The drying method affects the organic acid content of alfalfa forages

Abstract

Malic acid (the main organic acid contained in alfalfa; Callaway et al., 1997) is an important metabolite for ruminal microbial population since it improves the uptake of lactic acid by Selenomonas ruminantium (Evans and Martin, 1997) and Megasphaera elsdenii (Rossi and Piva, 1999). Several studies have shown the effect of adding malic acid to the diet of steers and dairy cows on ruminal fermentation (Martin et al., 1999; Martin et al., 2000) and animal performances (Krummrey et al., 1979; Stallcup, 1979; Kung et al., 1982). Aim of this study was the evaluation of the influence of drying method.......

Keywords

• alfalfa, malic acid, citric acid, dehydratation