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Description:

Proposed Spectroscopic Method to Assess Fibre Biological Availability for In Vitro and In Vivo Digestible Energy (DE) in Animal Feeding.

By D. A. Flores

SB Internet

Port Coquitlam, BC

Canada V3B 1G3

Recent studies have been undertaken of the utility of direct probe devices by infrared reflectance (IR) spectroscopy using optic fibre against a ceramic blank to pick up the wavelengths characteristic within the 1100-2000 nm near infrared (IR) zone and set against internal comparisons with regression coefficients with known samples of value, and with unknowns to predict their values with crude fibre, crude protein and fat. The robustness of using prepared samples is tested with chemical proximal analyses and standard errors associated with the statistically analyzed data obtained by the prediction equations due to scatter on the bar graph.

It is of interest here to further speculate on building a device that can spectrophotometrically measure lignin alone, in addition to current crude fibre measurements.  It has been found that according L. E. Chase and co-workers at Cornell U., Ithaca N. Y. USA that the bonding, viz. the types and nos., between the ligneous and carbohydrate moieties is most correlated with the feed material's digestibility.

Therefore when designing a direct probe device, it is requisite to ascertain which bonds and their absorption and reflectance bands in their spectra within the near IR region (viz. their vibrational energy spectra) best reflects lignin quantification and their measure to be used to assess feed or forage quality with respect to energy availability from its digestibility in vivo in livestock.

This is to be done with a cocktail enzyme assay (e. g. esterases, etherases and lyases) to measure in vitro their relative recalcitrance to bond breakage or enzymatic digestion.  Then in vivo rumen in saco determinations will be made to correlate crude fibre (CF) loss in real samples of lignocellulose from relatively matured and lignified plant tissues as in the stems (or stubble) and green, leafy tissues of the plant crop at various stages of harvest.

The studies would follow to obtain the near-infrared (IR) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra of extracted lignocellulosic samples to establish which lignin-carbohydrate bonds occur and the proportion of each identified bond types in the extracted sample.

Basically the whole set-up comprises the direct reflectance fibre-optic based probe, the ceramic blank for comparison of 100% reflectance in material, and software (cf. WInISI 1.05 software) used with a Pentium III Hewlett-Packard (HP) stand alone desk computer unit in one study [see: I. Gonzalez-Martin. Instantaneous Determination of Crude Protein, Fat and Fibre in Animal Feeds Using Near Infrared Reflection Spectroscopy Technology and a Remote Reflectance Fibre-Optic Probe. Ani. Fd. Sci. Tech. 128: 165-171 (2006)].

It is believed that for this groundbreaking device will greatly improve the assessment of fibre digestible energy (DE) or availability in vivo with animal livestock since crude fibre as it stands does not sufficiently predict energy availability in feeds "as is", including the dry matter (DM) or organic matter (OM) digestible energies (DE) and may improve this parameter's in terms of measurement and significance or interpretation.

There should be comment made on another separate parameter called physically effective fibre (PEF) taking into account the toughness of feed substrate towards communition or particle size reduction as it is chewed on, another dimension of digestion in addition to the chemical (proximal analysis)/biochemical (enzymatic) reduction to chemical subunits. 

It is believed that when the PEF parameter is combined with near-IR spectral measurements of lignin that a more comprehensive model is used to described fibre's digestion and a much more reliable prediction equation generated for use.

There are other factors that need delineation before correlates are better made such as stage of cropping and other agronomic conditions, viz. weather including predicing drought and floods with climate change on the rise these days world-wide, controlling irrigation, the type and rate of fertilizer application, soild conditioning including type, including natural and organic soil types, its tillage and its resident microbiome, crop rotation and erosion over time. 

The effort to complete the model of factors accounting for fibre digestibility or availability in feed samples from harvest will be actually daunting although future precision agriculture that controls conditions for plant growth and development, soil conditions, and meteriological conditions with engineered applicators, drones, smart technology and GPS coordination or control via satellite above may narrow down variance in measured parameters and make more accurate predictions for farm advisories to make and to use them to optimize and thus maximize yields of crops and feeding for animal livestock.

Higher quality feeds in future to optimize feeding regimens to meet nutritional requirements of farm animals, including our own plans to precision farm horticulturally marine or freshwater seagrasses of very high yield and low in lignin content when raised as genetically regulatory organismal (GRO) crops, may reduce such variability described here.

Closing Remarks.

It is not yet known as to what ligneous moieties are concerned in terms of bonding types (e. g. ester, ether, and direct high energy C-C bonds), their bonding to carbohydrate moieties as to type and their distribution or frequency of occurrence in plant biomass or material and their associated near-IR reflectance bands to quantitate them as they closely correlate with bioavailability or digestibility in the rumen stomachs of livestock.

Assay of chemical bonds as chemically deduced through reactivity in standards to quantify their distribution as to type and no. will have to be performed together with in vivo, in saco, rumen studies to make selection rules as to which bands in their near-IR spectra correlates are the most sensitive indicators as to their readiness or recalcitrance to bond breaking by mixing, mastication, physically speaking and via enzyme action by major cellulolytic microbial spp. (e. g. bacteria and fungi).

Sending warmest regards to our collaborators and industry contacts,

D. A. Flores, B.A., M.A.S. (Biotech)

Owner and Principal

Skye Blue (SB) Press Corporation

Port Coquitlam, BC Canada V3B 1G3

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//DAF-2026-01-13

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Last update of this entry: January 14, 2026