Managing Amino Acid Content

Information for the Feed Industry
Volume 07/Number 01 April 2006
Feed formulation
Amino acids in animal nutrition:

Should the incorporation rates of free
amino acids in poultry and swine diets
be limited?
Key information
Limiting crystalline amino acid supplementation in commercial practice can limit the
flexibility and accuracy of least cost feed formulation and thus needs a critical review.
It is scientifically proven that crystalline

amino acids are 100 % digestible for swine
and poultry.
In pigs, metabolic availability of amino acids
can be impaired by once-a-day feeding
and by amino acid imbalance. However,
amino acids and more.
Amino acids in animal

nutrition:
Should the incorporation
rates of free amino acids
in poultry and swine
diets be limited?
1-12
How to Manage the

Variability of Protein and
Amino Acid Contents
in Raw Materials
13-22
Isoleucine in Pig
Nutrition
23-32
Editorial
Dear reader,
In this edition, we take an in-depth look at
various nutritional and technical issues. We
begin by reviewing the efficiency of supplemental amino acids in animal nutrition.
Some nutritionists seem to have some uncertainty about the potential of a threshold
inclusion level that should not be exceeded
when using crystalline amino acids. The data
provided in this article should dispel any
misconceptions and give you the perfect basis
for the use of supplemental amino acids in
your feed formulations.
Our second article focuses on raw material
variability and how to deal with it. As you
will read, the proper management of variability, including but not limited to the establishment of suitable control programs, will
lead to a lot of economical advantages for you.
Degussa Feed Additives
Research Highlights
Finally, our third contribution introduces
isoleucine, an essential amino acid, which
is receiving more and more attention from
swine nutritionists. In collaboration with our
guest author, Dr. Brian Kerr from the US Department of Agriculture, Dr. Meike Rademacher reviews the needs for isoleucine
in practical diet formulation for growingfinishing pigs.
Effect of DL-Methionine on Various

Performance and Slaughter
Characteristics in Slowly Growing
Broilers Fed According to Organic
Farming Recommendations . . . . . . 33
Dietary Trypotphan Need of Broiler

Males from Forty-Two to Fifty-Six
Days of Age . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Enjoy reading!
Effect of Glutamine and Spray-Dried
Plasma on Growth Performance,
Small Intestinal Morphology, and
Immune Responses of Escherichia
coli K 88+-challenged weaned
pigs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Dr. Alfred Petri
Volume 07/ Number 01 April 2006
these impairments are easily overcome by

providing at least two meals per day and by
applying the ideal protein concept.
In turkeys, low protein diets combined with
high levels of supplemental amino acids
work well when combined with the ideal
protein concept.
In broilers, additional research is needed to
fully understand the metabolic effects of
low protein diets.
Using advanced diet formulation systems,
such as net energy, ideal protein, and digestible amino acids, leads to more accurate
and flexible diets, including reduction of
dietary CP content without impairment of
animal performance.
Introduction
Today, more than ever, crystalline amino
acids are being used in diets for pigs and
poultry to replace a portion of the essential amino acids provided by protein-rich
raw materials. The driving forces are enhanced herd management, growing environmental concerns, and the need for
more flexibility in raw material selection.
However, undoubtedly the single most
important driving force is our improved
understanding of the animals exact dietary amino acid needs for protein deposition. By closer meeting these needs,
protein accretion is maximized and fat
deposition is minimized resulting in a
better quality product.
Currently, DL-Methionine, L-Lysine,
L-Threonine, and L-Tryptophan are commercially available for feed production,
and in the future, other amino acids,
such as isoleucine or glycine might become available. Supplemental amino
acids allow nutritionists more flexibility
in raw material selection when formulating diets, while also allow the nutritionist to more accurately meet the animals
dietary needs as they change due to improved genetic potential.
Despite the aforementioned benefits of
formulating diets using crystalline amino
acids, supplementation rates in commercial practice are sometimes still limited.
One of the reasons for this limitation are
2 Degussa Feed Additives
older practical recommendations suggesting that free lysine in the diet should
not exceed 0.15 to 0.30 %, because
higher incorporation would lead to impairment of performance. Another potential reason is the concern that commercially produced amino acids are less
than 100 % digestible and available for
utilization. A third reason might be the
adverse effects that low CP, crystalline
amino acids supplemented diets have on
the growth and carcass performance of
pigs and poultry. Finally, a fourth reason
for this limitation has been economic
and supply constraints of the commercially available amino acids.
The purpose of this paper is to address
these concerns by first reviewing the
available literature regarding digestibility
and bioavailability of crystalline amino
acids. Next, we will address the effects of
feeding frequency and amino acid imbalance or antagonism on crystalline amino
acid utilization. Finally, the concept of
limiting the use of crystalline amino
acids in practice will be discussed including a comprehensive review of the effects of low crude protein diets on pig,
broiler, and turkey performance.
Digestibility and availability of crystalline

amino acids
Most often when we discuss digestibility
and availability, we are making some reference to the quality of a raw material,
such as cottonseed, meat, or soybean
meals. The digestibility and availability of
the various raw materials is extremely
important when diets are formulated on
a digestible basis. This is demonstrated in
Table 1 from Batterham (1992), as the
ileal digestible amino acids from diets
formulated on cottonseed, meat, or soybean meals were retained in the body
protein of growing pigs at much lower
levels than 100 %. While these digestible
amino acids were considered to be
100 % digestible, it is obvious that they
were not all either available or utilized
by the pig. Many factors can influence
the bioavailability of amino acids in raw
materials, including processing condi-
tions, presence of anti-nutritional factors

or fibers, or physical and chemical composition of the protein (Batterham, 1992;
Parsons, 2002).
Table 1: Retention of ileal digestible amino acids in protein (%) by growing pigs fed diets based on cottonseed meal, meat meal or soybean meal (Batterham, 1992)
Raw Material
Retention
(% dig. AA retained in protein)
Cottonseed
Meal
Meat
Meal
Soybean
Meal
SEM
Lysine
0.36
0.60
0.75
0.012
Threonine
0.44
0.59
0.40
0.017
Methionine
0.38
0.45
0.45
0.013
Tryptophan
0.46
0.45
0.38
0.010
Figure 1: Ileal amino acid digestibility of an amino acid mixture consisting

of crystalline amino acids fed to growing broilers from 17 to 22
days of age. The digestibilities were corrected for basal ileal
amino acid losses measured with either a protein free diet (light)
or enzymatically hydrolyzed casein diet (dark; Lemme et al.,
2005).
120
* standardised by PfD
* standardised by EHC
100
99.9
101.4
100.3
99.7
99.9
103.4
100.5
99.7
101.6
101.0
97.0
99.2
40
99.6
99.0
60
98.7
98.9
80
100.3
101.4
Standardised ileal digestibility, %
Conversely, we seldom think of crystalline amino acids being any less than
100 % digestible and available to the
animal. Butts et al. (1993) compared the
ileal amino acid flow in pigs fed either a
protein free (PF) or a purified diet where
all amino acids were provided in crystalline form. They reported that all of the
amino acids recovered from pigs fed the
PF diet were of endogenous origin, and
that there was no difference in the
amino acid flow between the synthetic
and PF diets. These data indicate that all
synthetic amino acids were effectively
absorbed by the pig. This suggestion is
supported by the recent work of Lemme
et al. (2005). Ross 308 broilers were fed
either a PF or a purified diet with all
amino acids provided in crystalline form.
The apparent ileal digestibility of the
crystalline amino acids was determined
and then standardized by correcting for
basal endogenous losses. As shown in
Figure 1, there were no differences between the PF and purified diets, which
again indicates clearly that crystalline
amino acids are 100 % ileal digestible in
growing broilers.
20
The effects of feeding frequency and

amino acid imbalances on the utilization
of crystalline amino acids
Crystalline amino acids are 100 % digestible and available. However, this
does not mean that they will be 100 %
utilized by the animal in every situation.
Va
l
Le
u
Ile
Ar
g
Tr
p
Th
r
et
et
+C
ys
M
Ly
s
These research reports are supported by

the review of Lewis and Bailey (1995),
who reported that out of seven total cited reports, six demonstrated that crystalline amino acids were fully absorbed
in both pigs and poultry. Furthermore,
Sauvant et al. (2002) from the French
INRA have suggested that crystalline
amino acids should have digestibility coefficients of 100 % for both pigs and
poultry.
In fact, the efficiency of utilization is affected by the number of meals that a pig
or chicken receives per day. Batterham
and Morrison (1981) reported that pig
performance was negatively affected pigs
were fed diets with crystalline Lys at low
feeding frequencies (i. e. one meal per
day). However, Cook et al. (1983) reported that increasing feeding frequency
from one to three meals per day was sufficient to avoid negative effects on free
AA utilization. These findings are supported in a review by Batterham (1984),
who determined that efficiency of the
utilization of crystalline Lys improves
when pigs are fed from once up to six
Degussa Feed Additives 3
Table 2: Effect of meal frequency on energy utilization of a 13.9 % low

