A Laboratory Assessment on the Frequency of Overheating in Commercial Dehydrated Alfalfa Samples

Abstract

A total of 111 samples of commercial dehydrated alfalfa were collected through state feed control officials from all regions of the 48 contiguous states of the U.S. The samples were analyzed for overheating by the use of both acid-detergent insoluble nitrogen (ADIN) and pepsin insoluble nitrogen (PIN) as indexes of overheating. Acid-detergent insoluble nitrogen in the dry matter in 89% of the samples was more than .29% and PIN in the dry matter in 32% was more than .79%. All these samples were considered overheated. This is a mean relative loss of 22 to 24% of the digestible nitrogen using ADIN or a loss in digestible nitrogen of 15 to 26% using PIN. These results indicated that a large amount of nitrogen is unavailable for animal use in many commercial dehydrated alfalfa samples. Copyright © 1976. American Society of Animal Science . Copyright 1976 by American Society of Animal Science