IOSR Journal of Agriculture and Veterinary Science (IOSR-JAVS) e-ISSN: 2319-2380, p-ISSN: 2319-2372. Volume 10, Issue 2 Ver. I (February. 2017), PP 58-63 www.iosrjournals.org DOI: 10.9790/2380-1002015863 www.iosrjournals.org 58 | Page The Use of in vitro Gas Production Technique as an Index of the Nutritive Value of Green shoot, Leaves, Fruits Flesh and Seed Cakes of Ziziphus spina-christi (Sidder) Tree for feeding Ruminants Shamseldein, H .Ahmed 1 :, Mohammed Eltayeb M.Jumaa 2 , : and Shadia.A., Omer 1 1 Department of Basic Science, College of Veterinary Medicine. Sudan University of Science and Technology. Sudan. 2 Ministry of Defence- Military Cooperation Abstract: The in vitro gas production technique was used to predict rumen fermentable organic matter, gas production kinetics, organic matter digestibility as well as metabolizable energy were evaluated in green shoot, leaves, fruits flesh and seed cakes of Ziziphus spina-christi tree. A gas production was measured by incubating samples in buffered rumen fluid from cannulated steer for 72 h. Total gas production was recorded at 0,3, 6, 9, 12, 24, 48, and 72 h of incubation periods and kinetics of gas production was described. The chemical analysis of these Ziziphus spina-christi parts, showed that, Leaves contained high protein (14.77±0.23g/kg) and green shoot less protein (8.03±0.15g/kg),however, high ash content was observed in green shoot (10.03±0.07g/kg) compare to other parts. seed cakes has the highest crude fibre content in comparison to other parts (32.46±0.01),while fruits flesh contained the highest ether extract(72.39±0.03).The maximum gas volume was highest for fruits flesh followed by seed cakes, green shoot and leaves after 24hr of incubation. In this study flesh had a significantly higher (P<0.05) gas production from rapid soluble fraction (a) than the other parts, while Ziziphus spina-christi leaves showed the highest gas production from slowly degradable fraction (b) .Organic matter digestibility range was (51.90– 43.79%) and Metabolisable energy was found to be (9.16– 6.74MJ/kgDM) in the flesh and green shoot, respectively. It was concluded that, green shoots, leaves, fruit flesh and seed cake of Ziziphus spina-christi have the potential to be used as protein, energy and mineral supplements for ruminants especially during the dry season. Keywords: Nabag tree, OMD, gas production kinetics. I. Introduction Animal feed contributes more than 70 % of production costs (Makkar 2014).Shrubs and trees are reported to be sustainable for ruminants in the tropics and subtropical areas (Melesse 2012, Shamseldein,etal ,2013 :2014,: Basheir,etal ,2015). The tree species are important due to their high protein content, their contribution with easy fermentation carbohydrates and fiber of better degradability, as well as their positive effect on the use of nitrogen (N) within the rumen. These elements allow to increase the productivity of animals fed with pastures (Rubanza et al. 2007). Thus, better utilization of non-agricultural by-products which do not compete with human foods is imperative. Evaluating the nutritive value of locally available unconventional sources from browse trees, legumes and seeds of trees were important as these could make an important contribution to the nutrition of livestock (Taphizadeh et al., 2008). Ziziphus spina-christi tree (Sidder) and its fruit (Nabag) indicate the importance of this plant as food. Rural population in Sudan rely on this wild growing tree species to fulfill some of some food need. Gebauer (2005) reported that Z. spina-christi is the most abundant wild fruit tree used in home gardens in El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state in central Sudan. The in vitro gas production technique measures thevolume of gas produced, which reflects the end result of thefermentation of the feed substrate to volatile fatty acids (VFAs),microbial biomass and the neutralization of the VFAs produced.Determine the nutritive value of feedstuffs, since the degradation rate and extent and rumen fermentation can be easily determined by measuring cumulative gas production (Khazaal et al., 1995; Dhanoa et al., 2000; Chumpawadee et al., 2007). The in vitro gas production system helps to better quantify nutrient utilization, and its accuracy in describing digestibility in animals has been validated in numerous experiments (Taphizadeh et al., 2008).The main objective of this study was to assess the feeding values of green shoots,leaves,flesh fruit and seeds cake of Z. spina-christi using in vitro gas production technique.