protein diet in growing pigs (65 kg BW. MJ/day/kg BW 0.60;
Le Bellego et al. 2001)
Meals / day
RSD1
Effect1
ME intake
2.51
2.50
0.07
ns
Heat production
1.34
1.35
0.03
ns
Retained energy
1.17
1.16
0.07
ns
As protein
0.33
0.34
0.02
ns
As fat
0.84
0.82
0.07
ns
Statistical significance: analysis of variance with meal frequency as the main effect. Statistical significance:
ns: p>0.05; RSD: Residual Standard Deviation.
times per day, which is close to ad libitum

conditions. These findings have been recently supported by le Bellego et al.
(2001), who indicated that energy and
protein retention were not affected by
the CP content or by the feeding frequency when pigs were fed two different
diets of 17.4 % and 13.9 % CP (i. e. high
free AA inclusion level) and offered feed
at two or seven meals per day (Table 2).
The decrease in efficiency of utilization
of crystalline amino acids when fed only
once per day is likely due to their rapid
absorption once digested compared with
the amino acids from intact protein
sources. Yen et al. (2004) demonstrated
this as crystalline Lys and Thr were absorbed quicker than protein bound Lys
and Thr. The result of such rapid absorption could be a temporary amino acid
imbalance or antagonism resulting in increased oxidation rates of these essential
amino acids, and ultimately decreased
efficiency of utilization.
Amino acids can also have adverse effects on growth, which are widely recognized as dietary imbalances or antagonisms. An imbalance is defined as a
change to the pattern of dietary amino
acids that results in decreased feed intake
and growth, while an antagonism is a
negative interaction between structurally
similar amino acids (DMello, 2003). An
imbalance is most often caused in practice by either a small addition of an essential amino acid to a low CP diet or an
incomplete mixture of amino acids
added to a diet. An example of this
would be when a growing pig diet calls
for 0.15 % L-Lysine HCl, 0.08 %

L-Threonine, and 0.04 % L-Tryptophan,
but the addition of L-Tryptophan is overlooked when the feed is being mixed. An
antagonism, on the other hand, such as
the Arg:Lys or branch-chain amino acid
antagonisms, can occur regardless of another amino acid being more limiting.
For example, a typical broiler diet is supplemented with 0.25 % DL-Met and
0.10 % L-Lysine HCl to meet the minimum Met and Lys needs, but if the Arg
level also is not taken into account, the
Arg:Lys ratio is decreased resulting in impaired performance despite having adequate levels of the first two limiting
amino acids. Both imbalances and antagonisms also decrease the efficacy of
utilization of amino acids; however, both
of these adverse effects can be easily
avoided by ensuring that diets are formulated according to the ideal protein
concept, which ensures that dietary essential amino acids are maintained in the
proper ratios to each other (Baker, 1994;
NRC, 1994; NRC, 1998; Mack et al.,
1999; Rademacher et al., 2001; Lemme,
2003). This concept has been shown to
be effective by Nonn and Jeroch (2000)
who reduced the CP levels of growingfinishing pigs diet (down to 10.7 %
crude protein in finisher diet) leading to
the incorporation of eight crystalline AA.
There were no differences in the control
or low CP groups in ADG (869 g/d vs.
863 g/d) and lean meat deposition (55.2
vs. 55.0 %), respectively.
In summary, crystalline amino acids are
100 % digestible and available to both
pigs and poultry. Furthermore, assuming
that these animals are fed at or near ad
libitum levels and that their diets are formulated and mixed in accordance with
the ideal protein concept, there is no reason that the use of crystalline amino
acids will result in imbalances or antagonisms.
The effects of supplemental crystalline

amino acids in low CP diets
Reducing the CP by supplementing diets
with crystalline amino acids has proven
to be very effective in the swine industry.
Great progress has been made in the
swine industry with the understanding
and subsequent utilization of net energy,
standardized ileal digestible amino acids
and the ideal protein concept. The implementation and the use of these techniques increase the flexibility in raw material selection during diet formulation,
and perhaps most important, they are
cost effective. Today, not only can
growth performance and meat quality be
maintained or even improved, but nitrogen excretion into the swine waste also
is decreased as the amount of costly indigestible and unbalanced protein is reduced.
A review of the effects of reducing CP
and supplementing swine diets with
crystalline amino acids is shown in Table
3. This review encompasses a variety of
weight ranges, sexes, and dietary CP levels. The first part of this review reports
the growth and carcass performance of
pigs fed low CP diets, while the second
part focuses on the effects of low CP
diets on nitrogen balance. The growth
performance results are very consistent
as they indicate that there is practically
no difference in ADG or feed:gain when
pigs are fed low CP diets relative to those
fed typical high CP diets. The carcass performance results also are impressive indicating very small differences in loin
muscle area or backfat. It should be noted the diets in a majority of the datasets
listed were formulated either on digestible amino acids, ideal protein, or net
energy, but rarely all three. This is important because some of the effects in
the carcass performance are likely due to
either incomplete ideal protein ratios resulting in a deficiency in one or more essential amino acids or excess energy, if
formulated on digestible or metabolizable energy, that will be stored as fat
if not needed for protein synthesis. Regardless, the nitrogen balance data also
are extremely consistent as 100 % reported a decrease in fecal and urinary
nitrogen, and 57 % report improved

nitrogen retention compared to the pigs
fed high CP diets. Overall, these results
suggest that low CP diets with various
levels of crystalline amino acids can be
used just as effectively for maintaining
growth and carcass performance while
improving nitrogen balance in pigs compared to the typical commercial diets
with higher levels of CP.
As positive as the data are for swine, the
same cannot be said in poultry. Despite
major advances over the last ten years in
broiler nutrition, there is still a considerable amount of research needed to validate the use of low CP diets for poultry,
particularly broilers. As shown in Table
4, the effects of low CP diets for broilers
are much more variable than those for
pigs. However, the effects of the low CP
diets relative to broilers fed more traditional high CP diets are still relatively
small with the differences in ADG ranging from -8.3 to less than -0.5 g. Many
attempts to significantly reduce the CP
content of broiler diets have failed for
two main reasons:
1. the protein requirement of poultry
seems to be higher than it is in swine
and
2. the ratios among essential amino acids
(ideal protein concept) were not
maintained. Two different research
groups have recently reported positive
results when feeding low CP diets to
broilers. Aletor et al. (2000) reduced
the dietary CP content from 22.5 % to
17.1 %, which led to the incorporation of supplemental Met, Lys, Thr,
and Trp. They reported that growth
performance was not different between these two CP groups, but that
further CP reduction failed to maintain performance. These data are supported by the work of Dean (2005),
who reported that broilers fed low CP
diets (16.21 %) with supplemental essential AA + Gly grew 0.62 g more per
day as well as improving their
feed:gain by 7 points relative to those
fed a traditional high CP diet. Granted
that these latest results are only two
data points in the grand scheme, they
show promise that low CP diets can
and will work in broilers.
Table 3: Effects of reducing crude protein and supplementing crystalline amino acids in swine diets
Weight, kg
Sex
Dietary CP
levels (%)
Total
Lys
level
High
Low
Crystalline AA
added to Low CP
diet
Low CP Animal Performance

(Relative to high CP)
ADG, kg
FCR
LMA, cm2 Backfat, cm
Reference
+0.50
Kerr et al., 1995
9 to 93
(3 phases)
Mixed
19.0/
16.0/
14.0
15.0/
12.0/
11.0
1.04/
0.82/
0.67
Lys, Thr, Trp
+0.01
+0.07
10 to 20
Mixed
21.8
12.0
1.10
Lys, Thr, Trp, Met,

Glu, His, Ile, Val
-0.06
+0.27
Brudevold and
Southern, 1994
10 to 20
Mixed
19.4
12.0
1.10
Lys, Thr, Trp, Met,

Glu, His, Ile, Val
+0.01
Brudevold and
Southern, 1994
20 to 46
Gilts
16.0
14.0
0.82
Lys, Thr, Trp, Met
+0.08
+0.05
-0.61
+0.14
Lys, Thr, Trp, Met
+0.05
-0.03
-0.66
+0.33
Lys, Thr, Trp
-0.01
+0.08
+0.05
Lys, Thr, Trp, Ile,

