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Chemical and Bacterial Pretreatment of Lignocellulosic Material to Increase Ruminant Digestibility

Bio/Technology volume 2, pages 805–807 (1984)Cite this article

Abstract

A variety of chemical treatments was examined for the ability to decrease the relative lignin content and increase the in vitro dry matter digestibility of peanut hulls. Of these chemical treatments, nitric acid was the most successful at removing lignin; however, none of the chemical treatments alone significantly increased digestibility of the hulls. Biodegradation of nitric acid-treated hulls by the lignin-degrading bacterium, Arthrobacter sp. KB-1, further decreased lignin content and dramatically increased the digestibility and nutritive value of the hulls.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Microbiology, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602

    Thomas J. Kerr & Ronald Benner

  2. Richard B. Russell Agricultural Research Center, U.S.D.A., A.R.S., Athens, GA, 30613

    W. R. Windham

Authors
  1. Thomas J. Kerr
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  2. W. R. Windham
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  3. Ronald Benner
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Kerr, T., Windham, W. & Benner, R. Chemical and Bacterial Pretreatment of Lignocellulosic Material to Increase Ruminant Digestibility. Nat Biotechnol 2, 805–807 (1984). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt0984-805

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt0984-805

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