Reparameterization of the model based on Surface Law to predict the digestible fraction of neutral detergent fiber in Brazilian cattle

The objective of this study was to evaluate the estimates of the digestible fraction of neutral detergent fiber (NDF) in cattle using the Surface Law approach. The prediction model used in this study was similar to that proposed by the NRC (2001). The following model parameters were used: lignin protection factor on cell wall carbohydrates (LPF) and digestibility coefficient of potentially digestible NDF (DCPNDF). Two estimate sets of these parameters were evaluated. The first set was called Weiss Model (WM) and the estimates were 0.75 and 0.667 for DCPNDF and LPF, respectively. The second set was called Corrected Model (CM) and the estimate of LPF was 0.85. For the CM the estimates of DCPNDF were obtained by meta-analysis of two trials with lactating cows and four trials with growing and finishing cattle (0.67 and 0.835, respectively). Models were compared by using two experiments of each animal category. Both models predicted similar digestible NDF for lactating cows. The mean prediction errors (MPE) were +1.07 and +1.05 percentile points of digestible NDF for WM and CM, respectively. The MPE was lower in CM (+0.42 percentile points) than in WM (-6.64 percentile points) for growing and finishing cattle. The random fluctuation pattern of the prediction errors was the main limitation of the CM, which might be explained by environmental effects on the interaction between carbohydrates and lignin in the plant cell wall. Although the CM resulted in better estimates than the WM, inclusion of biological methods to estimate potentially digestible NDF may improve the prediction accuracy.