Evaluation of the inclusion of soybean oil and soybean processing by-products to soybean meal on nutrient composition and digestibility in swine and poultry

This experiment was designed to evaluate the effects of selected soybean (SB) processing byproducts (gums, oil, soapstock, weeds/trash) when added back to soybean meal (SBM) during processing on the resulting nutrient composition, protein quality, nutrient digestibility by swine, and true metabolizable energy (TMEn) content and standardized AA digestibility by poultry. To measure ileal DM and nutrient digestibility, pigs were surgically fitted with a T-cannula in the distal ileum. The concentration of TMEn and the standardized AA digestibility by poultry were determined using the precision fed cecectomized rooster assay. Treatments in the swine experiment included SBM with no by-products; SBM with 1% gum; SBM with 3% gum; SBM with 0.5% soapstock; SBM with 1.5% soapstock; SBM with 2% weeds/trash; SBM with a combination of 3% gum, 1.5% soapstock, and 2% weeds/trash; SBM with 5.4% soybean oil; and roasted SB. A 10 x 10 Latin square design was utilized. The experiment was conducted at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, and at The Ohio State University, Columbus. In the swine experiment, apparent ileal DM, OM, CP, and AA digestibilities were reduced (P < 0.05) when pigs consumed the combination by-product diet compared with the diet containing no by-products. Apparent ileal digestibilities of DM, CP, and total essential, total nonessential, and total AA were lower (P < 0.05) for any diet containing by-products compared with the diet with no by-products. Apparent ileal digestibilities of DM, OM, CP, and AA were lower (P < 0.05) for the roasted SB-compared with the SB oil-containing diet. In the rooster experiment, TMEn values were greater (P < 0.05) for roasted SB compared with SBM with no by-products and increased linearly as the addition of soapstock increased. Individual, total essential, total nonessential, and total AA digestibilities were lower (P < 0.05) for roosters fed roasted SB versus SBM devoid of by-products. Gums, soapstock, and weeds/trash reduce the nutritive value of the resultant meal when they are added back during processing.     

Chemical and nutritional properties of soybean carbohydrates as related to nonruminants: A review

Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merril] carbohydrates make up approximately 35% of soybean (SB) seed and 40% of soybean meal (SBM) dry matter (DM). Approximately half of these carbohydrates are nonstructural in nature, including low molecular weight sugars, oligosaccharides, and small amounts of starch, while the other half are structural polysaccharides, including a large amount of pectic polysaccharides. The small amounts of free galactose, glucose, fructose, and sucrose make up the low molecular weight sugars. Galacto-oligosaccharides (raffinose, stachyose, and verbascose) comprise approximately 5% of the SB DM, while starch represents less than 1%. The structural carbohydrates can be divided into cotyledon meal and hull polysaccharides. The primary cotyledon meal polysaccharides are arabinogalactan and an acidic polysaccharide that is similar to pectin, whereas the hull contains pectin, hemicelluloses, and cellulose. A portion of SBM carbohydrates are digested and another portion fermented in the animal's gastrointestinal tract. The low molecular weight sugars and starch are essentially 100% digestible by nonruminants, while the oligosaccharides are not digested by gastrointestinal enzymes, but are fermented by bacterial populations in the ileum and colon of pigs. This fermentation may result in both positive and negative effects. The nutritional significance of the structural SB carbohydrates in nonruminant animal diets remains virtually unknown. Many factors affect the nutritional value of SB carbohydrates, including cultivar and genotype, processing, and addition of exogenous enzymes. A better understanding of the nutritive contribution of SB carbohydrates is necessary as regards their impact on animal nutrition broadly defined.     

Selected gelling agents in canned dog food affect nutrient digestibilities and fecal characteristics of ileal cannulated dogs.

Little is known about the effects of gelling agents in canned dog food on nutrient digestibilities and fecal characteristics. Dogs were fed canned diets with either no gelling agent (control) or one of three gelling agents, wheat starch, a guar gum/carrageenan mixture (50:50), and a locust bean meal (LBM)/carrageenan mixture (50:50) incorporated at two levels (0.2 and 0.5% of the diet on a wet weight basis). Six dogs were fed each diet in a 6 x 7 Youden square design. Dogs fed diets containing gelling agents had higher ileal digestibilities of OM (P = 0.05), fat (P < 0.01), GE (P = 0.02), and total amino acids (P = 0.04) and lower (P < 0.01) total tract DM digestibilities when compared to dogs fed the control diet. Fecal output by dogs fed the control diet, expressed on both an as-is (73.4 g/d) and DM (45.6 g/d) basis, was lower (P < 0.01) than for dogs fed gelling agent-containing diets (mean 102.3 g/d as-is and 57.6 g/d DM). Dogs fed the control diet also had lower (P < 0.01) fecal DM percentages and higher (P = 0.02) fecal scores than dogs fed gelling agent-containing diets.     

The effect of elemental Zn boluses on concentrations of Zn in serum and faeces of South American camelids

ABSTRACT

Aims: To monitor the effect of using long-acting Zn boluses on the Zn status of a group of South American camelids, using measurements of concentrations of Zn in faeces and serum.

