquid culture and solid culture using nylon bags and gas production method.

To process wheat straw, the straw was first soaked in water for 12 hours and then sterilized in an autoclave at 121 ° C for 20 minutes. For solid culture, a 7-day-old mushroom was transferred to each jar containing sterilized wheat straw and stored at 26 ° C for 25 days. Liquid culture medium containing the secreted enzymes was inoculated after filtration of the fungi on the liquid and into a glass chamber containing sterile and soaked wheat straw and kept at 26 ° C for 25 days. Wheat straw was removed from the jars after 25 days and dried for 4 days at 60 ° C. The gas production of the treatments in glass vials at 2,4,6,8,12,24,48,72,96,120,144 hours and their degradability were measured using nylon bags and three Holstein cows fistulated at 2,4,6,8,12,24,48,72,96 hours of ruminal incubation.

Processing of wheat straw by Schizophyllum commune reduced dry matter and Neutral Detergent Fiber. Solid culture and liquid culture increased the amount of protein from 2.94 to 6.12 and 5.7%, respectively. Cumulative gas production increased during 144 hours of incubation in wheat straw processed by solid culture. Organic matter digestibility percentage, dry matter digestibility percentage and Metabolisable energy in wheat straw processed by liquid culture method showed a significant increase. The amount of crude microbial protein in wheat straw processed by liquid culture method showed a significant increase. Dry matter degradability increased during 96 hours of ruminal incubation and the potentially fermentable portion of processed wheat straw by solid culture. There was no significant difference between different treatments in terms of nutritional value index. The degradability of Neutral Detergent Fiber was reduced during 96 hours of incubation and the effective degradability in the treated groups was reduced. Liquid and solid culture processing increased the total amount of volatile fatty acids and ammonia nitrogen in wheat straw.

In general, processing of wheat straw with Schizophyllum by solid culture method improved some nutritional components, but the addition of fungal liquid culture medium did not have a significant positive effect on increasing the nutritional value of wheat straw.

 Lysophospholipids play an important role in animal nutrition. These substances, which are also classified as plant secondary metabolites, have a positive effect on the digestion and absorption of lipid nutrients in livestock. Lysophospholipids, mostly due to their emulsifying properties, increase the digestibility of fats and fat-soluble vitamins and can selectively prevent the growth of gram-positive bacteria. They can also emulsify dietary fats and increase fat absorption in the intestinal epithelium. The lysophospholipids can improve the consumption of fatty acid supplements and increase their digestibility. Therefore, they have substantial benefits for ruminants. The current study was conducted to evaluate the effects of consumption of different levels of lysophospholipids on degradability parameters, ruminal parameters, carcass fatty acid profile, microbial population, and protozoa in fattening male lambs.

 In this study, 24 crossbred male lambs with four treatments and six replications per treatment were used in a completely randomized design. The experimental diets included: 1. Basal diet (control) (without lysophospholipid in the diet and with a diet containing a lipid source), 2. Treatment containing a lipid source + 0.25% lysophospholipid in the diet, 3. Treatment containing a lipid source + 0.50% lysophospholipid in the diet, and 4. Treatment containing a lipid source + 0.75% lysophospholipid in the diet. The lipid source and lysophospholipid supplement were rumen-protected products. The total fattening period was 105 days (15 days of adaptation + 90 days of recording period).

 The results showed that adding 0.75% of lysophospholipid supplement increased feed consumption and daily weight gain and decreased FCR (P<0.05). With the addition of lysophospholipid supplement to the diet of fattening lambs, there was no significant difference between experimental diets with the control diet regarding the rapidly degraded fraction and slowly degraded fraction and total potential of degradability of dry matter, protein, and NDF (P>0.05). Experimental treatments had no significant effect on pH and ammonia nitrogen. The addition of 0.75% of the lysophospholipid supplement, compared to other treatments, increased the concentration of acetic acid and the ratio of acetate to propionate in the ruminal fluid and also increased linolenic acid (c18:3 ω3) (P <0.05) and the ratio of ω6/ω3 decreased in all experimental groups (P<0.05). The use of 0.5 and 0.75% lysophospholipid supplements in the diet increased the total ruminal bacterial population (P <0.05) but did not affect the population of protozoa (P<0.05).

