Silage of Prickly Pears (Opuntia spp.) Juice By-Products

Abstract

Cactus pear cladodes are used as forage in the most arid regions. In Italy, the human consumption of prickly pear fruits and juice is gradually increasing for their numerous health benefits. In manufacturing plants that produce prickly pear juice, several by-products (prickly pear by-products PPB) are obtained. Despite their interesting nutritional characteristics, PPB are not very usable because of their poor shelf-life which is related to their high moisture and sugar content. The aim of this study was to verify the efficacy of ensilage to preserve PPB and to compare different inclusion levels (0, 5, and 10% as fed) of wheat straw. For each treatment, four under vacuum micro-silos were prepared and, after 35 days of storage, the state of preservation was evaluated. Subsequently, the aliquots were analyzed for chemical composition and incubated with bovine rumen fluid to evaluate the fermentation kinetics. The PPB 5% of straw showed significant lower pH and ammonia nitrogen concentration, indicating a better preservation process. Moreover, PPB 5% of straw showed better nutritional parameters (higher crude protein and lower Neutral Detergent Fibre) and fermentation characteristics (higher degradability and VFA volatile fatty acids production) when compared with the other PPB silages. Ensilage with straw represents a suitable storage technique to preserve the nutritional characteristics of PPB.

Chemical and nutritional characteristics of Cannabis sativa L. co‐products

“…The collected rumen fluids were placed inside to pre‐heated thermos and transported within 2 h to the laboratory of Feed Evaluation of University of Napoli, Federico II. The rumen fluid was mixed and strained through four layers of cheese cloths and diluted in a buffered medium (75 ml), successively, the reducing agent (4 ml) was added into the flasks (Vastolo et al, 2020 ). On seven replication, three bottles for each substrate were utilized for cumulative gas production measurement (120 h of incubation), the remaining were used for methane production evaluation (24 h of incubation).…”

Amaranthus grain as a new ingredient in diets for dairy cows: productive, qualitative, and in vitro fermentation traits

“…For the volatile fatty acid (VFA) (mmoL g −1 ) analyses, samples of fermenting liquor from each bottle were centrifuged twice at 12 000× g for 10 min at 4 °C (Universal 32R centrifuge, Hettich FurnTech Division DIY, Melle‐Neuenkirchen, Germany); then 1 mL of supernatant was diluted in 1 mL of oxalic acid (0.06 mol L −1 ) and injected into a gas chromatograph (ThermoQuest 8000top Italia SpA, Rodano, Milan, Italy) equipped with a fused silica capillary column (30 x 0.25 mm, 0.25 μm film thickness, Supelco, Inc., Bellefonte, PA, USA). Each fatty acid (acetate, propionate, iso‐butyrate, butyrate, valerate, and iso‐valerate) concentration was measured comparing the sample peak areas of each VFA with that the external standard 29 . Branched‐chain fatty acids proportions (BCFAs) were also calculated as in Eqn (5): …”

Opuntia spp. as Alternative Fodder for Sustainable Livestock Production

“…The use of prickly pear byproducts (juice, peel, pulp, and seeds) as dietary supplement could be a way to enhance a more sustainable animal production system by reducing waste production. However, it was also reported that the poor shelf life of these products was due to their high levels of moisture and fermentable carbohydrates [88]. In fact, prickly pear byproduct outdoor storage is only possible for a few days due to bacterial fermentation [22].…”

“…It has been observed that the silage obtained with 5% of straw is the best preserved, since it helps in achieving a significantly lower pH and ammonia nitrogen concentration. Moreover, the inclusion of only small amounts of straw is economically advantageous, as the cost on forages is greatly reduced [88].…”

“…A storage technique could be ensiling the mass with straw, and the best preservation seems to be obtained with 5% straw [88]. To make high-quality silage, appropriate levels of moisture (30-40%) and sugar in a full anaerobic environment are required in order to produce lactic acid fermentation [94].…”