Editor's Note
The current issue of the newsletter contains the following:
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A research report on phosphorus digestibility in canola, cottonseed, and sunflower products. -
A podcast on the determination of endogenous losses of calcium in pigs fed canola meal. -
A press release on the effects on phosphorus digestibility of adding graded levels of microbial phytase to corn, corn germs, and distillers dried grains with solubles.
I hope you will find this information useful. To subscribe to the newsletter, please visit http://nutrition.ansci.illinois.edu/newsletter.
Sincerely,
Hans H Stein
Research Reports
Phosphorus digestibility in canola, cottonseed, and sunflower products fed to growing pigs
Soybean meal is a high quality source of protein for swine diets. Due to the growth in global production of pigs and poultry, demand for soybeans is increasing rapidly, outpacing production. Therefore, other sources of plant protein are sometimes used in diets to supply indispensable amino acids to the animals.
The most abundant oilseeds produced in the world, aside from soybeans, are cottonseed, canola seed (rapeseed), and sunflower seed. These oilseeds may be fed as de-oiled meals, or the full fat seeds can be fed to increase the energy concentration of the diet.
Oilseeds and oilseed meals also provide phosphorus to the diet. However, most of the phosphorus in these sources is bound to phytate, and is not available to pigs. An experiment was performed to determine the standardized total tract digestibility (STTD) of phosphorus in canola, cottonseed, and sunflower products, and to discover how the addition of phytase influences the STTD of phosphorus. The apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of calcium and the effect of adding phytase on ATTD of calcium were also measured.
Podcast
August 20: Determination of endogenous intestinal losses of calcium in canola meal fed to growing pigs
Caroline González-Vega is a master's student in the Stein Monogastric Nutrition Lab. She describes an experiment to determine the endogenous losses of calcium from the intestinal tracts of pigs fed canola meal, and to use that information to calculate the true total tract digestibility of calcium in canola meal. Adapted from a presentation at the 2012 ADSA-AMPA-ASAS-CSAS-WSASAS Joint Annual Meeting, Phoenix, AZ, July 15-19.
Press release
Helping pigs to digest phosphorus
URBANA -- Phosphorus is a vital nutrient for pig growth, but pigs do not always digest it well. Research conducted at the University of Illinois has determined how adding various levels of the enzyme phytase to the diet improves how pigs digest the phosphorus in four different feed ingredients. Improving phosphorus digestibility has positive implications for producers' bottom lines as well as for the environment.
"The majority of the phosphorus in plant feed ingredients is bound in phytate," said U of I animal sciences professor Hans Stein. "It is difficult for pigs to utilize that phosphorus because they cannot hydrolyze that phytate molecule. There is an exogenous enzyme called phytase that helps the pigs hydrolyze that phosphorus bond from phytate so the digestibility is increased."