Oligosaccharides are a key factor in prediction of amino acid digestibility in soybean meal of different origins when fed to growing pigs.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this experiment was to determine apparent ileal digestibility (AID) and standardized ileal digestibility (SID) of crude protein (CP) and amino acid (AA) in 15 sources of soybean meal (SBM) produced from soybeans from different countries and subsequently to establish equations for predicting the AID and SID in SBM based on their chemical composition.

METHODS: Eighteen barrows (57.9±6.1 kg) fitted with a simple T-cannula were allotted into three 6×6 Latin square designs. Each period comprised a 6-d adaption period followed by a 2-d collection of ileal digesta. The 15 test diets included SBM as a sole source of AA in the diet. Another nitrogen-free diet was used to measure basal endogenous losses of CP and AA. Chromic oxide (0.3%) was used as an inert marker in each diet.

RESULTS: The AID of lysine in SBM from China and USA tended to be greater than in SBM from Brazil (p<0.10). The SID of valine and proline in SBM from China was greater than in SBM from Brazil (p<0.05). The SID of lysine, threonine, cysteine and glycine in SBM from China tended to be greater than in SBM from Brazil (p<0.10). From a stepwise regression analysis, a series of AID and SID prediction equations were generated. The best fit equations for lysine in SBM were: AID lysine = 1.16 sucrose-1.81 raffinose+82.10 (R2 = 0.69, p<0.01) and SID lysine = 1.14 sucrose-1.93 raffinose-0.99 ether extract (EE)+85.26 (R2 = 0.77, p<0.01).

CONCLUSION: It was concluded that under the conditions of this experiment, the oligosaccharides (such as sucrose and raffinose) can be used to predict the AID and SID of AA in SBM with reasonable accuracy.