 Based on the results of this experiment, it is possible to use lysophospholipid supplements at the levels of 0.5 and 0.75% of diets containing fat supplements in fattening male lambs.

In order to investigate the effect of licorice extract (LE) on growth performance, fermentation parameters, and rumen protozoan population in fattening lambs, 28 male lambs weighing 36.45 ± 1.75 kg in a completely randomized design with four treatments and seven replicates were used. Experimental treatmeشnts included: control, basic diet without licorice extract, and treatments one to three included basic diet plus five, 10 and 25 mg of LE per kilogram of DM. The ratio of forage to concentrate was 30:70, which was given to the animals as per their appetite. Adding 25 mg of the extract to the diet increased the daily gain and improved the feed conversion ratio (P<0.05). The pH of rumen fluid and gas production increased at the level of 25 mg of extract (P<0.05). Methane production was not affected by adding LE to the diet. The changes in metabolizable energy, degraded organic matter and concentration of volatile fatty acids in diets containing 5 and 25 mg of LE were more than other groups (P<0.05). The total population of protozoa as well as the number of Entodinia decreased by feeding diets containing LE (P<0.05) but the number of Isotrichida increased, significantly. Based on the results of this research, adding 25 mg/kg of licorice extract to the diet improves the rumen metabolism and the performance of fattening lambs, but it had no effect on the amount of energy loss in the form of methane.

In this study, nutritional and digestibility value of tomato pomace before (TP) and after oil extraction (DTP) were measured. Lycopene content of TP and its rumen disappearance rate was determined. In a completely randomized design, gas production content of TP and DTP was measured in vitro. Ruminal disappearance of dry matter and lycopene of TP were determined at 0, 2, 6, 12, 24, 36, 48, 72 and 96 hours of incubation using fistula cows. Ruminal degradability parameters including rapidly degraded fraction (a), slowly degraded fraction (b), fractional rate of degradation (c), potential of degradability (PD) and effective degradability (ED) were estimated. Results showed that lycopene content of TP was 168 mg/kg DM. DTP contained higher crude protein, NDF, and ADF than TP. De-oiled TP showed higher gas production, digestibility of organic matter and short-chain fatty acids and lower N-ammonia as compared to TP. The values for a, b, c, PD and ED for dry matter were 57.1, 0.07, 66.4 and 49.3% and for lycopene were 3.87, 42.1, 0.076, 45.9 and 34.1, respectively. In conclusion, ruminal degradability of lycopene was about 30% meaning that about than 70% of lycopene by-passes the rumen. Moreover, de-oiled tomato pomace has reasonable nutritive values to be used in ruminant nutrition.

 Fodder sorghum is one of the most important forage plants in arid and semi-arid regions of the world. Maize production is low in arid and high salinity regions around the world, and sorghum due to its adaptation to arid and low water conditions, high water use efficiency, C4 photosynthetic system, high clawing power, high production capacity as wet forage, dry and Silos are a good option in these areas. In the past, sorghum was generally grown in areas that were unfavorable for growing corn, but today, with the advent of hybrid fodder sorghums, it produces under ideal conditions corn-like crops, and where moisture is a limiting factor and may have a higher yield than corn. Recently, frequent droughts in Iran have attracted the attention of farmers and livestock breeders to other forages such as sorghum, and due to the limited growing season of this forage, its use as a silo is common. Stage of growth is one of the most important factors influencing nutritional quality of fodder silages. As the fodder matures, the cytoplasmic portion of the cell reduces and the quantity of protein, lipids, soluble carbohydrates and soluble minerals decrease. Due to the drought occurrence on large parts of Iran and the adaptation of sorghum to drought conditions, a very few studies have been done on its chemical composition and nutritional value. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of plant growth stage and mixing of corn and sorghum on chemical composition and degradability of corn and sorghum silage.