Val
-0.03
+0.16
+0.21
12.0
20 to 55
(2 phases)
Gilts
16.0/
14.0
14.0/
12.0
0.83/
0.67
12.0/
10.0
+0.19
Figueroa et al., 2002

Tuitoek et al.,
1997
22 to 37
Barrows
16.0
12.0
0.87
Lys, Thr, Trp
-0.02
+0.06
25 to 110
Gilts
21.2/
17.5/
15.6/
13.5
17.6/
14.3/
12.8/
10.9
1.15/
0.93/
0.78/
0.64
Lys, Thr, Trp
-0.02
+0.10
27 to 100
(2 phases)
Barrows
20.1/
17.5
15.6/
13.3
1.02/
0.84
Lys, Thr, Trp, Met,

Ile, Val
-0.04
-0.08
28 to 47
Mixed
16.0
12.0
0.84
Lys, Thr, Trp
-0.01
+0.08
Kerr et al., 2003b
31 to 82
Barrows
15.2
11.1
0.87
Lys, Thr, Trp, Met
-0.09
+0.12
Gomez et al., 2002a2
33 to 57
Barrows
15.9
11.7
0.83
Lys, Thr, Trp, Met
-0.07
+0.20
Gomez et al., 2002a2
35 to 113
(3 phases)
Mixed
17.0/
15.0/
13.0
13.0/
11.0/
9.0
0.95/
0.80/
0.65
Lys, Thr, Trp, Met,

Ile, Val
-0.04
+0.08
-2.1
+0.31
Shriver et al.,
2003
70 to 110
Gilts
15.5
11.8
0.80
Lys, Thr, Trp
+0.08
-1.8
+0.10
Knowles et al., 19981
74 to 102
Gilts
15.2
12.7
0.75
Lys, Thr, Trp, Met
-0.01
-1.0
+0.05
74 to 117
Barrows
12.6
9.2
0.64
Lys, Thr, Trp, Met,

Ile, Val
-0.06
-2.8
+0.23
Fecal N,
g/d
Urinary
N, g/d
Retained N,
%
Nitrogen balance data

22
Barrows
Kerr et al., 2003a

-1.82
-0.03
Kerr et al., 2003b
-0.13
Le Bellego et al.,
20021
16.0
12.0
0.80
Lys, Thr, Trp
-0.35
-2.25
+2.13
16.0
12.0
0.81
Lys, Thr, Trp
-0.26
-3.82
+6.96
Kerr and Easter, 1995
18.0
14.0
0.96
Lys, Thr, Trp, Met,

Ile, Val
-0.70
-8.50
+7.90
Shriver et al., 2003
36
Barrows
41
Gilts
18.0
14.0
0.97
Lys, Thr, Trp, Met
-1.08
-2.58
+1.09
Figueroa et al., 2002
65
Barrows
18.9
16.7
14.6
0.91
Lys, Thr, Trp, Met

Lys, Thr, Trp, Met,
Ile, Val
-0.03
-0.04
-5.20
-11.50
-2.00
-2.90
Le Bellego et al.,
20011
17.4
13.9
0.87
Lys, Thr, Trp, Met,

Ile, Val
-1.60
-11.20
-1.20
Diets were formulated to maintain a Lys:NE ratio.
Diets were formulated to maintain the Illinois Ideal protein ratios (Baker, 1994).
Table 4: Effects of reducing crude protein and supplementing crystalline amino acids in broiler and turkey diets
Age
Sex
Dietary CP
Species level, %
Broilers
1 to 17 d
Female
Ross
Total
Lys
level
High
Low
22.2
16.21
1.12
Male
Ross
19.0/
18.0
15.0/
14.0
18.2
ADG, g FCR
Breast, Misc.
%
Reference
Dean, 20051
-0.57
-0.17
Met, Lys, Thr, Arg,

Val, Ile, Phe, His, Trp,
Leu, Gly, Ser
+0.62
-0.07
Met, Lys, Glu
-8.3
+0.21 -0.62
Fat pad, % Kerr and Kidd, 1999a1

+ 0.15
Met, Lys, Glu, Arg,

Thr, Trp, Ile, Val
-3.9
+0.04 -0.11
+0.11
1.04
Met, Lys, Thr
-1.0
Fat pad, % Kerr and Kidd, 1999b1

-0.04
1.05/
0.95
15.0/
14.0
19.4
Low CP animal performance

(Relative to high CP)
Met, Lys, Thr, Arg, Val,

Ile, Phe, His, Trp, Leu, Gly
16.21
(+Gly+
Ser =
2.32 %)
28 to 52 d
(2 phases)
Crystalline AA
added to Low CP
diet
28 to 45 d
Male
Ross
Met, Lys, Thr, Ile, Trp, Val
-1.4
+0.04 +0.20
+0.12
1 to 42 d
(2 phases)
Male
22.0/
Cobb x 20.6
Aviagen
20.0/
18.2
1.27/
1.12
Met, Lys, Thr, Trp
-2.3
-0.02
N-exc., %
-17.6
Ferguson et al.,
1998a2
1 to 43 d
(2 phases)
Male
26.4/
Cobb x 21.5
Aviagen
24.1/
19.6
21.9/ 16.5
1.54/
1.15
Met, Lys, Thr, Trp
-0.3
+0.1
Ferguson et al.,
1998a2
Met, Lys, Thr, Trp
-2.6
+0.2
N-exc., %
-17.0
-20.3
16.7
Turkeys
1 to 4 wks
BW, kg FCR
Male
B.U.T. 6
28.4
24.8
20.9
1.66
Met, Lys, Val

+0.03
Met, Lys, Thr, Val, Ile, Arg, Trp +0.02
-0.06
-0.11
Met, Lys, Thr, Val, Ile, Arg, Trp -0.01
-0.06
1.32
Met, Lys, Val

+0.01
+0.02
+0.04
+0.07
0.87
Met, Lys, Thr

-0.18
+0.01
+0.15
18.2
8 to 12 wks
Male
B.U.T 6
23.4
19.5
16.3
16 to 20 wks Male
B.U.T 6
16.8
14.4
12.0
14.2
10.4
0 to 18 wks
Male
29.0/26.9/
Nicholas 22.7/19.6/
16.8/14.2
+0.01
Breast, Misc.
%
Waibel et al., 2000b3
+0.16
Met, Lys, Thr
+0.03
-0.04
+0.15
24.4/22.6/
19.1/16.5/
14.1/11.9
Met, Lys, Thr
-0.42
-0.06
-0.30
-0.58
26.7/23.8/
20.9/18.0/
15.4/13.1
1.74
Kidd et al., 1997
Lemme et al., 2004
3 to 20 wks Male
(5 phases)
B.U.T 6
26.5/24.0/
21.0/18.0/
16.0
23.9/21.6/
18.9/16.2/
14.4
1.60/1.45/ Met, Lys, Thr, Trp, Val, Arg,

1.25/1.10/ Leu, Ile, His, Phe
0.95
-0.21
-0.02
6 to 20 wks
(4 phases)
Male
B.U.T 6
23.1/20.7/
18.0/15.7
21.2/19.0/
16.5/14.5
1.47/1.28/ Met, Lys, Thr

1.07/0.89
-0.06
-0.025 -0.82
Waibel et al., 2000a
6 to 21 wks
(5 phases)
Male
B.U.T 6
25.3/22.2/
20.0/17.8/
16.0
23.7/20.7/
18.7/16.6/
14.9
1.58/1.32/ Met, Lys, Thr

1.15/0.96/
0.82
-0.35
-0.025 -0.93
Waibel et al., 2000a
Diets were formulated to maintain the Illinois Ideal protein ratios (Emmert and Baker, 1997).
Diets were formulated to meet digestible AA recommendations of NRC (1994).
3
Low and high crude protein diets were formulated to maintain constant Lys:ME ratio.
2
Table 5: Diet and calculated composition of growing pig diets containing

graded levels of L-LysineHCl (De la Llata et al. 2002)
L-Lysine-HCl %
Ingredient, %
0.05
0.10
0.15
0.20
0.25
0.30
Corn
54.84
56.22
57.61
59.00
60.49
61.85
63.24
Soybean meal 46.5 %
36.31
34.88
33.44
32.00
30.46
29.02
27.59
Fat
6.00
6.00
6.00
6.00
6.00
6.00
6.00
0.05
0.10
0.15
0.20
0.25
0.30
2.85
2.85
2.85
2.85
2.85
2.88
2.87
1.25
L-Lysine-HCl
Minerals, vitamins, etc.
Calculated composition
Lysine, %
1.25
1.25
1.25
1.25
1.25
1.25
Methionine:Lysine
27
26
26
25
25
24
23
Met+Cys:Lysine
57
55
54
53
52
51
49
Threonine:Lysine
66
65
63
61
59
57
56
Tryptophan:Lysine
21
21
20
19
19
18
17
Protein, %
21.5
21.0
20.4
19.9
19.3
18.8
18.1
ME, kcal/kg
3578
3578
3578
3578
3578
3578
3578
The effects of low CP diets for turkeys reported in Table 4 are much more consistent than that reported for broilers. In
fact, the turkey data is more similar to
that of the pigs than it is of the broilers.
This may make more sense than it seems
at first, because production turkeys are
slower growing than commercial broilers. Additionally, turkeys and pigs are
similar in physiological age, i. e. both are
approaching puberty and the plateau of
their growth curves when they reach
their respective processing ages. Comparatively, commercial broilers are 7 to 8
weeks old (or younger) when processed;
yet they will not reach puberty for another 10 to 13 weeks. So in turkeys, just
as in pigs, growth performance was basically identical when they were fed either
low CP or traditional high CP diets.
Should crystalline amino acid supplementation rates be limited in practice?

