Evaluation of standardized ileal digestibility of amino acids in fermented soybean meal for nursery pigs using direct and difference procedures

Objective: This study was to evaluate standardized ileal digestibility (SID) of amino acids (AA) in fermented soybean meal (FSBM) for nursery pigs using both direct procedure and difference procedure when FSBM was added at 20% in diets.Methods: Forty-eight pigs at 9.2 +/- 0.9 kg body weight (BW) were individually housed and allotted to 4 treatments. Treatments included NFD (a semi-purified N free diet), FSD (a diet with 20% FSBM), CBD (corn basal diet), and CFD (corn basal diet:FSBM at 80:20). The FSD was used to measure AA digestibility in FSBM using the direct procedure, whereas CBD and CFD were used in the difference procedure. Pigs were fed for 10 days (0.09xBW0.75 kg per day) and euthanized to collect ileal digesta for TiO2 and AA.Results: Total endogenous AA loss was 12.1 g/kg of dry matter intake. The apparent ileal digestibility (AID) Thr was greater (p<0.05) and AID His (p = 0.073) and Leu (p = 0.052) tended to be greater using the direct procedure compared with the difference procedure. The SID Thr were greater (p<0.05) in FSBM for nursery pigs calculated using a direct procedure compared with a difference procedure. In addition, SID Lys in FSBM was about 83% to 88% for nursery pigs higher than SID Lys described in National Research Council (2012). Conclusion: The SID of AA in FSBM when included at practical levels using the direct procedure were similar to those from the difference procedure. Considering the SID of AA obtained using both direct and difference procedures, FSBM is an effective protein supplement providing highly digestible AA to nursery pigs. The SID of AA from this study was consider-ably higher than those previous reported. This study also indicates the importance of including the test feedstuffs at practical levels when evaluating digestibility.

Automated summary

This study evaluated the digestibility of amino acids in fermented soybean meal when added at 20% in diets for nursery pigs. The results showed that the digestibility of amino acids measured using both direct and difference procedures was similar. This suggests that fermented soybean meal is an effective protein supplement providing highly digestible amino acids to nursery pigs.