Introduction: There are many medicinal plants in Iran that can be grazed by livestock.
Materials & Methods: Due to lack of information about the nutritional value of some medicinal plants, this study aimed to investigate the chemical-mineral composition, buffering capacity and some digestive-fermentation parameters of medicinal species including Artemisia aucheri Boiss, Salvia leriifolia Benth, Achilea santolina and Nepeta glumerulosa by in vitro procedures.
Result: N. glumerulosa had the highest ADF (30.03%), NDF (46.46%), ADL (16.79%) and CF (32.87%) contents (P<0.05). The highest crude protein (22.19%) and non-fiber carbohydrates (36.96%) were also related to A. santolina (P<0.05). The calcium ranged from a high of 44.06 g/kgDM in S. leriifolia Benth to a low of 4.39 g/kgDM in A. santolina. The plants containing A. santolina (48.04 ml) and S. leriifolia Benth (39.72) also showed high potential gas production, respectively (p<0.05). The highest dry matter digestibility (60%) belonged to A. santolina (P<0.05). The range of metabolizable energy differed from 4.65 MJ/kg DM for A. aucheri Boiss to 7.29 MJ/kg DM for A. santolina. The ammonia nitrogen concentration (28.06-29.62 mg/dL) was not affected by the experimental treatments. The highest amount of pH (5.98) correlated to plant and acid-buffering capacity (212.12 mEq×10-3) was observed in A. aucheri Boiss and S. leriifolia Benth species, respectively (P<0.05).
Conclusion: According to the available results, A. santolina had a higher nutritional value.