To evaluate the in vitro digestibility of forage legume from semi-arid northeast region using caecal inoculum liquor of ostriches with Reverse Tilley and Terry technique, the alfalfa hay (Medicago sativa) was used as reference food for comparison between hays of canephori (Senna multijuga), clitoria (Clitoria ternatea), leucaena (Leucaena leucocephala), kills pasture (Senna obtusifolia) and thrush (Mimosa caesalpiniifolia). There was, by Duncan test (P<0.05), significant difference to in vitro digestibility of the nutritional fractions among the legume hays resulting in general mean value of 49.62% for dry matter (DIVMS), of 23.38% for crude protein (DIVPB), of 17.88% for insoluble protein in neutral detergent fiber (DIVPIDN), of 34.52% for neutral detergent fiber (DIVFDN) and of 42.07% for neutral detergent fiber corrected for ash and protein (DIVFDNcp). The nutritional composition of feedstuffs influenced the fermentative activity of microorganisms from cecum-colon of ostriches in these in vitro incubations, and the better digestibility values were observed for alfalfa hay, followed by kills pasture and leucaena hays, wich were higher than other legumes from semi-arid.
laboratory technique; microbial digestion; Struthio camelus; tropical forages
