Digestion of cell wall components by dairy heifers fed diets based on alfalfa and chemically treated oat hulls.

Four Holstein heifers were used in a 4 X 4 Latin square design to measure total tract digestion of cell wall components from diets based on alfalfa haylage and alkaline hydrogen peroxide-treated oat hulls. Diets contained 90% forage and 10% concentrate. Treatments were diets containing 90, 70, 50, or 30% alfalfa haylage with treated oat hulls supplying the remainder of the forage portion. Total tract digestion of cell wall-associated uronic acids, arabinose, galactose, mannose, rhamnose, and lignin were not affected by forage source. Digestibilities of cell wall glucose and xylose increased with increasing level of dietary treated oat hulls, reflecting the positive effect of alkaline hydrogen peroxide treatment on cell wall digestion. Cellulose (ADF minus acid detergent lignin) digestibilities were similar to those for cell wall glucose, whereas hemicellulose (NDF minus ADF) digestibilities were similar to those for cell wall arabinose plus xylose. Low digestibilities of alfalfa cell wall xylose indicate that some cell wall structure inhibits the degradation of alfalfa xylans. Low degradabilities of core lignin, esterified p-coumaric acid, and esterified acetyl groups suggest that these components may be involved primarily in depressing fermentation of cell wall polysaccharides.