Despite all of the success and promise
that research on low CP, crystalline
amino acid supplemented diets has
shown, it is sometimes still a common
practice to put minimum constraints for
crude protein and/or limit the inclusion
of crystalline amino acids. This is particularly true for Lys, as older recommendations suggested that crystalline Lys
should not exceed 0.15 to 0.30 % (5

pounds per ton) of a pig or poultry diet.
The result of this suggestion is that the
diets were limited regarding how low in
CP that they could go. These recommendations were likely made due to lack of
other amino acids, namely threonine
and tryptophan, being commercially
available. However, that is not the case
today. The commercial availability of
these amino acids increases the flexibility
of the diet formulation, as well as improving the overall protein quality of a
diet.
A research group at Kansas State University investigated the concept of limiting
crystalline amino acid usage in growingfinishing diets for pigs. In their first series
of experiments, they tested the effects of
supplemental L-Lysine HCl in diets formulated on metabolizable energy and total amino acid levels (de la Llata et al,
2002). Seven diets containing graded
levels of L-Lysine HCl (0 to 0.30 %) in
replacement of soybean meal were formulated for growing pigs from 30 to 45
kg (Table 5). These diets were isocaloric,
they contained the same level of total
Lys provided either by soybean meal or
L-Lysine HCl, and the nutrient levels of
Thr, Trp, and Met were allowed to float.
The performance data from the growing
period are presented in Figure 2; ADG,
ADFI and feed efficiency were similar in
the 0, 0.05, 0.10, and 0.15 % L-Lysine
HCl treatments, but performance declined when levels exceeded 0.15 %.
These authors also reported similar
results for the finishing period (45 to 70
kg). It becomes clear that another amino
acid besides Lys is limiting growth performance when supplemental Lys exceeds 0.15 % of diet. Therefore, these
authors concluded that unless other
crystalline amino acids could be added to
the diet to overcome this deficiency, then
L-Lysine HCl supplementation should
be limited to 0.15 % or less in diets for
growing-finishing pigs.
In their second series of experiments,
they tested the effects of supplemental LLysine HCl (0 to 0.40 %) in nursery diets (Tokach et al., 2003). However, in
The growth performance results from the

second series of experiments are shown
in Figure 3. Regardless of L-Lysine HCl
level fed, there was no difference in
growth performance across all treatments. The authors concluded that Lys
could be supplemented as high as
0.40 % of the diet provided that other
supplemental amino acids were available. These results are strikingly different
from those reported in the first series of
experiments as maintaining the ideal
protein ratios for Thr and Met to Lys and
formulating on a true ileal digestible
basis allowed pigs to perform much better than when the diets were formulated
on total amino acids and Thr and Met
were allowed to float.
These two datasets from Kansas State
University typify the past, present, and
future of crystalline amino acid usage.
First, de la Llata et al. (2002) suggested
limiting supplemental Lys to 0.15 % of
the diet, because performance was impaired at levels above that. However, the
performance was not truly limited by Lys
but rather another amino acid, likely
Thr, became more limiting than Lys due
to the decreasing levels of soybean meal
as Lys level in the diet increased. This
dataset is an accurate depiction of the
past mindset regarding crystalline amino
acid usage, because during the 1980s
and 90s there was considerable price
and more importantly supply constraints
on supplemental Thr and Trp. As such,
most nutritionists did not want to risk
not having the needed Thr or Trp, and so
they simply restricted the amount of
supplemental Lys in the diet, which in
turn limited the usage of the other supplemental amino acids.
Figure 2: Feed conversion and average daily gain of growing pigs fed diets
containing graded levels of L-Lysine HCl (de la Llata et al. 2002).
1.88
1.86
1.84
1.82
1.80
1.78
1.76
1.74
1.72
1.70
0.00
820
810
800
790
780
770
0.05
0.15
0.10
0.20
daily weight gain
these experiments, the diets were formulated to contain 1.36 % true ileal digestible Lys and L-Thr and DL-Met were
allowed to come into the diet as needed
to maintain the true ileal digestible ideal
Thr and Met+Cys ratios to Lys. The diets
were again isocaloric, but this time they
were formulated on a net energy basis.
Pigs were fed from 10 to 20 kg BW on an
ad libitum basis.
Feed -to-gain-ratio
760
0.30
0.25
% crystalline lysine
F/G
ADG, g
Table 6: Diet and calculated composition of nursery pig diets containing

graded levels of L-Lysine-HCl (Tokach et al. 2003)
L-Lysine-HCl %
Ingredient, %
0.10
0.20
0.30
0.40
Corn
48.99
52.12
55.25
58.39
61.52
Soybean meal, 46.5 % CP
46.41
43.29
40.17
37.05
33.93
Fat
1.00
0.81
0.63
0.44
0.25
L-Threonine
0.02
0.07
0.11
0.16
0.20
L-Lysine-HCl
0.00
0.10
0.20
0.30
0.40
DL-Methionine
0.08
0.11
0.14
0.17
0.20
Minerals, vitamins, etc.
3.50
3.50
3.50
3.50
3.50
1.53
1.52
1.51
1.51
1.50
Lysine
1.36
1.36
1.36
1.36
1.36
Methionine:Lysine
32.1
33.3
34.4
35.5
36.7
Calculated Analysis
Total Lysine, %
True ileal digestible,%
Met+Cys:Lysine
60.0
60.0
60.0
60.1
60.1
Threonine:Lysine
64.9
65.0
65.2
65.3
65.4
Tryptophan:Lysine
21.8
20.5
19.3
18.1
16.9
NE, kcal/kg
3227
3227
3227
3227
3227
1.50
1.49
1.48
1.47
1.46
1.45
1.44
1.43
1.42
1.41
1.40
600
595
590
585
580
575
570
565
daily weight gain
Feed -to-gain-ratio
Figure 2: Feed conversion and average daily gain of growing pigs fed diets
containing graded levels of L-Lysine HCl (de la Llata et al. 2002).
560
0
0.05
0.1
0.15
0.2
0.25
0.3
0.35
0.4
% crystalline lysine
ADG, g
F/G
Next, Tokach et al. (2003) gave a glimpse

of what might be possible with crystalline amino acid usage. They reported
that supplemental Lys could easily go as
high as 0.40 % of the diet (the highest
level that they tested) without impairing
growth performance providing that supplemental Thr and Met were provided in
the diet. Of course, the obvious improvement from the previous to the current
dataset is that the authors have accounted for the next limiting amino acids in
their diets. By doing so, they have ensured the proper ratios of amino acids
will be provided to the pigs, which is the
exact purpose of the ideal protein concept. They were able to do this because
the first four limiting amino acids are
commercially available as economically
viable options. The second point to the
current dataset is that Tokach et al.
(2003) formulated their diets to meet the
true ileal digestible amino acid needs
compared with formulating on a total
basis in the previous datasets. Formulating diets on an ileal digestible, apparent,
true, or standardized basis is an improvement from a total basis because ileal digestibility accounts for the amino acids
from a raw material or crystalline amino
acid, which are not available to the animal. A review of these concepts has been
written previously by Rademacher et al.
(2001). Lastly, the diets by Tokach et al.
(2003) were formulated on a net energy

as opposed to a metabolizable energy
basis as used by de la Llata et al. (2002).
The net energy system most accurately
meets the energy demands of an animal.
It limits excess energy in the diets by further categorizing raw materials by their
quality as an energy source, that is fats
and carbohydrates make much better energy sources than do intact proteins and
amino acids. The benefits of the net
energy system in swine have been recently
reviewed by Rademacher (2005). The
end result of the use of these systems,
ideal protein, true ileal digestible amino
acids, and net energy, is that the animal
is provided with its nutritional requirements as close as possible resulting in the
most efficient growth with maximum
protein and minimal fat deposition.
While quite a few nutritionists still set a
limit on the amount of L-LysineHCl in
their diets, there seems to be no logical
justification for doing so especially when
nutritional improvement strategies, such
as digestible amino acids, the ideal protein concept, and the net energy system,
are used. Although, currently, the contribution of synthetic lysine to meeting
the broilers needs is lower than in
swine, there is no doubt that similar improvements in poultry nutrition will be
available on the practical level soon.
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sorghum-soybean meal-based diets on growth performance and car-
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Le Bellego, L., J. van Milgen, and J. Noblet (2002): Effect of high
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temperature and low-protein diets on the performance of growing-
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AminoNews 4 vol. 2: 7-14.
Goodband, J. L. Nelssen, and J. L. Usry (2003): Effect of increasing

crystalline amino acids and the subsequent change in diet net energy
Lemme, A., H. S. Rostagno, A. Petri, and L. F. Albino. (2005): Stan-
on growing performance. Swine Day 2003. Kansas State University:
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the 15th European Symposium on Poultry Nutrition, Balatonfuered,

