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Aminoacids

Aminoacids
Whenvariousfeedstuffsareinvolved,workingoutpigdietsonthebasisofaminoacidsisaneffectiveapproach.

Essentialaminoacids
Mostproteinscontain19ormoreaminoacids.Duringdigestion,theproteininfeedisbrokendownintoitsconstituentamino
acids,whichthepigabsorbsandultimatelyusestobuildbodyprotein.Thepigisunabletosynthesisenineaminoacids:
lysine,methionine,tryptophan,isoleucine,histidine,phenyalanine,threonine,leucineandvaline.Therefore,thesemustbe
suppliedinthefeed.

Limitingaminoacids
Theaminoacidthatispresentinafeedintheleastamountrelativetopigrequirementsissaidtobethefirstlimitingamino
acid.Theextenttowhichthislimitingaminoacidisadequatedeterminespigperformance.Thefollowingtableslisttheamino
acidsthataregenerallyfirstlimitinginvariouspigfeedstuffs.InmostAustraliancerealbaseddiets,lysineisfirstlimiting.
Table1.Limitingaminoacidsincerealgrainsforpigs
Limitingaminoacids
Cerealgrain
First

Second

Third

Barley

Lysine

Threonine

Histidine

Corn

Lysineandtryptophan

Threonine

Oats

Lysine

Sorghum

Lysine

Threonine

Tryptophan

Triticale

Lysine

Threonine

Wheat

Lysine

Threonine

Table2.Limitingaminoacidsinproteinsupplementsforpigs
Protein

Firstlimitingaminoacid

Corngluten

Lysine

Cottonseed

Lysine

Linseed

Lysine

Peanut

Lysine

Safflower

Lysine

Sesame

Lysine

Sunflower

Lysine

Canola

Lysineormethionine

Soybean

Methionine

Meatmeal

Tryptophan

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Aminoacids
Protein

Firstlimitingaminoacid

Bloodmeal

Isoleucine

Totalandavailableaminoacids
Theaminoacidcompositionofafeedstuffordietcanbeanalysed.Thisisusuallydonebyacidhydrolysisfollowedbyion
exchangechromatographywithcolorimetricorfluorimetricdetectionoftheaminoacids.However,thisproceduredoesnot
determinetheamountsofaminoacidsavailabletoapigfromafeedingredient.
Tobe'available',anaminoacidmustbeabsorbedandpresentedtothetissuesinaformthatcanbeusedformetabolic
functions.Theprimaryfactorsaffectingbioavailabilityaretheefficienciesofbothproteindigestionandaminoacid
absorption,andtheefficiencyofusingaminoacidsatthetissuelevelafterabsorption.
Commoncausesofreducedproteindigestioninfeedstuffsareexcessiveheattreatmentduringprocessing,indigestiblecell
wallsandthepresenceofantinutritionalfactors.
Becausetheuseofaminoacidsinfeedstuffsvaries,workingoutdietsonthebasisofbioavailableaminoacidsshouldbe
moreaccuratethancalculatingtotalaminoacids.Knowingtheproportionofessentialaminoacidsinfeedstuffsthatisbio
availabletothepigisessentialforworkingoutaccuratediets.Thisproportionhasbeenestimatedthroughdigestiontrials,
whichestimateaminoacidabsorption,andthesloperatiomethod,whichcombinestheeffectsofdigestion,absorptionand
metabolism.
Digestibilitiesarereportedaseitherapparentortruethelattercorrectingforendogenousaminoacidoutput.Becauseofthe
difficultiesofaccuratelymeasuringendogenousaminoacidoutput,apparentdigestibilitiesaremoreusefulinpracticalswine
feeding.Digestibilitiesdeterminedneartheendofasmallintestine(ilealdigestibilities)aresuperiortothosedeterminedover
thetotaltract(faecaldigestibilities)becausetheyaredeterminedpriortothemicrobialactioninthelargeintestine.Ileal
digestibilityhasanadvantageoverthesloperatiomethodasitcanmeasureallnineessentialaminoacidsatonce.
However,oneproblemwiththismethodisthatitassumesthatifanaminoacidisdigestedinthesmallintestine,itis
absorbedinaformthatcanbeused.Thisassumptionmaynotbecorrect.Availabilitiesdeterminedfromvalidsloperatio
assaysmoreaccuratelymeasuredifferencesamongfeedstuffsintheirabilitytosupplyaminoacidsusedforproteinsynthesis
thanthosefromdigestibilities.
Researchshowsthatforaminoacidsinoverprocessedproteinconcentrates,ilealdigestibilitymayoverestimateavailability.
Forexample,forcottonseedmeal,ilealdigestibilityoflysineisnormally6075percentwhilelysineavailabilityisonly3040
percent.
Duetothetimeandcostinvolved,sloperatioassaysarenotpracticalforroutinelyworkingoutfeedaminoacidavailability.In
practice,lysineavailabilityvaluesfromsloperatioarepreferredforusewithproteinconcentrates.However,forcereals,
sloperatioassaysaremoredifficultandilealdigestibilityvaluesaremorepractical(seeTable3).Thelabourandcost
involvedinavailableassayslimitstheirusefulnessaspartofadietcalculationsystem.Clearly,arapid,cheap,accurateand
simpletestisneededtoevaluatetheaminoacidnutritivevalueofvariousfeedstuffs.
Table3.Recommendedvaluesfortheavailabilityoftotallysineincommonlyusedfeeds
Feed

Recommendedvalue%

Proteinconcentrates
Bloodmeal(ringdried)

95

Cottonseedmeal

40

Fieldpeameal(Pisumsativum)

92

Fishmeal

89

Lupinseedmeal(L.albus)

50

Lupinseedmeal(L.angustifolius)

55

Meatmealandmeatandbonemeal

70

Peanutmeal

60

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Aminoacids
Feed

Recommendedvalue%

Skimmilkpowder

84

Soyabeanmeal

88

Sunflowermeal

60

Canola*coldpress

74

Canola*solventextr.

61

Canola*expeller

63

Cereals
Barley

78

Maize

85

Rye

71

Sorghum

88

Triticale

85

Wheatsound

85

Wheatweatherdamaged

71

*Basedonreactivelysineasanindicatorofavailability

References
Baker,DH1993,Aminoacidnutritionofpigsandpoultry,inDJACole,WHaresignandPGGarnworthy(eds),'Recent
developmentsinpignutrition2',NottinghamUniversityPress,Nottingham,UnitedKingdom.
Knabe,DA1991,Bioavailabilityofaminoacidsinfeedstuffsforswine,inERMiller,DEUllseyandAJLewis(eds),'Swine
nutrition',ButterworthHeinemann,London.
Lewis,AJ1991,Aminoacidsinswinenutrition,inERMiller,DEUllseyandAJLewis(eds),'Swinenutrition',Butterworth
Heinemann,London.
StandingCommitteeonAgriculture1987,'FeedingstandardsforAustralianlivestock:pigs',CSIRO,Melbourne.
VanBarneveldR2002,Australiancanolamealavaluablecomponentofpigfeed,'APLtechnicalnotes',no.2002/1.

Furtherinformation
Howmuchtofeed [https://www.daf.qld.gov.au/animalindustries/pigs/feednutrition/howmuchtofeed]
Ingredientsandcontaminants [https://www.daf.qld.gov.au/animalindustries/pigs/feednutrition/ingredientscontaminants]

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Aminoacids

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