In order to evaluate the effects of harvesting steps and the ratio of forage sorghum blending on nutritional value and its degradability compared to corn silage, this experiment were performed using 45 experimental silos in a factorial experiment based on a completely randomize design with 15 treatments and 3 replications. Experimental groups consist of: sorghum harvest time (first factor) including: 1) before flowering (emergence of flag leaf), 2) about 10-15 percent flowering, and 3) soft seed soils. Sorghum harvested at each of the above time with forage corn with ratios of corn fodder to sorghum (second factor): 100%: 0%, 75%: 25%, 50: 50%, 25%: 75% and % 0: 100% was mixed. Silage samples were analyzed for Dry matter, crude protein, Ash and crude fat according to AOAC (2005) methods. In situ ruminal degradation kinetics parameters of DM, CP and NDF of experiment treatments were estimated using the nylon bag technique. Degradation of dry matter at times zero, 2, 4, 8, 16, 24, 48 and 72 9 hours was determined.

The results of this experiment indicated dry matter, crude protein had an upward trend with growth progression. While, the amount of crude fat, soluble sugar decreased significantly with plant growth. Ash content fluctuated during the growth stages, so that its amount was the lowest in flowering stage and was the highest during the vegetative stage (before flowering). The highest pH was observed in the soft dough stages and the mixing ratio of 25% corn and 75% sorghum, which indicates more proteolysis of silage. The lowest amount of ammonia nitrogen was observed in the soft dough phase treatment with 50% corn and 50% sorghum ratio and the highest amount of lactic acid was observed in the soft dough stage treatment with 100% sorghum, which may be due to increased soluble carbohydrate intake and convert it to lactic acid. Rapidly soluble fraction, degradation rate constant and effective degradability of dry matter, crude protein and cell wall at all passage rates increased significantly with increasing plant growth.

In general, it can be concluded that harvesting corn and sorghum forage in the soft dough stage with a mixing ratio of 25% corn and 75% sorghum improves the pH of silage. Rumen degradability of silage dry matter in the soft dough stage with different levels of corn and sorghum composition can increase feed intake in livestock. Rumen degradability of silage dry matter was also higher in the soft dough stage with different levels of corn and sorghum composition than other stages, and this can reduced feed retention in the rumen and increased feed consumption in livestock. However, more research is needed to investigate the effect of feeding a mixture of corn silage and sorghum in ruminants on voluntary feed intake and production performance.

The Norfur system developed in Island, Norway, Sweden and Denmark for predicts nutrient supply and requirement for maintenance, milk production, growth and pregnancy in cattle. Due to the diversity in ruminal degradation of NDF and its effect on animal performance, knowledge of NDF digestibility in forage is critical to the effective feeding of ruminants. The aim of this study was to compare the degradability of alfalfa, wheat straw and corn silage and to estimate the concentration of  indigestible neutral detergent fiber (iNDF) and potential digestible NDF (pdNDF) using the Norfur system.

Degradability parameters of dry matter and neutral detergent fiber with in situ method using three ruminal fistulated sheep at intervals of 0, 2, 4, 8, 16, 24, 48 and 96 h was evaluated in  a complete randomized design. To measure of iNDF, three grams of samples were incubated in nylon bags for up to 288 h.

there was a significant difference between the three alfalfas, corn silage and wheat straw in the degradability of dry matter and NDF. Rumen disappearance of DM and NDF during incubation periods of 0 to 96 h was highest in alfalfa forage and lowest in wheat straw. Rapid and slow degradable fractions of dry matter in alfalfa, wheat straw and corn silage were 24.50, 6.57 and 22.20% and 48.30, 41.43 and 45.00%, respectively. There was no significant difference in rate of degradation between the experimental treatments at the 5% level. Effective degradability at 2, 5 and 8% rates of outflow from the rumen was also significantly different between experimental treatments (p<0.0001). Effective degradability and potentially digestible NDF concentrations were highest in alfalfa and lowest in wheat straw. There was a significant difference between pdNDF and iNDF parameters in wheat straw compared to corn and alfalfa silage and alfalfa forage had a higher potential for digestibility (p<0.0001). The highest concentration of iNDF was in wheat straw and then in corn silage and the lowest concentration were in alfalfa after 288 hours of incubation (55.31, 28.81 and 12.94% of NDF, respectively).

According to the results of this study, using the Norfur system to determine the degradability of neutral detergent fibers, the lowest amount of iNDF and the highest amount of pdNDF belonged to alfalfa compared to corn silage and wheat straw, which indicates higher digestibility of alfalfa forage.

