In the present paper the chemical composition and digestibility of several Brachiaria brizantha and Brachiaria humidicola fractions were determined after 70 days of growth. The experimental design was completely randomized with five replications for each specie. According to the position, the harvested plants were subdivided into top, median and bottom fractions for leaves and median and basal fractions for stems. The concentration of neutral detergent fiber (NDF), crude protein (CP), lignin, p_coumaric acid, ferulic acid, neutral sugars (glucose, xylose and arabinose) and in situ digestibility with 48-hour rumen digestion were determined. The several fractions of species studied showed different chemical composition, whose effects were observed in digestibility. B. brizantha recorded greater NDF concentration in stems and CP in leaves. This resulted in higher digestibility coefficients compared to B. humidicola. The digestibility differences between stem and leaves and in older fractions may be related to the type of lignin condensation present in tissues. The evidences found in p_coumaric and ferulic acid rates and concentrations suggest this association. The fenolic acid concentration was better related to dry matter digestibility, whereas lignin with NDF digestibility. This analysis may constitute an important tool to evaluate lignin condensation in cell wall of different forages. The neutral sugars showed no definite deposition pattern in a varied of tissues. Arabinose was the only sugar associated to dry matter digestibility and fenolic acid concentration.
fenolic acids; carbohydrates; forage; lignin; plant cell wall
