1- Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Shahid Beheshti Avenue, P.O. Box:
386. Gorgan, Islamic republic of Iran.
2- Department of Animal Sciences, Waite Institute, Waite road, Glen Osmond 5064, Australia.
Abstract: (5971 Views)
In the first experiment, twelve species of the most plentiful and fresh seaweeds and one
species of seagrass from the beach were collected at Kingston, South Australia. All species
were then separately sun-and oven-dried and ground. The ground samples were analysed
for dry matter, ash, organic matter, crude protein, crude fibers, ether extract and digestibility
in vitro. The digestible and metabolisable energy of the samples were estimated by
calculation. The results showed that all seaweeds and seagrasses contained a very high ash
content, ranging from 19.5 - 40 per cent. The crude protein content of the samples was
low and ranged from 4.4 - 7.3 per cent. The crude fiber in seagrass was considerably
greater than in seaweed species (34.4 % vs 3.7 -10.1 %). The dry matter digestibility of
samples ranged from 34.1 to 51.5, while the data also showed that the values for digestible
and metabolisable energy of aquatic plants were very low as compared with lucerne (the
control). From the first experiment it was concluded that, amongst marine plants available
in South Australia, the seagrass Posidonia australis, because of its ready availability
in great quantities and the environmental problems for residents, may be regarded as a
potential alternative animal feedstuff. In the second experiment, samples of four different
physical forms of seagrass, Posidonia australis green and fresh (from the water, and
washed and un-washed from on the beach) were examined and compared for their chemical
composition, including nonstarch-polysaccharides, uronic acids, neutral detergent fiber,
acid detergent fiber and lignin, amino acids, crude protein, tannin, ether extract,
soluble and insoluble ash. The results from this experiment showed that there were no
significant differences between the four different physical forms of seagrass collected in
terms of their most important chemical constituents.
Received: 2010/05/16 | Accepted: 2010/05/16 | Published: 2010/05/16