Fruit and vegetable discards preserved with sodium metabisulfite as a high-moisture ingredient in total mixed ration for ruminants: effect on in vitro ruminal fermentation and in vivo metabolism

Objective: Our recent series of laboratory- and large-scale experiments confirmed that under aerobic and anaerobic conditions, sodium metabisulfite (SMB) was effective in preserving nutrients and antioxidant capacity of highly perishable fruit and vegetable discards (FVD). Hence, the purpose of this study was to examine how partial inclusion of SMB-treated FVD in total mixed ration (TMR) influences in vitro ruminal fermentation, whole-tract digestibility, nitrogen metabolism, blood metabolites, and voluntary feed intake of sheep.

Methods: The FVD were mixed thoroughly with 6 g SMB/kg wet biomass and kept outdoors under aerobic conditions for 7 days. Four TMRs including four levels of SMB-treated FVD (as-fed basis) at 0%, 10%, 20%, and 30% (equaling to 0%, 1.9%, 3.8%, and 5.7% on dry matter basis, respectively), were prepared as replacement for corn grain. The ruminal fermentation metabolites were studied using an in vitro gas production test. Four mature male Corriedale sheep were assigned at random to the 4 diets for two separate sub-experiments; i) digestibility trial with four 21-d periods, and ii) voluntary feed intake trial with four 28-d periods.

Results: Inclusion of SMB-treated FVD in the TMR tended to quadratically increase partitioning factor. No effect was seen on total-tract digestibility of organic matter, ether extract, crude protein, and acid detergent fiber, except for neutral detergent fiber digestibility that tended to linearly increase with increasing SMB-treated FVD in the TMR. The progressive increase of FVD preserved with SMB in the diet had no effect on nitrogen metabolism. Treatment had no effect on serum antioxidant capacity and blood metabolites assayed. Voluntary feed intake was not impaired by inclusion of SMB-treated FVD in the TMR.

Conclusion: It appears that FVD preserved with SMB can be safely incorporated into TMR as replacement of corn grain without impairment of nutrient metabolism and feed intake.