Enzyme activities of rumen particles and feed samples incubated in situ with differing types of cloth

Three ruminally cannulated non-lactating dairy cows were used to investigate the effects of six different bag cloth types with pore size (microns): free surface area (%) ratios of 200:45, 41:33, 16:5, 10:2, 6:5 and 1:2 respectively on the disappearance of grass silage DM and neutral-detergent fibre (NDF), and on particle-associated carboxymethylcellulase (EC 3.2.1.4; CMCase) and xylanase (EC 3.2.1.8) activities extracted from feed residues. Another objective was to compare microbial activity inside the bags and in rumen ingesta. Rumen incubation periods were 3, 6, 12, 24, 48 and 96 h. DM and NDF disappearance and particle-associated enzyme activities were greatly reduced with the smaller pore size and/or open surface area. Re-analysing some of the data as a 2 x 2 factorial (pore size x free surface area) indicated that, generally, free surface area rather than pore size affected the disappearance of feed components and particle-associated enzyme activities. Enzyme activities were highly correlated with NDF disappearance at 6-48 h of incubation. Cumulative area under CMCase and xylanase activity curves explained 0.79 and 0.88 of the variation in NDF disappearance when different cloth type and 6-48 h incubation data were combined. Weighted mean enzyme activities inside the bags were less than 0.35 those in rumen ingesta. The highest activity values inside the bags (24 or 48 h) were less than 0.50 those found in rumen ingesta. The lower microbial activity inside the bags explains the slower rates of NDF digestion reported with in situ techniques than with rumen evacuation techniques. The general assumption of similar microbial activity inside the bags and in rumen ingesta is not justified by the present results, and caution must be taken in interpreting in situ results quantitatively for feed evaluation systems.