The use of bio-waste in animal feed, in addition to reducing the cost of feed, reduces environmental pollution resulting from the disposal of this waste. Feathers make up about 10% of a bird's weight. 90% of full weight contains creatine, which is rich in the serine amino acids cysteine, glycine, alanine and threonine. The strength of fibrous protein is due to its high hydrogen, disulfide bonds and low hydrophilicity, which makes creatine insoluble and stable against degradation by enzymes such as trypsin and pepsin. Although the poultry industry in the country is expanding day to day, there are no plans to process and return this valuable product to the production cycle. Therefore, the purpose of this project is Processing of Feather meal using ozone (o3) gas and evaluation of its nutritional value using in vitro and in situ nylon bags techniques.

To process the Feather meal with ozone gas, for this purpose a reactor with a capacity to withstand twice the pressure was designed and built. The processing reactor was a double-walled steel tank with a steel surface with a capacity of 1 kg. An ozone generator with a capacity of ten grams of ozone per hour was connected to it and an oxygen capsule was used to supply the oxygen needed by the device and also to increase the pressure inside the reactor. Experimental treatments include: control (without processing), ozone-processed Feather meal in 30 minutes, ozone-processed Feather meal in 60 minutes, ozone-processed Feather meal in 90 minutes and ozone-processed Feather meal in The time was 180 minutes. In order to determine the degradability coefficients of dry matter, three fistulated Holstein male steers were used to prepare and incubation of the samples in situ within the rumen. In order to determine the effect of processing on the amount of gas produced in the laboratory, the pressure of the produced gas was determined in three separate cycles and three repetitions per sample in each run.

Feather meal dry matter under the influence of ozone gas showed a significant decrease in treatments of 60, 90 and 180 minutes (P <0.05) The amount of crude fat under the influence of ozone gas processing showed significantly increased in treatments 60, 90 and 180 Minute (p < 0.05). The amount of crude protein in 180 minutes treatment showed a significant increase compared to the control (P <0.05) but no significant difference was observed in other treatments. The amount of ash was not affected by ozone treatment. Ozone gas processing increased the amount of gas production (P <0.05). The gas production of insoluble part showed a significant increase in all processing times compared to the control (P <0.05). The decomposition rate constant showed a significant decrease in the 180-minute treatment (P <0.05). There was a significant increase in methane production volume and dry matter digestibility of all treatments (P <0.05). The pH value was not significant. The protozoan population in 90 and 180 min treatments showed a significant increase compared to the control (P <0.05). Dry matter degradability showed a significant increase in all treatments (P <0.05). The insoluble part showed a significant increase with increasing frequency (P <0.05). Effective degradability in all passage rate constants showed a significant increase with increasing processing time (P <0.05).

According to the results of this experiment, it can be concluded that processing of Feather meal using ozone gas releases peptides and amino acids and consequently increases its degradability and nutritional value. However, further studies are needed to increase the processing time, use of oxygen in the air,

In the present study, the chemical composition and nutritional value of quinoa crop residues were determined using insitu and invitro gas production techniques in comparison with alfalfa hay. After harvesting, whole quinoa plants were dried at environmental temperature, the seeds were separated, and the crop residues were used for the experiment. The results showed that the content of gross energy, dry matter, organic matter, neutral detergent fiber and lignin of quinoa was higher than alfalfa hay (P<0.05). Crude protein concentration of quinoa (12.29%) was lower than alfalfa hay (14.32%). The main part of the tannin in quinoa was hydrolysable. Although the degradation rate and post-ruminal digestibility of quinoa and alfalfa hay were similar, ruminal, and total tract digestibility of quinoa were lower than alfalfa hay (P<0.05). No significant differences were found in gas production rate (c) between quinoa and alfalfa hay, however, it’s gas production potential (b) was lower than alfalfa hay (P<0.05). Organic matter digestibility, metabolizable energy and net energy of lactation in quinoa crop residues were also lower than alfalfa hay (P<0.05). Based on the results of this study, quinoa crop residues have suitable nutritional potential for replacing part of the forage to meet part of the nutritional requirements of ruminant feeds. However, invivo studies are recommended to determine it’s appropriate level in the diet.

