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Summary — The effect of air-drying of Acacia cyanophylla Lindl foliage (acacia) on digestion in sheep was studied in November and December 1993 at Inra-Tunisia. Two groups of animals each including two intact and two rumen-cannulated 'Queue Fine de I'Ouest' adult sheep were offered 600 g dry matter (DM) lucerne hay and fresh or air-dried acacia foliage ad libitum. Diets were offered daily y in two equal meals (08.00 and 16.00 h). A digestibility trial involving all animals and a digestion trial involving only rumen-cannulated animals were conducted according to a 2 x 2 x 4 and a 2 x 2 x 2 crossover design, respectively. Each experimental period lasted 25 days, with total faecal collections, rumen fluid samplings (0, 2, 4 and 8 h post feeding) and ruminal cellulolytic activity using the nylon bag technique being made over the final 10 days. The organic matter, fibre (NDF, ADF and ADL) and crude protein (CP) contents were similar in fresh and air-dried acacia (42.9 vs 44.4, 27.0 vs 25.9, 14. I vs 12.2, 1 l.9 vs 1 l.2% of DM, respectively). Acacia foliage, either fresh or air-dried, had a high content of insoluble nitrogen (79.0 and 84.5% of total nitrogen, respectively) and nitrogen bound to ADF (15.4 and 13.8°Io of total nitrogen, respectively). Air-drying reduced methanol extractable condensed tannins in acacia foliage (from 5.1 to 4.3 g catechin equivalent/100 g DM). DM intake of acacia was significantly increased (P < 0.05) by air-drying (from 52 to 56 g DM kg-I LW w S ). Remark-

Six cereal straws and two traditional hays were used to study the relationship between voluntary dry matter (DM) intake and chemical composition and ruminal degradation characteristics. The voluntary DM intake was measured during 60 days using Barbarin adult ewes given food individually in four groups of six animals. The forages were offered to the ewes twice daily and were supplemented with 10 g DM of soya-bean meal per kg M0·75 per day and 30 g per ewe per day of a commercial mixture of minerals and vitamins. The chemical composition and the leaf/stem (L/S) ratio of the forages were determined. Their ruminal degradation characteristics were measured by using the nylon bag technique according to the exponential model Dg = a + b (1 – e−ct). Crude protein contents of straws ranged from 22 to 35 g/kg DM and that of hays from 35 to 57 g/kg DM. The corresponding values of L/S ratio varied from 0·68 to 0·88. The voluntary DM intake was highly variable and the hays were ingested at greater amounts than the straws, although their degradable (b) and their rate of digestion (c) were not significantly different (P > 0·05).Significant relationships were established between voluntary DM intake and the neutral-detergent fibre (R2 = −0·72; P < 0·001), acid-detergent fibre (R2 = −0·75; P < 0·001) and a values (R2 = 0·83; P < 0·001). The precision of the prediction was significantly improved using ruminal degradation characteristics (Syx = 4·42) compared with the chemical composition (Syx = 5·60).

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The Common Myrtle (Myrtus communis L.) is rich in antioxidants, particularly in anthocyanin. It was recognized for its anti-inflammatory and anti-thrombotic effects.The aim of our work is to evaluate the effect of Common Myrtle on a model of hepatic ischemia-reperfusion in Rat.Two morphs were chosen: white fruit Myrtle and black fruit Myrtle. Within each morph, fruit and leaf were separated and obtained extract were used to determine their effects on the hepatic model of ischemia-reperfusion.Our work was conducted in three steps (1) Induction of hepatic ischemia (90 minutes) in Wistar Rat (2) injection of the Myrtle extract during 15 minutes before reperfusion (3) and reperfusion (2 hours).To evaluate the effect of Myrtle on ischemia-reperfusion, we have monitored transaminases levels, Monoethylglycinexylidide (MEGX) concentrations (to assess the liver metabolic capacity) and Malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration.The determination of total phenol extracts of Myrtle showed a significant difference between black fruit Myrtle (11.3 µg/ml), white fruit (27 µg/ml) and black fruit Myrtle leaves (94.3 µg/ml). The latter presented the highest antioxidant activity (86.54%).With the extract from the white fruit of Myrtle, we noted a decrease of AST and ALT, respectively, 1321 U/I and 773 U/I compared with I/R group was 5757 U/I and 5404 U/I and an increase in the MEGX concentrations and decrease in MDA.The testing of extracts of Myrtle in a model of hepatic ischemia showed a difference in the protective power against damage of ischemia-reperfusion, by origin and type of fruit (black or white).

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Our method provides reliable and reproducible results using only a small portion of liver which allows for a fast and easy assessment of liver metabolic capacity. Moreover, our method presents an alternative to the in vivo technique and seems more feasible in a clinical setting.