Determination of nutritional value and metabolizable energy of two variety of date palm

The three-step trial was conducted to evaluate the chemical composition, digestibility, true and apparent metabolizable energy (TME and AME), of different parts of two varieties of date palm collected from Kerman (Mazafati and Farekan). In the first stage, the chemical composition of the fruit, date pits and whole date palm were determined. Secondly, digestibility and metabolizable energy of the samples measured by the force-feeding method on 35 adult Leghorn cockerels and collecting whole excreta for 48 hours. In the third stage, the best formulas were determined to estimate the ME values from the DM digestibility and chemical composition data by stepwise regression method.
According to the results, date palm, with and without pits, had more available energy, but the pits and pulps had more crude fiber and also, lower energy content. Moreover, Our results show that Mazafati variety had more CF and EE in compare to Farekan variety. Unlike Farekan date palm, which had low metabolisable energy, AME and AMEn of the Mazafati date pits and date palm were 1769, 1786, 1924 and 2212 (kcal/kg DM), respectively. In overall, Mazafati variety had higher nutritional value in compare to Farekan variety. At the end, the best equations for estimating of AME and TME were determined based on chemical composition and digestibility values.