IN VITRO FERMENTATION CHARACTERISTICS OF DIETS CONTAINING DIFFERENT INCLUSION LEVELS OF CHITIN AND CHITOSAN FROM SNAIL SHELLS

ABSTRACT

Because of their critical significance in world agriculture, ruminants' digestive systems must be optimized. After chitin and chitosan were successfully acquired from snail shells, in vitro fermentation experiments were used to evaluate their inclusion at different concentration levels. The outcomes showed that chitin and chitosan had a major effect on the generation of gas during fermentation. Over the course of a 24-hour incubation period, the addition of chitin and chitosan showed potential in lowering methane production—a critical component in greenhouse gas emissions from animals. Methane production, methane percentage of gas volume, methane reduction percentage, metabolizable energy, organic matter digestibility, and formation of short-chain fatty acids were among the post-in vitro characteristics that were assessed. All of these indicators suggested that adding chitin and chitosan to ruminant diets may be advantageous. This study sheds light on the promising role of chitin and chitosan derived from snail shells in ruminant nutrition, offering the potential to enhance nutrient digestibility, energy utilization and mitigate methane emissions.