Resumen:
Halophytic plant species have been used
for forage from ancient periods due to their nutritional
constituents. Additionally, there is little information
on the effect of the consumption of halophytic plant
species on the emission of fermentation gas by
ruminants. This context was aimed to assess the
chemical composition, mineral contents, and fermentation
gas mitigation properties of nine different
halophytic plants species, collected from south-eastern
region of Iran. The minerals such as calcium (Ca),
sodium (Na), and potassium (K) were estimated using
atomic absorption spectroscopy, and phosphorus
(P) by spectrophotometer. The mineral contents of halophytes were within the usual ranges. The rate of
fermentation gas production (GP) among plants was
calculated according to the standard protocol in a
time-dependent manner (2–96 h) and revealed the
characteristics of these halophytes. The GP was
reduced for halophytes from vegetative and flowering
stages to seed ripening stage. Parameters such as
metabolisable energy, organic matter digestibility, and
digestible organic matter in dry matter were estimated
and observed to be decreased (P \0.05) among
different growth stages of halophytes. The evaluation
of chemical constituents, mineral components, and
other parameters established the promising role of
these halophytic plant species as efficacious forage resources
for ruminants. Furthermore, these halophytes
may be used as valuable feeding stuffs for ruminants
due to the mitigation characteristics of fermentation
gas and less use of energy-rich supplements,
respectively.