Hungary.
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The effect of reducing excess dietary amino acids on growing-finishing
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pig performance: An evaluation of the ideal protein concept. J. Anim.
Bioavailability of nutrients for animals, edited by C. B. Ammer-
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Limiting amino acids after methionine and lysine with growing
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turkeys fed low protein diets. Poult. Sci. 79: 1290-1298.
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Waibel, P. E., C. W. Carlson, J. A. Brannon, and S. L. Noll. (2000b):

Identification of limiting amino acids in methionine- and lysine-sup-
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plemented low-protein diets for turkeys. Poult. Sci. 79: 1299-1305.
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profile and dietary lysine specification for broiler chickens of 20 to 40
Yen, J. T., B. J. Kerr, R. A. Easter and A. M. Parkhurst (2004): Dif-
days of age. Br. Poult. Sci. 40: 257-265.
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National Academy Press, Washington D. C., USA.
Dr. Vincent Hess

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amino acids. In Poultry Feedstuffs: Supply Composition and Nutritive
Value. Eds. J. M. McNab, and K. N. Boorman, CAB International,
Wallingford, UK.
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reduced protein, amino-acid supplemented diets and its impact on pig
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Dr. Robert L. Payne

email:
rob.payne@degussa.com

1020
50
Raw Materials
How to Manage the Variability of Protein and Amino

Acid Contents in Raw Materials
Key information
Variability of raw material quality is unavoidable. In order to minimize its effect, it is
necessary to define which raw materials
should be sampled, what the appropriate
sampling frequency is, and which analytical
procedures should be used.
A good quality control program is advantageous as early as the reception of the raw
materials, and it can lead to lot refusals,
price renegotiation with the suppliers, linear
programming matrix updates, or separate
storage solutions.
There are also long-term advantages resulting from proper management of variability,
i.e. assessment of raw materials and suppli-
ers according to variability or adequate safety margins in the formulation.

Formulation management, including monitoring the amino acid content via NIR, allows
cost-effective and nutritionally adequate
feed production, and it is crucial to maintaining good animal performance.
For cost-effective feed formulation practices, stochastic formulation also is a possible alternative to traditional linear programming.
Figure 1: Crude protein (CP) content of wheat samples (Spanish harvest 2003-2004). UWL and LWL = upper and lower
margins for 95 % population; MV = mean value
16.0
Region 1
(CP = 15.1 %)
Region 2
(CP = 15.0 %)
15.0
Region 3
(CP = 14.2 %)
Region 1 (CP = 14.5 %)

14.0
UAL
UWL
13.0
CP %
12.0
11.0
MV
10.0
9.0
LWL
8.0
LAL
7.0
Region 3 (CPCP = 7.6 %)
6.0
1
15
23
30
37
44
51
59
66
73
Number of samples
UAL, LAL = Upper and lower tolerance limits
UWL, LWL = Upper and lower alarm limits
Introduction
accuracy. This is true for any nutrient,

including protein and amino acids.
The nutrient content of raw materials

used in feed production can be highly
variable due to genetics, climate, soil
characteristics; fertilisers applied during
the development of the vegetable ingredients, processing, transport and storage
conditions. This variability also affects
the protein content and therefore the
amino acids which represent one of the
most important nutrients. As an example, Figure 1 illustrates the large variability in the protein content (CP) of wheat
harvested in Spain between 2003 and
2004 which ranged from below 8 % to
above 16 % CP in the 73 samples analyzed in the respective time period. Such
variability in the nutrient content of a
raw material will heavily affect accuracy
of feed composition if it is not considered
properly.
Therefore, in this paper, we will address
the importance of a quality control program to manage the variability of protein
and amino acid contents in raw materials.
Effect of raw material quality on feed

formulation accuracy and precision
The production of a quality and consistent feed in terms of nutrient content requires the implementation of raw material quality control programs. If the nutrient content of a raw material is not well
known and/or is highly variable, the
actual nutrient content of the feed will differ from that specified in the formulation
program and from what is stated on the
bag tag. That is, the feed will not have
Figure 2: The concepts of accuracy and precision represented by bull'seyes.
Accurate and
precise
Precise
Accurate
Inaccurate and
Imprecise
There will be always some variability in

the raw material composition from one
lot to another, regardless of the quality
control program used, as so this variability is transferred to the feed and therefore
can differ from one batch to another.
That is, the feed is lacking precision.
These concepts of accuracy and precision
are graphically visualized in the Figure 2.
Each point in the figure represents the
composition of a batch and the target
represents the feed composition desired.
The A scenario is ideal, where all the
batches have similar composition and fit
quite well to the target. In this case, both
accuracy and precision has been
achieved. However, in practice, the C
scenario is often more frequent with an
average batch composition close to the
target but with varying differences between batches. Scenarios B and D where
the average batch composition does not
fit the target, but the variation from
batch to batch are fairly consistent are also reported.
As the nutritionist and diet formulator
define the nutrient specifications that
will optimize animal performance and
minimize feed cost, it is clear that any
deviation from these specifications will
have repercussions on animal performance.
Effect of raw material quality on feed cost

and animal performance
The effects of raw material quality on
animal performance depend on species,
type of nutrient, and direction of the deviation, i. e. surplus or deficiency. Some
of these effects are shown in table 1.
Essential amino acids provided by raw
materials or supplemented as crystalline
amino acids to the feed have a very
strong influence on animal performance
and feed cost. As such, incorrectly assessing the amino acid content of raw
materials will provoke costly deviations
of the final amino acid supply in the feed
from target values. The cost of the formula will increase when there is a surplus on the amino acid contribution. On
the other hand, a shortcoming in the
amino acids will suppress animal performance.
By rectifying the amino acid content of
the raw material in the formulation program one can see the change in feed
cost. As an example, correcting a 5 %
deviation in the essential amino acid
content of soybean meal would reduce
broiler feed cost by about 0.70 /ton, assuming current prices for major raw materials and synthetic amino acids.
The effect on animal performances can
be equally important. For example, Figure 3 shows the results of an experiment
carried out with broilers at Kaposvar
University (Hungary; Lemme et al.,
2003). The treatments consisted of a
basal diet with four different levels of
DL-Met supplementation (0, 0.04, 0.08,
and 0.12 %). Higher DL-Met supplementation resulted in increased growth and
better flock uniformity with a high percentage of broilers between 1700 and
1900 g.
Table 1: Effect of deviations in feed nutrient content on animal performance and feed cost
Nutrients
Real < Theoretical
Real > Theoretical
Energy
- q Intake/Feed conversion
- q Excretions
- Q Animal production
- q Variability of flock
- qFeed cost
- Q Intake
- Q Animal production
- q Fat deposition
Minerals
- Several effects depending on mineral and species: Cu in sheep, Ca

and P in layers, etc.
Protein/
Amino acids
- QAnimal production
- q Variability of flock
- qFeed cost
- qN excretion
Figure 3: Broiler live weight development as a function of age and DL-Met

supplementation level (left) and coefficient of variation in the lot
and percentage of broilers with a live weight between 1,700 and
1,900 g (right; Lemme et al., 2003)
3000
1800 g achieved at:
Basal diet:
41.5 d
0.04 % DL-Met 34.8 d
0.08 % DL-Met 33.2 d
0.12 % DL-Met 31.8 d
2500
2000
1500
1800 g
Basal diet
1000
0.04 % DL-Met
500
0
0
10
15
20
The control of the raw material variability
30
35
40
45
50
Age, days
In order to minimize the effect of raw

material variability on feed quality and
livestock production, producers usually
set up quality control plans. It is fundamental in these plans to decide about:
the frequency of analysis for each raw
material; to establish the sampling protocol; and to have appropriate means to
statistically evaluate the results of the
analyses.
a) Frequency of analyses:
In order to define a proper frequency of
analysis of a raw material, one should
take into account the contribution of the
raw material to the total variability of
each nutrient in the feed (standard deviation of the nutrient in the feed). As a
general rule, the higher the inclusion
level of a raw material and the higher
the variability of the nutrient in this raw
material, the higher should be the frequency of analysis.
25
CV, standardized
Birds with
to 1800 g body weight
1800 100 g body weight
basal diet:
0.04 % DL-Met
17.0 %
11.3 %
26 %
37 %
0.08 % DL-Met
0.12 % DL-Met
9.0 %
48 %
6.7 %
58 %
Basal diet:
0.04 % DL-Met
0.08 % DL-Met
0.12 % DL-Met
1000
1200
1400
1600
1800
2000
2200
2400
2600
Body weight, g
The calculation of the standard deviation

of a nutrient in the feed can be done
from the standard deviations of every
raw material included in the feed according to the following equation:
SD =
(X1 x S1)2 + (X2 x S2)2 + ...
SD = Standard deviation of the nutrient in the feed

