The in situ procedure was used to evaluate the disappearance of neutral detergent fiber (NDF) and acid detergent fiber (ADF) of skins and whole or grounded (sieve of 2mm) seeds of tomato by-product (TBP). Three steers were used in a split-plot block design. The solubility of NDF showed low values for all the evaluated fractions, been similar among skins (3%), whole seeds (5%) and total TBP (7%). Grounded seeds showed higher NDF solubility (20%). The NDF potential degradability for grounded seeds, TBP, skins and whole seed were 78, 64, 63 and 33%, respectively. NDF degradability rates varied from 4.4 to 14.8%/h for all TBP fractions, been 9%/h for total TBP. The ADF parameters followed the same trend as NDF. TBP NDF and ADF showed good degradability rates, but the potential degradability of these fractions depends on the showed processing, since whole seeds NDF and ADF showed degradability much lower than grounded seeds.
tomato; in situ; skin; seed; NDF; ADF
