Digestibility and intestinal fermentability of canola meal from Brassica juncea and Brassica napus fed to ileal-cannulated grower pigs

Yellow-seeded Brassica (B.) juncea is a novel canola species. Therefore, its meal co-product requires feed quality evaluation and comparison to conventional, dark-seeded B. napus canola meal for pigs. The B. juncea canola meal contains less fibre than B. napus canola meal (190 vs. 260 g NDF/kg, as is), but also less lysine (20.3 vs. 22.1 g/kg). Nutrient digestibility and fermentibility of B. juncea and B. napus canola meal were assessed in a 2 × 2factorial arrangement. Six ileal-cannulated pigs (47 kg BW) were fed six diets in a 6 × 6 Latin square: basal diet (460 g wheat/kg and corn starch), 4 diets with 460 g wheat/kg and either B. juncea or B. napus canola meal at 250 or 500 g/kg replacing corn starch, sugar and canola oil, and an N-free diet based on corn starch. The B. juncea canola meal had greater (P < 0.05) CATTD of gross energy than B. napus canola meal (0.70 vs. 0.63) most likely due to its lower fibre content. Ileal total VFA concentration was lower (P < 0.001) in pigs fed B. juncea than B. napus canola meal diets (15.2 vs. 20.8 μmol/g of wet digesta). In pigs fed B. juncea canola meal instead of B. napus canola meal diets, the molar ratio was greater (P < 0.01) for digesta propionate and faecal acetate, but lower (P < 0.05) for digesta and faecal butyrate. Canola meal species did not affect the CAID of gross energy, CSID of amino acid and faecal VFA content. The digestible energy (DE) value was greater (P < 0.01; 12.1 vs. 10.9 MJ/kg, standardised to 100 g/kg moisture) for B. juncea than B. napus canola meal. Increasing dietary inclusion of canola meal up to 500 g/kg reduced (P < 0.01) diet digestibility of gross energy but not amino acids and decreased (P < 0.05) intestinal fermentability of B. napus but not B. juncea. In conclusion, B. juncea canola meal had greater fermentability and ATTD of gross energy than B. napus canola meal, but digestibility of amino acids did not differ. Increasing dietary inclusion of canola meal up to 500 g/kg reduced digestibility of gross energy but not digestibility of AA. Fermentability of B. napus canola meal but not B. juncea canola meal decreased in the pig intestine with increased dietary inclusion. Hence, yellow-seeded B. juncea canola meal had a greater DE value, similar amino acid digestibility as conventional dark-seed B. napus canola meal and may limit protein fermentation in the pig intestine

Digestibility energy and amino acids of canola meal from two species (Brassica juncea and Brassica napus) fed to distal ileum cannulated grower pigs

Yellow-seeded Brassica juncea is a novel canola species targeted to grow in the southern Canadian prairies where thermotolerance, disease resistance, and adaptation to dry agronomic conditions are required. The support of its cultivation needs nutritional evaluation of its coproduct. The B. juncea canola meal (CM) contains less fiber than conventional, dark-seeded Brassica napus CM but also slightly less Lys. In a 6 × 6 Latin square, 6 distal ileum cannulated pigs (47 kg BW) were fed 6 diets to determine the apparent ileal digestibility (AID) and standardized ileal digestibility (SID) of CP and AA, AID and apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of energy, and VFA content in digesta and feces. Pigs were fed 6 diets: basal [46% wheat (Triticum aestivum) and corn (Zea mays) starch], 4 diets with 46% wheat and either B. juncea or B. napus CM at 25 or 50%, and a N-free diet based on corn starch. The B. juncea CM had higher (P <0.05) ATTD of energy than B. napus CM (68.6 vs. 60.3%) likely due to its lower fiber content. Ileal total VFA was lower (P <0.001) in pigs fed B. juncea than B. napus CM diets. In pigs fed B. juncea CM, the molar ratio in digesta was lower (P <0.001) for acetate and butyrate whereas the propionate ratio was lower (P <0.001) in feces than in pigs fed B. napus CM diets. The CM species did not affect the AID of energy, SID of AA, and feces VFA content. The DE value was higher (P <0.05) and content of SID Lys was lower (P <0.05) for B. juncea than B. napus CM. In conclusion, availability of B. juncea CM, a coproduct of a canola species grown in Canadian prairie land, will increase flexibility in swine feed formulation

