Characterisation of organic cereals and grain legumes as feedstuffs for monogastric animals: Effects of variety and environmental conditions on the contents of crude nutrients, amino acids, thiamine, riboflavin, and in vitro digestibility of crude protein and amino acids
Charakterisierung von Öko-Getreide und -Körnerleguminosen als Futtermittel für Monogastrier: Einfluss von Sorte und Umwelt auf die Gehalte an Rohnährstoffen, Aminosäuren, Thiamin, Riboflavin und in vitro Rohprotein- und Aminosäurenverdaulichkeit
by Stephanie Witten
Date of Examination:2018-11-05
Date of issue:2019-05-10
Advisor:Prof. Dr. Frank Liebert
Referee:Dr. Karen Aulrich
Referee:Prof. Dr. Elke Pawelzik
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Abstract
English
The sufficient supply of nutrients, in particular of protein and amino acids, for monogastric animals in organic farming is challenging. For one thing, some feedstuffs that are rich in crude protein and contain large amounts of valuable amino acids are not available in organic quality. Additionally, the use of synthetic amino acids to compensate imbalances of amino acids is not allowed according to EU regulations. To improve the situation in organic farming, efforts are made in animal breeding and husbandry as well as in plant breeding. Furthermore, alternative protein feedstuffs are studied with regard to their use in monogastric animal feeding. Besides the supply of amino acids, the supply of B vitamins is potentially challenging. Riboflavin supplements are primarily produced using fermentation. Thus, the market availability of GMO-free riboflavin supplements is inadequate. The knowledge on native contents of B vitamins in feedstuffs is scarce. Consequently, it is important to characterise commonly used feedstuffs. Since organic farming aims for a local production, cereals and grain legumes are frequently used as feedstuffs. The aim of this study was, therefore, to characterise organically produced cereal and grain legume seeds based on their contents of crude nutrients, amino acids, thiamine, and riboflavin considering influences of variety and environmental conditions. For this purpose, more than 800 samples were derived in three years from organic variety trials, which were conducted by the German Chambers of Agriculture as well as the German experimental stations, and analysed for the aforementioned ingredients. Furthermore, the crude protein and amino acid digestibility in young broiler chicken was assessed in vivo and in vitro. The precaecal digestibility of the crude protein and the amino acids of a field bean and a field pea variety, which are commonly used in organic farming, was determined in vivo in 21-day-old broiler chicken. To predict the praecaecal digestibility of the crude protein and the amino acids of feedstuffs for broiler chicken, a multi-enzyme assay was adapted. The in vitro digestibility of the crude protein and amino acids of cereals and grain legumes was then determined using the adapted assay. The effect of variety and environment on the contents of crude nutrients, amino acids, thiamine and riboflavin, as well as on the in vitro digestibility of the crude protein and the amino acids in cereals and grain legumes was studied with generalised linear models. In addition, native contents of thiamine and riboflavin of exemplary diets for monogastric animals in organic farming were calculated. As reported earlier in the literature, wide variations of the nutrient composition were also observed in the present study. However, the crude protein and amino acid contents of cereals and grain legumes were often lower and the starch content was often higher than reported in feed value tables. The precaecal digestibility of crude protein of organic field beans and field peas was comparable to reported digestibility coefficients with 84% and 81%, respectively. Lysine, methionine, arginine, histidine and glutamic acid were highly digestible at the terminal ileum, while cystine and tryptophan were less digestible. The in vitro crude protein disappearance that was determined with the adapted multi-enzyme assay was highly correlated to the precaecal crude protein and the amino acid digestibility that was determined in preceding animal trials. The in vitro digestibility coefficients differed by more than 0.1 within a cultivar. They were mostly comparable to reported values in tables or digestibility studies. However, a comparison was difficult due to wide variations between table values and results of other studies. Since the number of samples with known precaecal crude protein and amino acid digestibility was small, further validation of the in vitro assay is recommended. The composition and the in vitro crude protein and amino acid digestibility of the cereal and grain legume cultivars were significantly affected by variety and by environmental conditions. In most cases, the influence of the environmental conditions was stronger. However, the extent and the direction of the influence of these factors were not consistent and may be depending on interactions and the choice of the sample set. It was observed for all cultivars that variations of the crude protein content were accompanied by an altered amino acid profile. The content of essential amino acids, including lysine, methionine, and threonine, in the crude protein were often negatively correlated with the crude protein content. A positive correlation with the crude protein content was observed for glutamic acid, phenylalanine, and proline in the crude protein of different cereal grains as well as for arginine in the crude protein of grain legumes. This is most likely due to shifts in the relation of the protein fractions of the crops. Consequently, the crude protein quality tended to decrease with increasing crude protein contents of the feedstuffs. Although the analysed amounts of thiamine in cereals and grain legumes were low compared to table values, calculated cereal-based diets contained sufficient amounts of native thiamine to meet current feeding recommendations. However, it must be noticed that the availability of thiamine was not taken into account. The native riboflavin contents of the exemplary diets were lower than the recommended amounts. Thus, it is necessary to use riboflavin supplements or feedstuffs rich in riboflavin to prevent deficiencies. In conclusion, the observed wide variations of the nutrient contents as well as of the crude protein and amino acid digestibility of organically cultivated cereals and grain legumes must be considered in diet formulation. While amino acid contents can already be predicted with equations based on the crude protein content of the feedstuff, rapid and cheap analysis methods are needed to determine crude nutrient and possibly even B vitamin contents of each batch of a feedstuff. Consequently, the contribution of cereals and grain legumes to closing the amino acid gap in organic farming would be further improved. Moreover, their native thiamine and riboflavin content adds to the B vitamin supply.
Keywords: Poultry; Swine; organic farming; feed composition