| Question | Answer |
| Carbohydrate Composition | -made of C, H, O [roughly Cn(H2O)n] |
| Carbohydrates in Feed | -primary component in livestock feeds/largest part of animal's food supply
:present in forages, grains, & oilseed meals
:generally cheapest source of available energy
:generally main source of energy |
| Where are Carbohydrates created | plants-photosynthesis
-6CO2 + 6H2O + Solar Energy -> C6H12O6 |
| Monosaccharide | -glucose
-fructose
-galactose
-mannose
-arabinose
-xylose |
| Disaccharide | -sucrose
-maltose
-celloboise
-lactose |
| Polysaccharide | -starch
-fiber
-glycogen |
| Starch | -plant energy storage
-major component of livestock diets (cereal grains & tubers)
-a non-structural carbohydrate
-highly digestible
-composed of glucose units |
| Fiber | -cellulose(glucose units), hemicellulose(mixed sugars), pectin, fructan, etc.
-in plant cell walls (lignin)
-a structural carbohydrate
-non-digestible (requires microbial enzymes-digest beta linkages) |
| Glycogen | -animal "starch"
-produced in muscle and liver
-carbohydrate reserve in the animal body
-hydrolyzes to glucose |
| Effects of Maturation on Grasses | -Concentration of NDF and Lignin increases
-CP decreases |
| Lignin | -not a carbohydrate (part of plant structure/considered with fiber)
-mostly indigestible by livestock and microbes
-reduces digestibility of fiber
-increases as plants mature |
| Pectin | -considered with fiber
-located in matrix in plant cell walls
-soluble and easily fermented |
| Carbohydrate Summary | -organic nutrient
-provides most of the energy in livestock diets
-sugars and starches(digested or fermented)
-fiber(fermented to VFA by microbes)
-Ligin(not a carbohydrate, reduces digestibility of fiber) |
