Study of nutrient components and amino acid formation in several southern Chinese unconventional roughage sources

In the present study, we analysed the nutrient components and amino acid formation in mulberry, ramie, and kudzu by using feed analysis technology and amino acid analysis. The results showed that: 1) the protein content of mulberry, ramie, and kudzu was high. In particular, the ramie protein content was as high as 22.38% and the fibre content was also high; 2) the gross energy of kudzu was the highest (17.17 MJ·kg-1); 3) there were abundant amino acids in mulberry, ramie, and kudzu. In particular, the content of the first restrictive amino acid, lysine, was 0.65%~0.89% and the total essential amino acid content was 5.10%~7.40%. Therefore, mulberry, ramie, and kudzu could be high quality forage grass resources available for development and usage in southern China.