Abstract
Duckweed is the common name used to refer to members of the aquatic plant family Lemnaceae. Duckweed commonly grows on stagnant, nutrient enriched waters throughout tropical and temperate zones. Growth conditions include water temperatures of 6 — 33°C and a wide pH range. Under ideal conditions, duckweed can double its biomass every sixteen hours to four days. Its nutrient uptake capability helps to account for a CP of 15 — 40% and high growth rate. Scientists have studied duckweed's feed attributes for fish, poultry, swine, and ruminants. A duckweed feeding trial was carried out at North Carolina State University Metabolism Educational Unit with 19 goat wethers fed four different diets. The objective of the trial was to characterize the composition of wastewater grown duckweed and evaluate its use as a protein supplement for ruminants. Our hypothesis was that duckweed is a suitable protein source for goats and will behave in a similar fashion to soybean meal. The diets included a negative control, positive control (all of the supplemental protein from soybean meal), 1/3 duckweed, and 2/3 duckweed (1/3 and 2/3 of the supplemental protein came from duckweed, respectively). The goats were fed equal amounts of hay and supplement at 4% of body weight (as fed). Duckweed exhibited a similar compositional profile to soybean meal except for being lower in CP and higher in minerals. Amino acid and protein fraction profiles were also comparable between duckweed and soybean meal. There was no significant difference among treatments for DMI, ADF, and NDF digestibility. Nitrogen intake, N digested (g/d), and N retained (% of digested) showed no significant differences among the supplemental protein diets. Nitrogen retained as a percent of intake and N retained (g/d) tended to be slightly lower in the diets containing duckweed. Serum urea nitrogen levels also showed no significant differences for the protein diets except for a linear response (P = 0.09). The P balance showed no significant difference for P intake but both linear and quadratic responses for P retained (g/d), and P digested (g/d) as well as a linear response for P retained (% of digested). Similarities of the rumen pH, NH₄ and VFA data among the diets show that duckweed does not abnormally affect rumen function and is comparable to soybean meal in dietary function. Duckweed appears to be a viable source of protein and phosphorus (at lower dietary levels) supplementation for ruminants and is nearly comparable to soybean meal in its utilization.
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Claims 14
Claim · model-written summary
Duckweed had lower crude protein (CP) than soybean meal.
- Taxon
- Lemna gibba
Lemna gibbat0 - Outcome
- CPe1
- Direction
- lowere1
- Comparator
- soybean meale1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Duckweed (Lemna gibba)”
e1“Duckweed exhibited a similar compositional profile to soybean meal except for being lower in CP and higher in minerals”
Claim · model-written summary
Duckweed had higher minerals than soybean meal.
- Taxon
- Lemna gibbaLemna gibbat0
- Outcome
- mineralse1
- Direction
- highere1
- Comparator
- soybean meale1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Duckweed (Lemna gibba)”
e1“Duckweed exhibited a similar compositional profile to soybean meal except for being lower in CP and higher in minerals”
Claim · model-written summary
Duckweed had a compositional profile similar to soybean meal.
- Taxon
- Lemna gibbaLemna gibbat0
- Outcome
- compositional profilee1
- Direction
- similare1
- Comparator
- soybean meale1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Duckweed (Lemna gibba)”
e1“Duckweed exhibited a similar compositional profile to soybean meal except for being lower in CP and higher in minerals”
Claim · model-written summary
Amino acid and protein fraction profiles of duckweed were comparable to those of soybean meal.
- Taxon
- Lemna gibbaLemna gibbat0
- Outcome
- Amino acid and protein fraction profilese2
- Direction
- comparablee2
- Comparator
- soybean meale2
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Duckweed (Lemna gibba)”
e2“Amino acid and protein fraction profiles were also comparable between duckweed and soybean meal”
Claim · model-written summary
DMI, ADF and NDF digestibility did not differ significantly among diets with duckweed and the positive control.
