New sources of high protein corn co-products have been recently developed and may be included in diets fed to pigs. Phytase is often employed during fermentation in the bioethanol process to improve the efficiency of fermentation. However, the use of phytase during fermentation may impact the nature of phosphorus (P) in any post fermentation products, which could subsequently alter the levels of phytate-bound and non-phytate P. As a consequence, this may influence digestibility and concentration of digestible P in any feed product derived from fermentation. Therefore, an experiment was conducted to determine the standardized total tract digestibility (STTD) of P in high protein corn fermented products and in the residual distillers dried grains and solubles (DDGS) produced from a fermentation with or without the use of phytase. It is also the objective of this experiment to test the hypothesis that inclusion of phytase during the fermentation process increases P digestibility in corn co-products.

Data have been published for the composition of wheat middlings from flour mills in the U.S. and data for digestible energy (DE) and metabolizable energy (ME) have been reported as well. However, it is not known if the data obtained in wheat middlings from the U.S. also are representative for wheat middlings in Europe. Therefore, an experiment was conducted to test the null hypothesis that there are no differences in composition, apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of gross energy (GE), and concentration of DE and ME between wheat middlings sourced from flour mills in Europe and in the U.S.

Oliveira, Maryane. S. F., Guillermo Jimenez, Hans H Stein. 2022. Effects of a Probiotic Bacillus Strain on Ileal Digestibility of Crude Protein, Starch, Energy and fat and Total Tract Digestibility of Energy and Dietary Fiber in Diets fed to Weanling Pigs. J. Anim. Sci. 100 (Suppl. 3) 118–119. doi.org/10.1093/jas/skac247.228.

Data for the composition of wheat middlings from flour mills in the U.S. and for the standardized ileal digestibility (SID) of crude protein (CP) and amino acids (AA) have been published for wheat middlings from the U.S. However, it is not known if the data obtained from wheat middlings from the U.S. also are representative for wheat middlings in Europe. Therefore, an experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis that there are no differences in composition and SID of CP and AA between wheat middlings sourced from flour mills in Europe and in the U.S.

Field peas have been produced mainly for human consumption, but lastly, the industry has been included in diets fed to livestock due to its content of starch and protein. In diets for swine, only peas that are harvested at maturity are used. Almost 80% of P in non-oilseed legumes is bound to phytate, and pigs do not synthesize an adequate amount of endogenous phytate to liberate the P bound to phytate. Therefore, the digestibility of P in field peas is relatively low. Values for apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) and standardized total tract digestibility (STTD) of P in field peas have been reported, but there are no comparative values for the ATTD and STTD of P among different varieties of field peas at different particle sizes. Therefore, the objective of this experiment was to test the hypothesis that there are no differences in the ATTD and the STTD of P among different sources of field peas fed to young pigs and the second hypothesis was that there is a linear increase in the ATTD and STTD of P as the particle size of field peas increases.

The majority of P in oilseed co-products is bound to phytate; however, pigs do not synthesize adequate amount of endogenous phytate to liberate the P bound to phytate and the digestibility of P in sunflower meal, therefore is low. Values for ATTD and STTD of P in sunflower meal (SFM) without and with phytase have been reported, but there are no comparative values for the ATTD and STTD of P in sunflower co-products produced in different parts of the world. Therefore, the objective of this experiment was to determine the ATTD and the STTD of P in different sources of sunflower co-products, and to test the hypothesis that regardless of source, microbial phytase increases the digestibility of P in sunflower co-products fed to young pigs.

Lee, Su A, and H. H. Stein. 2022. Digestibility of amino acids is not affected by increasing calcium from deficient to over-sufficient concentration in diets fed to pigs.15th International Symposium on Digestive Physiology of Pigs. Animal - Science Proceedings 13(Issue 2): 178 - 179. Link to abstract.

Lee, Su A, and H. H. Stein. 2022. Effects of Increasing Dose of a Novel E. coli Phytase on Total Tract Digestibility of Minerals and Energy in Pigs. J. Anim. Sci. 100(Suppl. 2): 36-37. doi.org/10.1093/jas/skac064.059. Link to Abstr.

Addition of probiotics to swine diets may improve gut health by modifying the microflora, which may help control pathogens, enhance immune response, and increase nutrient digestibility. Once consumed by the pig, probiotics enter the stomach where they are subjected to a low pH and pepsin. The Bacillus strain are metabolically inactive spores that are thermostable and survive at a low pH and, therefore, are thought to survive feed processing and digestion in the stomach. Addition of a Bacillus strain may enhance fermentation of dietary fiber in swine diets and, subsequently, increase the available energy from the diet in the form of volatile fatty acids. Bacillus strain also may degrade non-starch polysaccharides to reducing sugars that may serve as an energy source for the pig. A novel probiotic Bacillus toyonensis M15750 has been developed, but there are limited data to demonstrate the efficacy of this probiotic to increase nutrient digestibility. Therefore, an experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis that probiotic Bacillus toyonensis M15750 improve the apparent ileal digestibility (AID) and apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of energy and nutrients when included in diets fed by weanling pigs.