This study was conducted to determination of the effects of supplementation of alfalfa with fresh whey and bacterial additive before ensiling on the dry matter, organic matter and crude protein degradability’s by nylon bags. Experimental treatments included the levels of 0, 30, 60, and 90 g fresh whey per kg of fresh alfalfa were added to the alfalfa silage with and without bacterial additive (3 × 108 cfu per g fresh alfalfa). Degradability of silage determined using in situ technique with 4 replications (2 replications per sheep) at 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12, 16, 24, 48, 72, and 96 hours incubation. The data were analyzed in a factorial based (2×4) on a completely randomized design. The highest dry matter degradability was observed for alfalfa silage treatment with 60 g fresh whey, which was observed for 2, 4, 12, 72 and 96 hours of rumen incubation (p < 0.05). The parameter of fraction a of DM in treatments with bacterial additive was not significantly different to compared with control, but in treatments with whey at three different levels (30, 60 and 90 g fresh whey), the significant increase was observed (p < 0.05). After 48 h incubation the highest crude protein degradability was for treatment including 90 g whey and bacterial additive and lowest amount was for treatment including 60 g whey and bacterial additive (p < 0.05). The results show that the addition of whey at different levels increased rapidly degradable, slow degradable fractions and effective degradability of dry matter.

This research was conducted in order to determine chemical composition, gas production parameters, in vitro digestibility and ruminal degradability of Acroptilon repens at different phonological stages (vegetative, flowering and seeding) and its comparison with alfalfa hay and wheat straw in Completely Randomized Design. For this purpose, Acroptilon repens was prepared in three stages of growth from Quchan pastures. The chemical composition of the samples was determined using the standard methods. The gas production test was used to estimate the gas production parameters of samples. In vitro digestibility of samples was determined by the batch culture method. Ruminal degradability trial was carried out by the nylon bag technique. The amount of Ash, crude protein (CP), Ether extract (EE), non- fiber carbohydrates (NFC) and neutral detergent soluble (NDS) at vegetative stage of Acroptilon repens were higher than wheat straw. At this phonological stage, neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) were lower than wheat straw and alfalfa hay (p<0.05). The highest and lowest values of gas production potential were related to Acroptilon repens at flowering stage and wheat straw respectively (p<0.05). Estimated parameters including metabolizable energy (ME) and organic matter digestibility (OMD) at vegetative and seeding stages of Acroptilon repens were higher than wheat straw (p<0.05), but had no significant difference with alfalfa hay. The amount of dry matter digestibility of Acroptilon repens at vegetative and seeding stages did not differ with alfalfa hay and wheat straw, but was lower at flowering stage (p<0.05). OMD, microbial biomass (MB) and its efficiency (EMB) at vegetative stage of Acroptilon repens was higher than other treatments (p<0.05). Washout fraction (a) and potentially degradable fraction (b) of Acroptilon repens in all phonological stages was higher than alfalfa hay and wheat straw, meanwhile degradability of this plant at vegetative stage was higher than other treatments (p<0.05). Based on the results of this study and considering the chemical composition and fermentation parameters, Acroptilon repens at vegetative stage had higher nutritional value.

In growing ruminants or early lactation dairy cows, production may be limited by a dietary metabolizable protein. In these conditions microbial protein synthesis is not sufficient to meet the animal’s protein requirement. Canola meal (CM), which is an available and good source of protein in ruminant nutrition, especially in Iran. However the protein of CM is highly degradable by rumen microorganisms and on the other hand, anti-nutritional factors, such as phytic acid and glucosinolate in brassica-originated feed, are of concern relative to animal-originated feeds. Glucosinolates are a large group of sulphur-containing secondary plant metabolites and are known to reduce feed intake, induce iodine deficiency and depress fertility in ruminants. Several heat processing methods have been used to enhance nutritive value of oilseed meals, including extrusion, roasting, toasting and Jet-Sploding. Recently, treatment of oilseed meals with microwave irradiation was successful in reducing ruminal degradable protein, anti-nutritional factors and increasing digestible undegradable protein of them. Microwave irradiation is heating faster, processing in less time and higher energy efficiency compared to conventional methods. This research was carried out to evaluate the effects of microwave irradiation (800 W) for 2, 4 and 6 min on dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP) and true protein (TP) ruminal degradability, in vitro CP digestibility, antinutritional factors (glucosinolate and phytic acid), and chemical composition of CM.

