Lagos, L. Vanessa, Su A Lee, Mike R. Bedford, and Hans H. Stein. 2021. Reduced concentrations of limestone and monocalcium phosphate in diets without or with microbial phytase did not influence gastric pH, fecal score, or growth performance, but reduced bone ash and serum albumin in weanling pigs. Transl. Anim. Sci. 2021.5:1-10. doi.org/10.1093/tas/txab115.

Corn coproducts produced from the fuel ethanol or the wet milling industries may be used in diets fed to pigs. Newly developed corn proteins are high protein feed ingredients with approximately 40 to 50% crude protein (CP), and corn protein may be a great source of digestible amino acids (AA) in diets fed to weanling pigs. There are, however, limited data on the digestibility of AA in different sources of corn protein fed to weanling pigs. Therefore, the objective of this experiment was to test the null hypothesis that there is no difference in the standardized ileal digestibility (SID) of AA in 3 different sources of corn protein when fed to weanling pigs.

Acosta, Jessica P., Charmaine D. Espinosa, Neil W. Jaworski, and Hans H. Stein. 2021. Corn protein has greater concentrations of digestible amino acids and energy than low-oil corn distillers dried grains with solubles when fed to pigs but does not affect the growth performance of weanling pigs. Journal of Animal Science, 2021, Vol. 99, No. 7, 1–12. doi:10.1093/jas/skab175.

Limbach, Joseph R., Charmaine D. Espinosa, Estefania Perez-Calvo, and Hans H. Stein. 2021. Effect of dietary crude protein level on growth performance, blood characteristics, and indicators of intestinal health in weanling pigs. Journal of Animal Science, 2021, Vol. 99, No. 6, 1–14. doi:10.1093/jas/skab166. Link to full text.

Zinc (Zn) is an essential trace element that is needed for growth, bone development, and immune competence. Inorganic Zn sources such as Zn oxide and Zn sulfate (ZnSO₄) are most commonly used in swine diets. However, because of low bioavailability of Zn the inorganic Zn sources chelated Zn sources may be used instead because these sources have greater bioavailability of Zn. Chelated zinc may also reduce reactiveness with other components of the diet. A new chelated Zn source, zinc bis-glycinate, in which Zn is bound to two glycine molecules, was recently developed, but there is limited information about effects of this new chelated Zn source on digestibility and Zn retention in pigs. Therefore, an experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis that the relative bioavailability by weanling pigs of Zn in Zn bis-glycinate is greater than in Zn mono-glycinate and in ZnSO₄.

The limited capacity for weanling pigs to secret HCl in the stomach may be exacerbated by inclusion of ingredients with high acid binding capacity such as limestone and monocalcium phosphate. As a consequence, reducing the amount of these 2 ingredients in diets for weanling pigs may contribute to a stable low pH for proper pepsin activity and increased action of microbial phytase. Inclusion of high doses of phytase that results in increased phytate degradation and increased release of Ca, P, and inositol may also be beneficial to newly weaned pigs. Therefore, an experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis that lowering dietary Ca and P reduces gastric pH and diarrhea of weanling pigs, but microbial phytase may overcome negative effects of low Ca and P on growth performance and bone ash.

In the U.S. and most other developed countries, animal-based proteins provide a significant portion of the human diet. However, predictions for animal protein consumption indicates that consumption in Europe and North America will begin to decline by 2035 because plant-based proteins have become accepted as having an appearance, texture, and taste that is close to that of animal products. Examples of plant based proteins that are already on the market are plant-based burgers such as the Impossible Burger and the Beyond Burger, which are produced primarily from soy and pea protein, respectively. The digestible indispensable amino acid score (DIAAS) is recommended by FAO as the best method to determine protein quality in human foods. This method allows for calculation of the protein value of both individual ingredients and combined meals consisting of several proteins. Previous research in our laboratory demonstrated that values for DIAAS obtained in milk and breakfast cereals are additive in mixed meals, and the principle of additivity is believed to be applicable to all types of combined meals, but additional research to demonstrate this is needed. Therefore, the objectives of this experiment were to determine DIAAS values for animal and plant-based burgers and test the hypothesis that DIAAS calculated for a burger and a burger bun are additive in a combined meal.

Galkanda-Arachchige, Harsha S. C., Hans H. Stein, D. Allen Davis. 2021. Soybean meal sourced from Argentina, Brazil, China, India and USA as an ingredient in practical diets for Pacific white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei. Aquaculture Nutrition. 2021;00:1–11. DOI: 10.1111/anu.13251. Link to full text.

Espinosa, C. D., M. S. F. Oliveira, J. R. Limbach, N. Fanelli, M. Wiltafsky-Martin, and H. H. Stein. 2021. Conditioning and Expansion Increases Nutritional Value of Soybean Expellers. J. Anim. Sci. 99(Suppl. 1): 83–84. doi.org/10.1093/jas/skab054.135. Link to Abstract.