Comparison of acid-detergent lignin, alkaline-peroxide lignin, and acid-detergent insoluble ash as internal markers for predicting fecal output and digestibility by cattle offered bermudagrass hays of varying nutrient composition

Table 1 Chemical composition (g/kg dry matter, DM) of bermudagrass hays fed during an in vivo experiment for estimating marker recovery based on different crude protein (CP) levels (n = 3)

Item	Treatments¹				SEM²	P-value
	L	ML	MH	H
DM	885	872	867	875	10.6	0.75
Organic matter	939^a	913^b	912^b	919^b	8.2	0.04
Total ash	61	87	88	81	6.0	0.05
CP	79^c	111^b	131^b	164^a	6.4	0.01
Neutral-detergent fiber	768	712	690	740	19.1	0.08
Acid-detergent fiber	428^a	348^b	332^b	370^ab	19.4	0.03
Hemicellulose	340	364	358	370	9.1	0.19
Acid-detergent lignin	45^a	33^b	31^b	41^ab	2.9	0.03

¹L, low CP hay (CP = 79 g/kg DM); ML, medium low CP hay (CP = 111 g/kg DM); MH, medium high CP hay (CP = 131 g/kg DM); and H, high CP hay (CP = 164 g/kg DM).
²SEM, standard error of the mean.
^abcMeans with different superscripts in a row differ at P < 0.05.

ISSN: 2049-1891