Determination Of Oxalic Acid And Silica Contents In The Feed Ingredients Commonly Used In Ruminant Diets

Although forage grasses are used as feed due to its nutritive values, but also these grasses contain anti-nutrients. Oxalic acid and silica contents are examples of anti-nutrients that are usually present in different feed ingredients. The soluble form of oxalate salts is the anti-nutrients as it can be combined with blood calcium or magnesium to form an insoluble oxalate crystal that excreted in the faeces. On the other hand, silica is the hairy part on the leaves that will reduce palatability and caused some physical damages. The aim of this study was to determine the contents of oxalic acid and silica contents in different feed ingredients. The studied feed ingredients included oil palm frond (OPF) (Elaeis guineensis), humidicola (Brachiaria dictyoneura), mulberry leaf (Morus nigra), banana leaf (Musa acuminate), napier grass (Kobe spp.) (Pennisetum purpureum), leucaena leaf (LL) (Leucaena leucocephala), cassava leaf (Manihot esculenta), bracharia grass (Brachiaria mutica), pineapple waste (Ananas comosus) and rumput Nyonya (Asystasia gangetica). Total oxalate and soluble oxalate contents in samples were determined by the high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method while silica content was measured by conventional method. Results showed that cassava leaf had the highest soluble oxalate content in the leaf part while leucaena leaf showed the lowest content. In the leaf part, the soluble oxalate content of OPF and LL were significantly different (p<0.05). No significant (p<0.05) differences were observed on insoluble oxalate content in the feed ingredients except for OPF and LL. For the silica, the LL showed the highest content compared to other feed ingredients. There were no significantdifferences on the ash and silica contents among all the different ingredients. In conclusion, sources of feed showed a great variation in oxalate content. Evaluation of different feed ingredients is helpful in balanced ration formulation for animals for better utilization of these commonly available feed resources.Therefore, in my study oil palm frond is the best feed ingredient with lowest oxalate content and silica content.