SN = Standard deviation of the nutrient in the n ingredient
Xn = Proportion of the n ingredient in the feed
Then, the contribution of each ingredient to the total variability can be calculated as follows:
Contribution to the total variability

(Xn x Sn)2
%=
(X1 x S1)2 + (X2 x S2)2 + ... X 100
Knowing the standard deviation of the

nutrients of each raw material is crucial
for the aforementioned calculations. This
information can be derived from the feed
mill archives of analytical results. If the
feed mill has not yet compiled analytical
data or a new raw material source needs
to be evaluated, it is advisable to step up
the sampling frequency and the analytical efforts in order to compile a reasonable database.
b) Sampling protocol:
In addition to the frequency of analysis,
it is also necessary to establish a proper
sampling protocol. Such a protocol
should define the procedure according to
which samples are taken in order to
minimise the bias.
The sampling devices should be able to
catch any type of particle to avoid selection processes that could distort the com-
position of the samples. They should also

be able to take samples from any part of
the lot, both bulk and bags.
In addition to the variability between different lots of a raw material, there also is
variability within the lot (e. g. truck,
compartment of ship). Therefore, it is essential to develop the correct sampling
procedure to obtain representative samples.
One of the key points is to define the
number of samples to be taken at the reception of the raw materials. In general,
the higher the number of samples taken
from a truck or bag delivery will result in
higher accuracy between the result of
the analysis and the real nutrient content of the raw material.
In theory, it is possible to estimate the
number of samples to be taken from
each lot of raw material to achieve good
correlation between the analyzed nutrient content of the sample and the actual
nutrient content of the lot. Herrman
(2002) described the equations necessary
for such an estimation when raw materials are delivered in bags or bulk:
Delivery in bags:
n = (N * S2) / ((N-1)D + S2)
Delivery in bulk:
n = S2 * (t)2/(e)2
n =
N =
S2 =
D =
e =
number of samples to be taken

total number of bags in the lot
variance of the nutrient inside the lot
e2/(2 x t)
accepted deviation between the result of the analysis and the real
composition.
t = "t" statistic for a certain level of security
For example, if the aim is to analyze the

CP content of a delivery of 100 bags of
fish meal (S2 = 0.7 according to previous
feed mill data) and the intended result of
the analysis should not differ in more
than 0.5 units from the real value (e =
0.5) with a 95 % security (t = 1.96) that
the analytical result reflect the actual CP
content, then the number of bags to be
sampled (n) would be: (100*0.7) / ((1001)*( 0.52/(2*1.96))+0.7) = 10 bags.
The variance within the lot (S2) is the
key parameter that must be known be-
A good software support system to manage this large quantity of information is

essential, as this allows for flexible data
management, graphic visualization and
statistical analysis. One example of a system already established to help with data
management is our AminoQ system
(Fickler, 2002).
A system, such as AminoQ or similar, establishes temporary graphs showing the
results of the analyses (Figure 1). These
systems can include alarm limits, UWL
and LWL lines, or tolerance limits, UAL
and LAL lines, according to the standard
deviation of the samples. These graphs
are useful to update the nominal value
and tolerance limits of the specification
cards, which are employed in the feed
mill as references to purchase ingredients.
Another advantage of using a system
such as AminoQ is the possibility of comparing different origins and suppliers
based on the average content of certain
Supplier 1
S1
Average 1
0.8
0.9
S2
c) Data management and statistical

analysis:
All analytical data should be archived together with detailed information about
the respective raw material, i. e. supplier
name, lot, date, origin, process, so that
crucial informed decisions can be made.
Supplier 2
In practice, the number of samples taken

from each truck or lot usually depends
on other limiting factors such as: manpower, time, characteristics of the autosampler, etc.. In these cases, the former
equations can be used to know the possible deviation that can be found between
the result of the analysis and the real
composition (by fixing the "n" value in
the equation and discovering the "e" value). This information can be valuable to
manage the resources in order to increase or decrease the number of samples to be taken.
Figure 5: Total sulfur amino acid content and standard deviation of a raw
material. Samples from two different suppliers.
1.0
fore doing these calculations. Again,

these data need to come from the analytical database of the feed mill. From time
to time, it may be of interest to collect
and analyze a higher number of samples
from each lot in order to update the
database.
Average 2
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
1.5
Met + Cys %
quality criteria (e. g. nutrients, toxins).

Drawing the range of individual analyses
against their frequency in a set of raw
material samples usually results in bellshaped distribution curves (Gauss curve).
The Gauss curves allow for a quick visualization of how variable the deliveries of
different sources of, for example, soybean meal is (Figure 5). These comparison help to make purchasing and formulation decisions as described below.
Main advantages of raw material quality

control
a) Short term advantages:
A good quality control has important advantages beginning at the reception of
the raw materials. More and more feed
mills are being equipped with the most
advanced NIR machines, which if furnished with the right calibration software, allow for rapid and accurate estimates of the nutrient content of many
raw materials before unloading. Based
on the results obtained from the analysis
of the lot (truck), some decisions could
be made:
To refuse the lot. This should be considered when the deviation of a specified nutrient (CP, individual amino
acid, etc.) in relation to the average

(nominal) value is too high, and certainly before the load has been discharged.
To negotiate a discount with the supplier. Often, to calculate the discount, it is
assumed that the price of the ingredient should diminish proportionally to
the nutrient content. However, the
most appropriate method would probably be to compare both scenarios with
the formulation program, i. e. nominal
composition vs. real composition, to
find out what should be the new price
of the raw material to get the same
feed cost (parametric analysis).
To distribute lots to different silos.
Sometimes it can be economically feasible to separate a raw material according to its quality and store it as such.
This would enable you to use both
qualities of a raw material in feed
formulation as two different raw materials. The main limitation to this approach is often storage availability.
To reformulate with the new composition. This makes sense when the actual
quality deviates significantly from the
expected value(s). In this case, it is important to coordinate the change in the
formulation and the switch in ingredient quality in the feed mill.
b) Medium and long-term advantages:
The routine analysis of the raw materials
also allows for medium and long-term
management of the variability. Better information about raw material variability
can become an additional criterion when
comparing ingredients or suppliers of the
same ingredient as well as during feed
formulation.
Categorization of suppliers. Typically,
purchasers select suppliers with the
lowest variability in their raw materials
(Figure 5). Reciprocally, suppliers try to
provide high and consistent quality to
those feed producers. Over time this
leads to improved raw material quality
with better consistency being delivered.
Raw material assessment. Besides the

nutrient content of the raw materials,
their variability becomes also a relevant
quality criterion. The variability will be
considered when purchasing and during the formulation to define the raw
material inclusion level.
Control of the feed variability. The feed
variability can be estimated from the
raw materials (see above equations).
This variability has to be taken into account when deciding upon the appropriate safety margins to be included in
the formulation software. The more
frequent the analysis and the updating
of the matrix, the lower the safety
margins required.
Management of raw material variability in

feed formulation
In practice there are several ways to control the variability via feed formulation:
a) Linear programming formulation
(LP):
Method 1:
The matrix of the raw materials is updated according to the average nutrient
content and an arbitrary safety margin
is included in the specifications in order to compensate for the variability of
the ingredients.
Method 2:
The matrix of the raw materials is updated according to the average nutrient
content corrected for variation. This
adjustment is done by taking into account the standard deviation (SD) of
the analyzed samples. Usually, the correction is minus 0.5 SD, but corrections
with other multiples of SD are also possible. The higher that the correction is
in the matrix, then the higher the
probability that the real composition of
the ingredient is equal to or better than
the value in the LP matrix (Table 2).
This method doesn't require any margin on the nutrient specifications to
correct the variability of the ingredients
Table 2: Effect of multiples of SD on the probability that the actual nutrient content of an ingredient is equal to or better
than the LP matrix value
Correction effects on the ingredient matrix (multiples of SD)
0.00
0.26
0.50
0.53
0.83
1.29
1.65
2.33
Probability that actual nutrient content is equal to or better

than the value in the LP matrix (%)
50
60
69
70
80
90
95
99
as nutrient variability is already accounted for in the ingredient matrix.