Effect of Feeding Zero- or High-Tannin Faba Bean Cultivars and Dehulling on Growth Performance, Carcass Traits and Yield of Saleable Cuts of Broiler Chickens

Color-flowered, high-tannin faba bean (FB; Vicia faba) cultivars are more tolerant to frost around harvest time than white-flowered, zero-tannin cultivars. Tannins concentrated on the seed hull reduce both starch and protein digestibility. We therefore evaluated feeding 2 zero-tannin (Snowbird, Snowdrop) or 2 high-tannin (Fabelle, Malik) FB cultivars and the effect of dehulling to reduce tannin content on broiler growth performance, carcass traits, and yield of saleable cuts. Male Ross 708 chicks (n = 585) were fed 1 of 4 FB cultivars either non-dehulled or dehulled in starter (12%, 0–12 d), grower (24%, 13–25 d), and finisher (36%, 26–41 d) mash diets replacing soybean meal (SBM) and wheat grain (control diet). Overall, daily feed intake was greatest for Snowbird and Fabelle, and lowest for Malik; Snowdrop was intermediate. Daily weight gain was greater for Fabelle than other cultivars, and greater for control than FB cultivars. Gain-to-feed ratio (G:F) was greatest for Fabelle but lowest for Snowbird; Snowdrop was not different from Fabelle or Malik, and Malik was not different from Snowbird. Broiler G:F and chilled carcass weight were greater for controls than FB cultivars. Breast meat yield (BMY) was greater for Snowbird, and lower for Fabelle; Malik was not different from Snowbird or Snowdrop; Snowdrop was not different from Fabelle. Dehulling FB lowered BMY. Feeding broilers low-vicine/convicine high-tannin Fabelle resulted in slightly better growth performance but lower BMY than feeding zero-tannin cultivars or high-tannin Malik. Dehulling FB did not improve broiler growth performance or carcass dressing to the level of controls fed SBM-wheat only.</p

Threonine and tryptophan ratios fed to nursery pigs

The optimal ratio of tryptophan (Trp):lysine (Lys) relative to the ratio of threonine (Thr):Lys was studied in 288 crossbred (Cambrough 15 x Canabrid) nursery pigs from 7.1 to 15.6 kg BW. Treatments were arranged in a 3 x 3 factorial with three calculated ratios of true digestible Thr:Lys (0.55, 0.60, or 0.65) in combination with three Trp:Lys ratios (0.145, 0.170, or 0.195). Treatments were replicated with eight pens of four pigs each. The experiment lasted 28 day with Phase II (222.6 g CP and 11.9 g true digestible Lys/kg diet, initially 24 day of age and 7.1 kg BW) and Phase III (196.2 g CP and 10.1 kg true digestible Lys/kg diet, initially 38 day of age and 9.8 kg BW) diets each fed for 14 day. Threonine by Trp interactions were observed for average daily gain during each period, and for daily feed intake during Phase III and overall. Generally, Trp addition linearly increased gain and feed intake at a Thr:Lys ratio of 0.60 and 0.65 but not at a Thr:Lys ratio of 0.55. Gain:feed was increased linearly with increasing levels of Trp during both periods. There were no main effects of Thr in either time period or overall. Overall, optimal performance was obtained in pigs fed the true digestible Trp:Lys ratio of 0.195 at Thr:Lys ratios 0.60 or 0.65. These results indicate that Trp:Lys ratios above 0.195 may be needed to maximize performance in diets containing wheat and barley. © 2005 Blackwell Publishing Ltd