The present in vitro study was conducted to examine the effect of buffer solubility of eight protein feeds (coconut meal, distillers grain, sesame meal, perilla meal, soy source cake, rape seed meal, soybean meal and lupine) on the fermentation characteristics, degradability of dry matter (DM) and crude protein (CP), and methane (CH4) production by rumen microbes. Buffer extraction increased pH (P<0.05 ~ p<0.001) of the culture solution but tended to lower ammonia- N concentration for all protein feeds. Total volatile fatty acids(VFAs) and each VFAs concentrations in all incubation was decreased by buffer extraction (P<0.01 ~ P<0.001). Also, molar proportion of acetate in 1h (P<0.001), 3h (P<0.01) and 12h (P<0.05) incubations and molar proportion of propionate in 1h (P<0.001), 3h (P<0.01), 6h (P<0.05) and 12h (P<0.05) were decreased by buffer extraction. But molar proportion of butyrate in 1h (P<0.001), 3h (P<0.01) and 6h (P<0.05) were increased by buffer extraction. The in vitro effective degradability of dry matter (P<0.001) and CP (P<0.001) was decreased by buffer extraction. The methane production (P<0.01~P<0.001) in all incubation was decreased by buffer extraction. The results from in the current study might be useful for diet formulation to improve the feed efficiency of the ruminant animals without massive loss of major nutrients.

An in vitro study was conducted to determine the effects of defaunation (removal of protozoa) and forage sources (rice straw, ryegrass and tall fescue) on ruminal fermentation characteristics, methane (CH4) production and degradation by rumen microbes. Sodium lauryl sulfate, as a defaunation reagent, was added into the mixed culture solution to remove ruminal protozoa at a concentration of 0.375 mg/ml. Pure cellulose (0.64 g, Sigma, C8002) and three forage sources were incubated in the bottle of culture solution of mixed rumen microbes (faunation) or defaunation for up to 24 h. The concentration of ammonia-N was high under condition of defaunation compared to that from faunation in all incubations (p<0.001). Total VFA concentration was increased at 3, 6 and 12 h (p<0.05~p<0.01) but was decreased at 24 h incubation (p<0.001) under condition of defaunation. Defaunation decreased acetate (p<0.001) and butyrate (p<0.001) proportions at 6, 12 and 24 h incubation times, but increased propionate (p<0.001) proportion at all incubation times for forages. Effective degradability of dry matter was decreased by defaunation (p<0.001). Defaunation not only decreased total gas (p<0.001) and CO2 (p<0.01~0.001) production at 12 and 24 h incubations, but reduced CH4 production (p<0.001) at all incubation times for all forages. The CH4 production, regardless of defaunation, in order of forage sources were rice straw > tall fescue > ryegrass > cellulose (p<0.001) up to 24 h incubation.