b) Non linear stochastic formulation
(SF):
Similar to LP, stochastic formulation tries
to optimize the inclusion rate of the different ingredients to fulfill the nutrient
specifications of the formula at the lowest possible cost. However, in contrast,
the SF allows, on a individual nutrient
basis, the feed percentage that will fulfill
the limits defined in the specifications to
be decided. In the SF, the matrix of the
ingredients includes the average composition values and the standard deviations
for each nutrient. Therefore, it is essential to closely monitor ingredient quality
in order to maximize the benefit from
this type of formulation.
As an example, Table 3 shows the effect
of different formulation methods on the
CP content and cost of one feed.
In "Method 0", which does not include
any safety margins or any corrections on
the matrix, only half of the produced
feed meets or exceeds the CP specifications.
In "Method 1", the chosen safety margin
(5 %) is too high and makes the feed too
expensive. Nevertheless, the biggest
problem is that the ingredients are only
valuated by their average composition
without taking into account their variability. This means that nutrient specs
need to be adjusted each time that different raw materials or the same raw materials but with different variation are
used.
Table 3: Feed composition and CP content according to linear and stochastic formulation methods*
Ingredients (%)
Method 0
Method 1
Method 2
(69 %)
SF (50 %)
SF (69 %)
Corn
59.33
55.81
57.91
59.33
58.46
Soybean meal
22.35
25.35
23.55
22.35
23.09
Fat
4.38
4.92
4.60
4.38
4.52
Corn gluten meal
3.00
3.00
3.00
3.00
3.00
Meat and bone meal
10.00
10.00
10.00
10.00
10.00
Dicalcium phosphate
0.35
0.35
0.35
0.35
0.35
Salt
0.25
0.25
0.25
0.25
0.25
Correctors
0.25
0.25
0.25
0.25
0.25
DL-Methionine
0.09
0.07
0.08
0.09
0.08
% CP (Computer)
23.00
24.15
23.00
23.00
23.00
23.00
24.15
23.46
23.00
23.00
69
% CP (Real)
1
Theoretical Prob. (%)
50
--
69
50
Real Prob. (%)2
50
98
80
50
69
177.69
180.21
178.70
177.69
178.31
Cost, /ton
* Method 0 (50 %): LP without safety margins (50 % probability to cover the CP specifications).
Method 1: LP + 5 % safety margin in the CP specifications of the formula.
Method 2 (69 %): LP with 0,5 x SD correction of the CP content of each ingredient (69 % probability to meet or exceed the
CP specs)
SF: Stochastic formulation to cover with a 50 % (SF (50 %)) or a 69 % probability (SF 69 %) the CP specifications.
1
Theoretical Prob.: Percentage of produced feed intended to fulfill the formula specifications
2
Real Prob. Percentage of produced feed that really fulfills the formula specifications
Source: Roush, W. B., Penn State University
this goal, he intuitively corrects the average composition value of the matrix by
0.5 SD (see also table 2). Method 2"
takes into account ingredient variability
as the nutrient matrix of each ingredient
is corrected according to the respective
SD for CP.
However, the percentage of produced
feed that will actually fulfill these specifications is not 69 %, but instead a higher
value which means that the feed cost
will increase.
In "Method 2", the nutritionist is aiming

for 69 % of the produced feed to meet or
exceed the formula specifications. With
The SF may be the method with the

most advantages:
Allows for decisions on accuracy and
individual nutrients, which will be the
percentage of produced feed that will
comply with the formula specifications
(safety margin). The stochastic and the
linear formulations give identical results when the chosen safety margin is
50 % ("Method 0" vs. "SF (50 %)).
Within a certain safety margin, the cost
is always the minimum.
It promotes the employment of ingredients with lower variability
The real feed composition complies
very well with the composition in the
computer and on the tag.
The SF method originated in the early
sixties (Van de Panne and Popp, 1963)
but at the time, due to computational
limitations, linear programming was preferred and the concept of "safety margin"
was included to compensate for raw material variability. However, today, computational limitations are no longer an
issue for SF making it possible to implement this type of formulation (Brooke et
al., 1996; Schrage, 2000).
However, the SF method also has some
limitations: it requires an exhaustive
control of the raw material variability
and, sometimes, the proposed least cost
solutions can be very expensive if many
nutrients are subjected to high safety
margins.
Table 4: Possibilities to estimate the amino acid content of raw materials.

Method
Quick
Economic
Accurate
--
--
***
* (1)
*** (2)
***
***
Direct estimation by NIR
**
***
**
Fixed values from tables
***
***
--
Chromatography
Calculation based on CP content
(1) CP determined by wet chemistry

(2) CP estimated by NIRS
The current role of the amino acids in feed

quality control
Usually, protein is one of the most important nutrients to consider in quality
control of raw materials. However, often
amino acids are not considered and/or
not analyzed. Table 4 describes the different possibilities to update the amino acid
content of typical raw materials.
Some feed producers occasionally send
raw material samples to external laboratories for chromatographic analysis. Normally these samples come from lots that
have shown significant deviations from
the expected CP content. This is an accurate method, but due to its high cost, it is
not useful for a routine analysis.
Another commonly used method is to
correct the amino acid content of raw
materials based on their CP content
which can be analyzed by wet chemistry
or NIR. Once the CP has been analyzed,
the estimation of the amino acids can be
done proportionally to the protein content, or with the help of regression equations that relate the amino acid content
(y) with the CP content (x). The latter
method is better because for a number of
important feed ingredients an increase or
drop in crude protein does not always
mean a proportional change in amino
acid content (Figure 6). The best method
for estimating the amino acid content of
raw materials is NIR because it combines
accuracy with quickness and low cost.
It is important to note that such analyses
are only useful if the results are compiled, evaluated and decisions are taken
with respect to purchasing, storage and
feed formulation. While there are an increasing number of feed producers who
regularly update the amino acid specifications of their raw material matrices,
there are still a large number of them
doing it only sporadically or worse not at
all.
Many of the commercially available
formulation software packages allow for
equations to be written into the software
that automatically update some nutrients
when others have been changed. By using such equations, it is easy to adjust
the content of all relevant amino acids

while updating only the CP content.
Regular updates can make worthwhile
improvements in feed cost and/or animal performance.
Figure 6: Lysine percentage in the crude protein (CP) of different raw

materials (taken from AminoDat 2.0, examples are not
exhaustive)
When the essential amino acid content

of the wheat is updated in addition to
the CP content (column "CP + AA,s"),
synthetic amino acid consumption again
increases but to a lesser extent than in
the CP diet. Also, the supply of essential
amino acids is optimized (i. e. exactly
according to specifications), and there is
an extra reduction in the feed cost of
3 /ton resulting in a total savings of
13 /ton.
To look at this another way - if a poor
quality wheat was employed, for example the wheat from region 3, with a
7.6 % CP content, the effect would be
just the opposite; the column "CP"
would have a smaller cost than the column "CP + AAs," but the total essential
amino acid supply would be lower than
required. As a result, animal performances would be compromised. Therefore, the feed producers that do not update the amino acid content of the raw
material matrix require bigger safety
margins in the formula specifications in
order to avoid possible negative effects
on animal performances.
Lysine in the CP (%)
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
CP %
Soybean Meal
Barley
Sunflower Meal
Wheat
Peas
Table 5: Effect of reformulating broiler diets based on higher quality

wheat (higher content of CP and amino acids) on CP or both CP
and essential amino acids (CP + AAs)
Reformulation according to:
CP
CP + AAs
Ingredients
(inclusion
difference)
When the CP content of wheat is updated, following a delivery of better quality

wheat, (region 1), and the feed is reformulated accordingly, the consumption of
wheat and amino acids increases. Accordingly, the level of protein sources
(fish meal and soybean meal) decreases,
and the feed cost is reduced by 10 /ton.
However, the real amino acid supply is
unnecessarily increased.
NUTRIENTS
(inclusion
difference)
Table 5 shows the effect of updating the

