Recovery of Residual Organic Matter from In Vitro Digestion of Forages

Abstract

Abstract After two-stage in vitro digestion of about .44g of initial forage organic matter, residues in fermentation tubes were filtered sequentially through glass wool mats, sintered glass crucibles, and glass fiber discs. Only .002g of residual organic matter which passed glass wool was retained by sintered glass. The residue on sintered glass did not include recognizable forage particles. Glass fiber retained .029g of residual organic matter which had passed both glass wool and sintered glass. Calculations of in vitro organic matter digestion were not affected by including the residue retained by sintered glass in addition to that retained by glass wool. Inclusion of the residue retained by glass fiber reduced digestion percentages by 1.9 units. Glass wool mats are easily prepared in 25-ml porcelain Gooch crucibles, and filtration through them is rapid.