The DM of CM was determined and then, sufficient water was added to sample to increase the moisture content of CM to 250 g/kg. Three samples (500 g each) were subjected to microwave irradiation at a power of 800 W for 2, 4 and 6 min. The samples were ground to pass a 2 mm screen for the ruminal in situ study. Degradation kinetics of DM, CP and TP were determined according to in situ procedure. Six grams of untreated or irradiated feed samples were incubated in the rumen of three ruminally fistulated Taleshi bulls for periods of 0, 2, 4, 8, 16, 24 and 48 h. The bulls were fed with a total mixed ration containing 700 g/kg of DM forage (700 g/kg alfalfa hay and 300 g/kg wheat straw on DM basis) and 300 g/kg of DM concentrate. The concentrate consisted of ground barley grain, canola meal, ground canola seed, cotton-seed meal, wheat bran, dicalcium phosphate and a vitamin+mineral premix (530, 130, 160, 40, 120, 10 and 10 g/kg DM, respectively). TP of samples were determined by Bradford,s procedure. Digestibility of rumen undegraded CP was estimated using the three-step in vitro procedure. Sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) was used to monitor protein subfractions and the fate of true proteins of untreated and irradiated feed samples in the rumen.

Microwave irradiation had no effect on improving chemical composition of CM but decreased the total glucosinolate and phytic acid of CM linearly and quadratically. Microwave irradiation for 2, 4 and 6 min decreased the phytic acid content of CM by 13, 30 and 51% respectively, compared to untreated CM. The total glucosinolate contents of CM microwave irradiated for 2, 4 and 6 min decreased by 38.4, 56.0 and 67.1% respectively, compared to untreated samples. Microwave irradiation decreased the washout fraction, degradation rate and effective degradability (ED) of DM, CP and TP and increased potentially degradable fraction of DM, CP and TP of CM. The washout fraction of CP decreased by 15.7 and 39.8% in samples irradiated for 2, 4 and 6 min, respectively. Irradiation for 2, 4 and 6 min decreased ED of CP at a ruminal outflow rate of 0.05 h-1 by 13.6 and 22.7%, respectively. In vitro CP digestibility of CM increased by treating with microwave irradiation up to 4 min. CP digestibility of 2 and 4 min irradiated CM was increased by 6.9 and 10.5%, respectively. Electrophoresis results also indicated that major proteins of CM was Cruciferin (globulin 12S) and Napin (Albumin 2S). Electrophoresis results indicated that in untreated CM, four subunits of Cruciferin and in microwave irradiated CM, four subunits of cruciferin and two subunits of Napin consisted of by-pass proteins.

In this study, microwave irradiation, reduced ruminal degradability of CP and TP, increased in vitro CP digestibility and reduced anti-nutritional factors of CM. Subsequently, in vivo studies are required to investigate effect of feeding irradiated feedstuff on lactation performance of dairy cows

Processing have an impact on nano-molecular basis, which increase digestion of starch. Heat processing destroys the crystalline nature of a starch granule making the surface of the starch more available to digestive solvents and enzymes as well as to the rumen microbes (Bdour et al. 2014). The in situ nylon bag technique is widely used to characterize the disappearance of feeds from rumen (woods et al. 2002). In situ incubation is a principle method for the estimation of ruminal degradability of dry matter and crude protein, because it is simple, does not require specific equipment and could be applied in every research laboratory (Alexandrow 1998). In many protein evaluation systems for ruminants, the nylon bag technique is the standard method used for calculating the amount of protein escaping rumen fermentation (Cone et al. 2002). A scanning electron microscope (SEM) is a type of electron microscope that produces images of a sample by scanning the surface with a focused beam of electrons. The electrons interact with atoms in the sample, producing various signals that contain information about the sampleʼs surface topography and composition. Accordingly, scanning electron microscope (SEM) can achieve resolution better than 1 nanometer (Stokes 2008). This experiment was conducted to investigate the digestibility of dry matter and crude protein of sorghum grain in the rumen and therefore, investigate changes in nano-molecular basis.

