Fanelli, Natalia S., Leidy J. Torres-Mendoza, Jerubella J. Abelilla, and Hans H. Stein. 2023. Chemical composition of cassava-based feed ingredients from South-East Asia. Anim Biosci Vol. 36, No. 6:908-919. doi.org/10.5713/ab.22.0360. Link to full text.

Bailey, Hannah M., Joy M. Campbell, Leidy J. Torres-Mendoza, Natalia S. Fanelli, and Hans H. Stein. 2023. Inclusion of spray dried plasma in diets based on different ingredient combinations increases the digestibility of energy, fiber, Ca, and P by young pigs. Translational Animal Science, 2023, 7, txad031. doi.org/10.1093/tas/txad031.

Exogenous enzymes may improve the fermentability of dietary fiber in swine diets by hydrolyzing non-starch polysaccharides into oligosaccharides and sugars. In particular, the enzyme xylanase hydrolyzes the β-(1-4) glycosidic bonds between the xylose units in the backbone of arabinoxylans in cereal grains and grain coproducts, resulting in the release of a combination of xylose, arabinose, and xylo-oligosaccharides from arabinoxylans that can be fermented by pigs. Previous data indicate that xylanase increased the degradation of dietary fiber and increased energy digestibility in diets for growing pigs; however, there are limited data for the impact of xylanase on energy and fiber digestibility in gestating and lactating sows. Therefore, an experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis that exogenous xylanase added to diets for gestating and lactating sows will increase the apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of gross energy and total dietary fiber (TDF), and increase the concentrations of digestible energy (DE) and metabolizable energy (ME) during two reproductive cycles.

McGhee, Molly L., Jessica P. Acosta, and Hans H. Stein. 2023. Weanling pigs consume more feed if hybrid rye replaces corn in diets, but average daily gain and fecal scores are not impacted by hybrid rye. Translational Animal Science, 7: 1–10. doi.org/10.1093/tas/txad022. Link to full text.

Drying temperatures and corn varieties that inherently differ in kernel hardness, virtuousness, and protein solubility index may influence nutrient digestibility in corn. However, information about interactive effects of corn source (i.e., endosperm hardness) and drying method on energy and nutrient digestibility is limited. Therefore, an experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis that that the apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of gross energy (GE) and total dietary fiber (TDF) is influenced by corn source and drying temperature.

Soybean meal (SBM) is the major source of amino acids (AA) and energy in diets for swine throughout the world. However, due to the emergence of feed-grade crystalline AA, it is estimated that SBM usage by pigs has been reduced by at least 35% over the last 25 years. Reduction on concentration of SBM and increasing the use of crystalline AA in diets may impact the digestibility of crude protein (CP) and AA. Therefore, the objective of this experiment was to test the hypothesis that diets containing corn, SBM, and crystalline AA have greater AA digestibility compared with corn and SBM diets.

Corn is harvested at a high moisture level, and thus must be dried to less than 15% moisture to ensure safe storage. Improvements to reduce the energy consumption of the dryers have been implemented, especially by increasing the inlet air temperature. However, overheating may have a negative impact on the stability of nutrients, especially amino acids (AA), because Maillard reactions may occur if heat and moisture are applied to feed ingredients. Consequently, Maillard reactions result in a decrease in the concentration and digestibility of AA, and it is possible that energy digestibility is also reduced. Therefore, the objective of these experiments was to test the hypothesis that both the temperature used in drying and the time that heat is applied will affect the standardized ileal digestibility (SID) of AA, and concentration of digestible energy (DE) and metabolizable energy (ME) in corn fed to growing pigs.

Lee, S. A., and H. H. Stein. 2022. Digestibility and Availability of Nutrients in Feed Ingredients. L. I. Chiba, editor, Sustainable Swine Nutrition. 2nd rev. ed. doi:10.1002/9781119583998.ch19. Link to full text.

Lee, Su A, Diego A. Lopez, and Hans H. Stein. 2023. Mineral composition and phosphorus digestibility in feed phosphates fed to pigs and poultry. Anim. Biosci. 36, 2:167-174. doi.org/10.5713/ab.22.0322. Link to full text.