Treated oil palm frond and its utilisation as an improved feedstuff for ruminants – an overview

Oil palm frond (OPF) is a biomass residue from oil palm plantations that have received increasing interest for its promise as roughage resources to overcome limitations of ruminant feeding. However, the use of OPF for livestock productivity is limited by its high lignocellulosic content and low nutritional value. Various physical, chemical, biological and physico-chemical treatments have been used to improve the nutritional value of OPF. This review was conducted to study the treatment methods of OPF as a value-added feedstuff and emphasise the effects of treated OPF on in vitro ruminal fermentation and in vivo ruminant digestibility and growth performance. The biological treatment produced favourable outcomes in improving the nutritional value of OPF and was more cost-effective, safe, and environmental-friendly compared to chemical and physical treatments. In vitro rumen fermentation studies on the potential use of treated OPF as feedstuffs for ruminants have been widely reported. Several in vivo studies have found that ruminants performed satisfactorily when fed diets with treated OPF at appropriate ratios. Nevertheless, chemically treated OPF has been successfully used in both beef and dairy cattle feeding trials as it is a good source of protein and has positive impacts on ruminal fermentation and animal production.