ELECTROPHORETIC CHARACTERISTICS OF CARCASS PROTEIN OF BROILERS FED ON SUGAR CANE BAGASSE

The present study was performed on 50 chicks of 14 days old, classified
equally into 5 groups to study the electrophoretic pattern of the protein bands of
Pectoralis major muscle after feeding on diets containing untreated or treated sugar
cane bagasse for 4 weeks. The sugar cane bagasse and wheat germ were mixed at
4:1 w/w (untreated bagasse) only or with rumen liquor at 1:4 (w/v) and incubated at
39°C and pH 6.5 for 72 hrs., the mixture was irradiated at 2 M rad of gamma
irradiation (treated bagasse) and then added by 10 and 20% to the original chicks
diet. In comparison with the control, the untreated bagasse 10% group showed almost
no change in the qualitative protein bands, to the contrary untreated bagasse 20%
group was the worst treatment having apparent reduction in fibrillar proteins. The
treated bagasse 10% group has proved to be the best of the 5 groups including the
control one with apparent increase in the protein bands responsible for muscle
strength, while the treated bagasse 20% group has reduced the feeding quality but to
a less extent than the untreated bagasse 20% group. The results denoted that the
chicks can well tolerate the substitution of their diets with 8% treated bagasse with no
affection on the quality of carcass proteins with consequent saving of 8% of the costs
and getting rid of unsuitable by-product. It is also pointed the beneficial effect of using
rumen liquor after incubation and sterilization by y-irradiation as it renders the bagasse
more digestible and increase the organic nitrogenous compounds in the diet.