In this study sorghum grain was processed using methods of steam flaking, roasting and microwaving. Feed samples were dried in an oven at 90°C for 48 h and the dry matter (DM) content was calculated. Then, ground samples were analyzed for ash (AOAC, 2005). Determinations of N were conducted using the Kjeldahl method in an automated Kjelfoss apparatus (Foss Electric, Copenhagen, Denmark). Neutral-detergent fiber (NDF) and acid-detergent fiber (ADF) were determined by the detergent procedures of Van Soest et al. (1991). Acid-detergent insoluble nitrogen (ADIN) was determined as nitrogen in acid-detergent residue. Ether extract (EE) was determined by extracting the sample with ether (AOAC 2005). Degradation characteristics of feeds were calculated after the incubation of 5 g samples of row, steam flaked, roasted, and microwaved sorghum grains (ground at 2 mm) in nylon bags. The bag size was 6×12 cm. The bags were incubated in the rumen of two cannulated sheep for 0, 2, 4, 8, 12, 24, 36, and 48 h. Retrieved bags were washed under running water until the water was clear. Immediately after removal from the rumen, the bags frozen at −18 °C. At the end of the collections, they were unfrozen and washed together with the zero time bags (not incubated in the rumen) for 20 min and then dried at 80°C for 48 h. The residues were weighted and submitted for analysis. For each bag, the residue was analyzed for DM and nitrogen. Feed residues were recovered from each bag and stored for Kjeldahl nitrogen. The model of p=a+b(1-e-ct) was used for the determination of degradation characteristics, in which p is the actual degradation of CP and DM after t, a is the intercept of the degradation curve at time zero, b is the potential degradability of the component of the slowly soluble CP and DM, which will in time be degraded, c represents the constant degradability rate of b at time t, and t is the incubation time. In order to provide SEM images, scanning electron microscopy (Field Emission Tescan mirca 3) was used in the central laboratory of University of Tabriz. The values of a (% solubility) and b (potentially degradable fraction) and deviation of error were determined.  Data obtained from in situ study was subjected to analysis of variance as a completely randomized design by the GLM procedure of SAS software and treatment means were compared by the Duncan test.

In situ results showed that steam flaking of sorghum grain have the most digestibility compared with other treatments, but it was not significant. Steam flaking of sorghum grain reduced nutritional restriction (Teurer et al. 1999) and in many studies has been showed decreases in tannin and phenolic compounds. Microwave processing reduced digestibility; however, it was not significant. Lewandowicz et al. (2002) reported that microwaving reduced starch solubility, because high heat treatment in microwaved starch can create resistance and continual basis in granular structures. Processing significantly decreased crude protein digestibility in all three treatments (P<0.05) that previous studies have confirmed these results (Parnian 2008, Nickhah et al. 2003, Hamaker 1987).
Thermal process reduces protein digestibility in the rumen via denaturing the protein and formation of protein-protein and protein-carbohydrate bonds (Anonymous 2001). Dandy et al. (1995) also concluded wet sorghum baking reduced digestibility. Preston (1998) reported that processing and steaming of corn and sorghum grains reduced solubility of proteins. Also, access to lysine amino acids reduced by flakes density reduces. Scanning electron micrographs in all three treatments showed that processing destructed protein matrix and increased enzymes access to starch granules and increased their digestibility. In steam flaking treatment, granule surfaces were attacked by microorganisms and protein matrix destructed more than other treatments. Also, terminal processing in all three treatments gelatinated the starch and increased average of scale of granules. In addition to the importance of starch digestion, the increase in viscosity during gelatinization may also positively affect physical quality of processed feeds through increasing in binding between feed particles. Svihus et al. (2004) reported that pelleting can improve feed integrity by increasing binding between particles. Gelatinization of starch greatly increases α-amylase accessibility to amylose and amylopectin glucose chains and so, increases the rate of starch digestion. The number of created orifices is explanatory for degradability values. Benmoussa et al. (2006) concluded that number and scale of granules have positive effects on digestive properties. In this study, despite of smaller number and smaller size of orifices in steam flaking treatment than other treatments (against further degradability of steam flaking than others treatments), SEM images of incubated steam flaking showed that granules were processed completely. Therefore, lots of uniformity and meltingcan be justified as its high degradability.

Electron microscopy images showed that the number and size of holes (nano-sized) per unit area of ​​treatments were highly correlated with the degree of degradability. Steam flaked treatment has caused more gelatinization in starch granules as the size of the granules has increased more than the control treatment and other treatments. Steam flake processing shows better degradability properties than other treatments and provides higher amounts of nutrients to microorganisms.