Chemical composition, energy and amino acid digestibility in double-low rapeseed meal fed to growing pigs

BACKGROUND: The nutritional value of rapeseed meal may be variable due to the variation of its chemical composition. And a precise understanding of the nutritional value of an ingredient is beneficial for the accurate diet formulation and reduction of feed costs. This study was conducted to determine the chemical composition, digestible energy (DE) and metabolizable energy (ME) content, and apparent ileal digestibility (AID) and standardized ileal digestibility (SID) of amino acids (AA) for growing pigs. Thirteen solvent-extracted double-low rapeseed meal (DLRSM) samples were obtained from the main double-low rapeseed producing areas in China. METHODS: The DE and ME contents of the 13 DLRSM samples were measured in growing pigs (six pigs per DLRSM sample, average initial body weight (BW) = 48.3 kg). The AID and SID of AA of 10 DLRSM samples were determined in 12 crossbred barrows (average initial BW = 35.3 kg) by using two 6 × 6 Latin square designs. Each Latin square comprised one N-free diet and 5 DLRSM test diets. RESULTS: The chemical composition of DLRSM varied among samples, and the coefficient of variation was greater than 10 % for ether extract (EE), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), acid detergent fiber (ADF), calcium (Ca), and total glucosinolates. The AA content of DLRSM varied among samples especially for lysine (Lys) and methionine (Met). On a dry matter (DM) basis, the apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of gross energy (GE), the DE and ME and the ME:DE ratio of DLRSM averaged 62.39 %, 2862 kcal/kg and 2723 kcal/kg, and 94.95 %, respectively. The mean value of SID of Lys was 70.52 % which varied from 66.54–76.54 %. The SID of crude protein (CP), Met, and threonine (Thr) averaged 72.81 %, 82.41 %, and 69.76 %, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: There was great variability in chemical composition especially in the concentration of EE, NDF and ADF, but no significant differences in energy content of the DLRSM samples were observed. In addition, the AID and SID of all AA were relatively similar among DLRSM samples except for that of Lys.