The effect of enzyme treatment on the in vitro fermentation of lucerne incubated with equine faecal inocula

A series of experiments was conducted to determine the effects of a fibrolytic enzyme preparation (enzyme 1; E1) on the in vitro fermentation of lucerne incubated with equine faecal inocula. In experiment 1, high-temperature-dried (HT) lucerne was treated with five levels of E1 (0 to 2·4ml/g DM) and incubated at 50°C for 20h. Samples then received a simulated foregut digestion (SFD) treatment before DM and NSP analysis. In experiment 2, HT lucerne was treated with the same enzyme levels used in experiment 1. Samples were then split into two groups; plus or minus an SFD treatment before in vitro fermentation using an equine faecal inoculum. In experiment 3, fresh and wilted lucerne were treated with the same levels of E1 as experiments 1 and 2, incubated at 50°C for 20h, then fermented in vitro. For experiment 4, fresh and wilted lucerne were treated with low levels (0 to 0·008ml/g DM) of E1 before fermentation. E1 significantly (P