- Taxon
- Lemna gibbaLemna gibbat0
- Treatment
- duckweede0
- Outcome
- DMI, ADF, and NDF digestibilitye3
- Direction
- no significant differencee3
- Comparator
- positive controle0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Duckweed (Lemna gibba)”
e0“The diets included a negative control, positive control (all of the supplemental protein from soybean meal), 1/3 duckweed, and 2/3 duckweed”
e3“There was no significant difference among treatments for DMI, ADF, and NDF digestibility”
Claim · model-written summary
Nitrogen intake, N digested and N retained (% of digested) did not differ significantly among supplemental protein diets.
- Taxon
- Lemna gibbaLemna gibbat0
- Treatment
- supplemental protein dietse4
- Outcome
- Nitrogen intake, N digested (g/d), and N retained (% of digested)e4
- Direction
- no significant differencese4
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Duckweed (Lemna gibba)”
e4“Nitrogen intake, N digested (g/d), and N retained (% of digested) showed no significant differences among the supplemental protein diets”
Claim · model-written summary
Nitrogen retained as a percent of intake and N retained (g/d) tended to be slightly lower in diets containing duckweed.
- Taxon
- Lemna gibbaLemna gibbat0
- Treatment
- diets containing duckweede5
- Outcome
- Nitrogen retained as a percent of intake and N retained (g/d)e5
- Direction
- slightly lowere5
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Duckweed (Lemna gibba)”
e5“Nitrogen retained as a percent of intake and N retained (g/d) tended to be slightly lower in the diets containing duckweed”
Claim · model-written summary
Serum urea nitrogen levels did not differ significantly among protein diets.
- Taxon
- Lemna gibbaLemna gibbat0
- Treatment
- protein dietse6
- Outcome
- Serum urea nitrogen levelse6
- Direction
- no significant differencese6
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Duckweed (Lemna gibba)”
e6“Serum urea nitrogen levels also showed no significant differences for the protein diets except for a linear response (P = 0.09)”
Claim · model-written summary
Serum urea nitrogen levels showed a linear response across protein diets (P = 0.09).
- Taxon
- Lemna gibbaLemna gibbat0
- Treatment
- protein dietse6
- Outcome
- Serum urea nitrogen levelse6
- Direction
- linear responsee6
- Value
- P = 0.09e6
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Duckweed (Lemna gibba)”
e6“Serum urea nitrogen levels also showed no significant differences for the protein diets except for a linear response (P = 0.09)”
Claim · model-written summary
P balance showed no significant difference in P intake among diets.
- Taxon
- Lemna gibbaLemna gibbat0
- Outcome
- P intakee7
- Direction
- no significant differencee7
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Duckweed (Lemna gibba)”
e7“The P balance showed no significant difference for P intake”
Claim · model-written summary
P retained (g/d) and P digested (g/d) showed both linear and quadratic responses.
- Taxon
- Lemna gibbaLemna gibbat0
- Outcome
- P retained (g/d), and P digested (g/d)e1
- Direction
- linear and quadratic responsese1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Duckweed (Lemna gibba)”
e1“both linear and quadratic responses for P retained (g/d), and P digested (g/d)”
Claim · model-written summary
P retained (% of digested) showed a linear response.
- Taxon
- Lemna gibbaLemna gibbat0
- Outcome
- P retained (% of digested)e1
- Direction
- linear responsee1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Duckweed (Lemna gibba)”
e1“as well as a linear response for P retained (% of digested)”
Claim · model-written summary
Duckweed does not abnormally affect rumen function and is comparable to soybean meal in dietary function.
- Taxon
- Lemna gibbaLemna gibbat0
- Treatment
- duckweede1
- Outcome
- rumen functione1
- Direction
- does not abnormally affecte1
- Comparator
- soybean meale1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Duckweed (Lemna gibba)”
e1“duckweed does not abnormally affect rumen function and is comparable to soybean meal in dietary function”
Claim · model-written summary
Duckweed appears to be a viable source of protein and phosphorus supplementation for ruminants, nearly comparable to soybean meal.
- Outcome
- viable source of protein and phosphoruse1
LemnaOrganisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“Duckweed (Lemna gibba)”
e1“Duckweed appears to be a viable source of protein and phosphorus (at lower dietary levels) supplementation for ruminants and is nearly comparable to soybean meal in its utilization”