NfE

NfE (nitrogen-free extracts) are determined in the Weender analysis. This analyses the following fractions of the dry matter of a feed:

- Raw fibre
- Raw fat
- Raw protein
- Raw ashes

The difference is then determined by calculation: the NfE. It comprises all readily soluble and small intestine digestible sugars, the starch, as well as soluble components of the structural substances that actually belong more to the raw fibre fraction. Together, the two fractions raw fibre and NfE comprise all carbohydrates present in the feed.

The purely calculated determination of the NfE by difference is a weak point of the Weender analysis. It is corrected by the extended Weender analysis according to van Soest: determination of the fibre fractions that cannot be dissolved in neutral solution (NDF, see NDF), in acid solution (ADF), and after intensified acid treatment (ADL = lignin).