Processing conditions affect nutrient digestibility of cold-pressed canola cake for grower pigs

Cold-pressed canola cake is a coproduct of biodiesel production that contains more residual oil than expeller-pressed and solvent-extracted canola meal. Cold-pressed canola cake might be an attractive feedstuff for swine due to local availability from small plants. However, the nutritional quality and content of anti-nutritional factors of cold-pressed canola cake are poorly defined and vary with processing conditions. This experiment evaluated cold-pressed canola cake processed using 4 different conditions: a nonheated and heated barrel at slow and fast screw speed in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement. Seven ileally cannulated barrows (26 kg of BW) were fed twice daily at 2.8 × maintenance diets containing either 44% of 1 of the 4 cold-pressed canola cake samples, expeller-pressed canola meal, canola seed, or an N-free diet in a 7 × 7 Latin square. The objectives were to measure the energy and AA digestibility and to calculate standardized ileal digestible (SID) AA and NE content. Each 9-d experimental period consisted of a 5-d diet adaptation, followed by 2-d feces and 2-d ileal digesta collections, and 7 observations per diet were obtained. Cold-pressed canola cake contained 41% CP, 16% ether extract, and 5 μmol of total glucosinolates/g (DM basis). Both apparent ileal digestibility (AID) and total tract energy digestibility of energy in cold-pressed canola cake was 36% greater (P < 0.05) in heated vs. nonheated conditions and 8% greater (P < 0.05) in fast vs. slow screw speed without interaction, indicating that heat enhanced energy digestibility. The AID of energy of cold-pressed canola cake was 13 and 118% greater (P < 0.01) than expeller-pressed canola meal and canola seed, respectively. Heat and speed interacted (P < 0.05) for SID of AA of test ingredients, but effects were not consistent among AA. The DE and calculated NE content of cold-pressed canola cake was 0.73 and 0.52 Mcal/kg greater (P=0.001; DM basis), respectively, than expeller-pressed canola meal and did not differ from canola seed. Cold-pressed canola cake averaged 4.17 Mcal of DE/kg, 2.84 Mcal of NE/kg, 0.87% SID Lys, 0.46% SID Met, and 0.79% SID Thr (DM basis). In conclusion, processing conditions greatly affected the digestible nutrient content of cold-pressed canola cake. Content of residual ether extract was an important determinant of the energy value of cold-press canola cake, whereas residual glucosinolates did not seem to hamper nutrient digestibility.