using rumen microorganisms for the biotransformation of forest tree leaves under laboratory conditions

Background: the anaerobic fermentation process of plant wastes, similar to what occurs in the rumen of livestock, can increase the digestion rate of lignocellulosic materials and improve digestion efficiency. the present study aimed to investigate the chemical composition of forest tree leaves and evaluate the effect bioconversion using rumen microorganisms on their nutritional value in vitro.methods: to evaluate the biotransformation process using rumen microorganisms, leaves of trees such as plane, oak, poplar, elm, nightshade, walnut, beech, and white willow were collected and dried from the city. afterwards, sheep rumen contents were collected from the slaughterhouse and after measuring the ph, they were used to ferment leaf waste. the different treatments of tree leaf waste and rumen fluid were incubated in various ratios (2:1, 3:1, 4:1, 5:1, and 6:1 rumen fluid to leaves) in a daisy ii incubator for 24 hours at 39-40 °c. subsequently, the digestion rate of leaf waste was evaluated by measuring the dry mass reduction. to determine the nutritional value of the smaples, the gas test method was used to measure the volume of gas produced and determine the metabolic energy of the studied samples.results: treatment 5 showed the highest rate of dm disappearance (35.26%), and the highest values of cp and essential oil were observed in the solid phase obtained from fermentations 2 and 4, 11.68 and 5.8%, respectively. likewise, phenolic compounds in the treatments processed with rumen fluid had a significant decrease, especially in treatment 5, which showed the lowest amount of total phenols. the enzyme activity results indicated that treatment 5 with a ratio of 6:1 (rumen fluid to leaves) had the highest tannase enzyme activity. additionally, this treatment showed the lowest gas production during the incubation process. the highest values for various indicators of gas production processes in the solids obtained from incubation were observed in the first treatment with a ratio of 2:1 (rumen liquid to leaves).conclusion: this study can be proposed as an effective economic and environmental solution in the livestock industry. by reducing environmental pollution, it can pave the way for new strategies in animal feed and minimizing plant waste.