Methods: As part of a facial eczema (FE) prevention programme, 15 camelids were treated with long-acting Zn boluses designed for preventing FE in sheep. Based on bodyweight, 13 alpacas (Vicugna pacos) received two boluses (26.4?g Zn/bolus) and two llamas (Lama glama) received three boluses. In order to monitor Zn status, measurements were made of concentrations of Zn in serum and faeces immediately prior to bolus treatment (Week 0) and 4, 6, 8 and 10 weeks later. Gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT) activity in serum was measured at Weeks 0 and 8.

Results: Two alpacas regurgitated the boluses; in one case the animal was quickly re-treated but this was not possible in the second animal. Mean concentrations of Zn in faeces were higher at all time points compared to Week 0 (p?<?0.001). Peak concentrations were measured at Week 8, and concentrations >120?mg/kg fresh weight (FW), suggested as being protective in calves, were only measured in all (13/13) treated camelids at Week 6. Mean concentrations of Zn in serum differed between weeks of sampling but changes were not consistent, and concentrations did not exceed 18?μmol/L following treatment. There was no evidence of a natural sporidesmin challenge during the study period and activity of GGT in serum of all animals was <45?IU/L.

Conclusions: Treatment with Zn boluses significantly increased concentrations of Zn in faeces but not in serum, but peak concentrations in faeces were only detected 8 weeks after treatment.

Clinical Relevance: The delay in achieving concentrations of Zn in faeces which were associated with protection against FE in calves, combined with the difficulties of administering boluses to camelids, means that we do not believe that Zn boluses should be used as the primary method for preventing FE in camelids. We recommend that FE prevention in camelids should focus on minimising spore production in pasture through the use of fungicides, grazing management and alternative forages, with boluses only used when it is thought that these methods are unlikely to provide sufficient protection against FE. Such use should always be under the guidance of a veterinarian and monitoring of serum GGT activity should be used to ensure that FE control is being achieved.     

Temperature and surface-ocean water balance of the mid-holocene tropical western pacific

Skeletal Sr/Ca and 18O/16O ratios in corals from the Great Barrier Reef, Australia, indicate that the tropical ocean surface approximately 5350 years ago was 1 degrees C warmer and enriched in 18O by 0.5 per mil relative to modern seawater. The results suggest that the temperature increase enhanced the evaporative enrichment of 18O in seawater. Transport of part of the additional atmospheric water vapor to extratropical latitudes may have sustained the 18O/16O anomaly. The reduced glacial-Holocene shift in seawater 18O/16O ratio produced by the mid-Holocene 18O enrichment may help to reconcile the different temperature histories for the last deglaciation given by coral Sr/Ca thermometry and foraminiferal oxygen-isotope records.     

Chemical composition and protein quality comparisons of soybeans and soybean meals from five leading soybean-producing countries

Soybeans (SBs) were obtained from five leading SB-producing countries (Argentina, Brazil, China, India, and the United States), imported to the United States, and processed into soybean meal (SBM) under uniform conditions in the United States. SBs from China had the highest crude protein (CP) content while SBs and the resultant SBM from Argentina had the lowest. Additional differences in the quality of the SB and resultant SBM samples collected were noted. An additional set of SBM produced in these five countries and subjectively evaluated to be of low, intermediate, and high quality also were obtained and evaluated. Overall, SBM quality affected amino acid and mineral concentrations with differences existing both among and within countries. SBM produced in the United States had a higher CP content than SBM produced in other countries. Amino acid concentrations generally increased, and antinutritional factors decreased with increasing subjective quality assessment.     

Unusual ovarian activity in a mare preceding the development of an ovarian granulosa cell tumour

An 8-year-old mare, with a foal at foot, was inseminated on foal heat with frozen semen, with the resultant pregnancy lost between days 34 and 41. The right ovary developed a large anovulatory follicle that was non-responsive to multiple doses of ovulating agents. The follicle eventually appeared to luteinise, although plasma progesterone concentrations did not reflect this. Another follicle developed, responded to GnRH and resulted in a pregnancy from frozen semen that went to term with a healthy foal. When the mare was examined after foaling, the structure on the right ovary appeared to be a granulosa cell tumour; the left ovary was smaller than normal and non-functional. Surgical removal of the right ovary before increasing photoperiod resulted in a return to function of the left ovary and a pregnancy to frozen semen on the second cycle following removal. Figures showing concentrations of inhibin, progesterone, androstenedione, oestradiol and testosterone are presented for this entire period. Unusual ovarian activity in the mare might be a prelude to the development of a granulosa cell tumour.     

Reference ranges for biochemical and haematological values in farmed saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) yearlings

Objective To determine reference ranges for healthy yearling farmed saltwater crocodiles by performing routine biochemical and haematological laboratory tests on blood samples.
Design A clinico-pathological study.
Procedure Blood samples were collected from 120 healthy yearlings from four Northern Territory crocodile farms and body weight and length were measured. All animals had been fasted for 2 days before sample collection. Routine biochemical analytes were determined on 120 samples and haematological values determined on 30 samples (from one farm).
Results Reference ranges for biochemical and haemato-logical values were determined for farmed yearling saltwater crocodiles in the Northern Territory.
Conclusion The results were comparable with published reference ranges for other crocodilian species. Other published results of haematological values from saltwater crocodiles were from very young (6-week-old) hatchlings and older (2- to 4-year-old) crocodiles. Differences in values were presumed to be caused by age-related factors.