CP content alone (column "CP") or the
CP and essential amino acids content of
wheat (column "CP + AAs") of a broiler
formula. The initial formula was calculated according to the average wheat
composition given in Figure 1.
Wheat, g/kg
q70
q70
Soybeanmeal, g/kg
Q40
Q30
Fish meal, g/kg
Q45
Q45
DL-Methioninw, g/kg
q1
q0.6
L-Lysine, g/kg
q4
q3
L-Threonine, g/kg
q1.6
q0.9
CP total, g/kg
Lysine total, g/kg
q0.5
Methionine total, g/kg
q0.3
Threonine total, g/kg
q0.7
Cost, /ton
Q10
Q13
Cost Difference = 3 /ton
References
Brooke, A., D. Kendrick, and A. Meeraus
(1996): GAMS Release 2.25: A user's guide.
GAMS Development Corp., Washington D.C.
Fickler, J. (2002): AminoQTM A power tool
for lab data management. AminoNews 03:
7 10.
Herrman, T. (2002): Sampling: Statistical and
Economic Analysis. Kansas State University.
MF-2506. May 2002.
Lemme, A., J. Tossenberger, and A. Petri
(2003): Impact of Dietary Methionine on Uniformity in Broiler Production. 14th Eur. Symp.
Poultr. Nutr. (Lillehammer, Norway).
Schrage, L. (2000): Optimization modeling
with LINGO. LINDO Systems, Chicago, III.
Van de Panne, C., and W. Popp (1963): Minimum cost cattle feed under probabilistic protein constraints. Management Sci.: 405-430.
Carlos Dapoza
email:
carlos.dapoza@
degussa.com
Pigs
Isoleucine in Pig Nutrition

1020
50
Key information
Spray-dried blood products encourage
maximum feed intake and performance in
the period immediately after weaning.
Spray-dried blood products show relatively
high concentrations of leucine, lysine and valine, but a limited concentration of isoleucine
and methionine.
Increasing availability of supplemental
amino acids allows reducing the crude protein (CP) level in diets while maintaining adequate essential amino acid supply and animal performance.
Reduced CP diets also benefit the health of
pigs by reducing the incidence of diarrhoea
and the formation of toxic compounds such
as amines and ammonia.
Low CP diets supplemented with amino
acids or diets containing blood products
may be limiting in isoleucine and may require isoleucine supplementation.
Research evaluating branched-chain amino
acid balance and the optimal level of blood
co-products that can be used is limiting, so
more research is needed in these areas.
Introduction
With the wide range of feed ingredients
utilized in pig feeds, the advancements
in growth potential (genetics, management, nutrition, sanitation, etc.) and the
economic availability of supplemental
amino acids, modern feeding strategies
allow producers to reduce the dietary CP
level in feeds, while maintaining adequate essential AA supply and consequently, animal performance. The aim of
this paper is to review the need for
isoleucine (ILE) supplementation in diets
containing spray-dried blood products
and/or reduced CP level in diets for
growing-finishing pigs.
Spray-dried blood products are low in

methionine and isoleucine
Starter pigs, especially those weaned at
less than 18 days of age, need a diet of
high nutrient density, high palatability
and high digestibility. Meeting these
needs requires very expensive ingredients. Ingredient choice has as big an impact on performance during the weaner
period as does the level of nutrients provided.
Several protein sources are often used in
starter pig diets to meet the amino acid
requirement and to stimulate feed intake: spray-dried plasma, spray-dried
blood cells, spray-dried blood meal, fish
meal, skim milk, whey-protein concentrate and further processed soy products
(soy concentrate or isolate). The specific
protein sources used in starter pig diets,
however, depend on its availability and
pricing relative to growth performance
benefits. Currently, the only protein
source considered essential in this diet is
spray-dried plasma. Although it is expensive, spray-dried plasma seems necessary to encourage maximum feed intake in the period immediately after
weaning (Hansen et al., 1993b and Kats
et al., 1994a). Increasing the level of
spray-dried plasma from 5 % to 15 % in
the diet for segregated early weaned
(SEW) pigs resulted in a linear increase
in pig performance.
An alternative to plasma for inclusion into the SEW diet is spray-dried blood
meal, which has a very high protein content (85 % to 95 %) and thus can be
used in small quantities as a concentrated amino acid source (Hansen et al.,
1993b; Kats et al., 1994a; Kats et al.,
1994b). However, both spray-dried blood
meal and plasma are deficient in methionine, which becomes a limiting amino
acid when greater than 5 % spray-dried
blood products are included in the diet
(Kats et al., 1994a). Consequently, it is
Figure 1: Composition of whole blood
SOLIDS
18 %
LIQUIDS 82 %
WHOLE BLOOD
PLASMA 52 %
SOLIDS
8%
CELLS 48 %
LIQUIDS 92 %
SOLIDS
30 %
LIQUIDS 70 %
critical that crystalline methionine be

added to starter pig diets for optimum
performance (Owen et al., 1995a,b). Because of the demand for spray-dried animal plasma, very little blood meal is utilized in starting pig diets.
Table 1: Protein and amino acid composition of spray-dried blood

products
Crude Protein (%)

Amino Acids (%)
Lysine
Methionine
Cystine
Threonine
Tryptophan
Isoleucine
Arginine
Leucine
Valine
Histidine
Phenylalanine
Tyrosine
Glycine
Serine
Proline
Alanine
Aspartic acid
Glutamic acid
Spray-dried
animal blood cells
(AP 301GTM*)
92.0
Ratio to
Lys
9.0
100
0.8
9
0.6
7
3.6
40
1.2
13
0.6
7
4.0
13.4
9.2
7.5
7.1
2.2
4.7
4.4
7.6
11.4
8.7
*APC, Inc., IA, USA
AppeteinTM*
Spray-Dried
Animal Plasma
77.0
6.5
0.7
2.7
4.7
1.3
2.8
4.5
7.5
5.1
2.7
4.4
3.5
2.9
4.5
12.6
4.0
7.6
11.3
Ratio to
Lys
100
11
42
72
20
43
Recommended
ratio to Lys
100
35
-65
21
60
Spray-dried porcine plasma, a co-product

of blood processing, is produced by collecting whole blood at the slaughter
plant, adding an anticoagulant, and after
cooling, separating the plasma by centrifugation (Figure 1). After the spray
drying process, the resultant product is a
free flowing, light colored product with
excellent protein/amino acid characteristics. Spray-dried porcine plasma has
been consistently shown to be an excellent protein source for young pigs. A
co co-product of this process, spraydried blood cells (SDBC), can also be utilized in piglet diets. The amino acid characteristics of these two products show
relatively high concentrations of leucine,
lysine and valine, but a limited concentration of isoleucine and methionine
(Table 1). It is therefore important that
diets are adjusted to maintain a proper
level of these two amino acids. Owen et
al. (1995a,b) demonstrated that a positive response was obtained when diets
containing porcine plasma are furnished
with crystalline methionine while Kerr et
al. (2004a,b) demonstrated positive responses to crystalline isoleucine when
diets contained SDBC.
Use of supplemental amino acids is nutritionally useful and economical

The inclusion of crystalline amino acids
in pig diets is nutritionally useful and
economical. Lysine, methionine, threonine and tryptophan are used to different degrees in practical pig diets. They
help to provide the correct amino acid
balance while helping to limit vegetable
protein products and crude protein level.
Reducing the total amount of protein
that must be digested by the digestive
tract of the pigs reduces the level of undesirable end products from protein digestion and decreases the risk of diarrhoea. This holds especially true for the
immature digestive tract of piglets. Also,
high and imbalanced protein levels have
been shown to reduce feed intake.
Reducing dietary CP level in the diet has
been reported to limit the frequency and
the severity of digestive problems in
piglets (Prohaszka and Baron, 1980;
Danielsen 1984; Ball and Aherne, 1982,
1987). Sources of growth substrates for

gastrointestinal microflora come from
the diet as undigested feed protein and
endogenous protein which provide bacteria with nitrogen while undigested feed
carbohydrates (e.g., non-starch polysaccharides) provide bacteria with carbon. A
larger microbial load in the gastrointestinal tract may have implications on immune function, is associated with odor
generation from swine production facilities, and may harbor potential pathogenic bacteria such as Coli, Salmonella and
Clostridium. By reducing the dietary
protein level, the metabolism of the bacteria community can be altered to reduce
their potential detrimental impact to the
animal and the environment. At the
same time, however, it is still important
to feed a diet with a well balanced amino
acid profile to ensure optimum performance and carcass lean deposition.
The effects of reducing the dietary CP
level associated with AA supplementation on growth performance, N-excretion, water consumption, urine production and feces consistency in piglets was
studied by Le Bellego and Noblet (2002).
Feed intake (Table 2) was the lowest
with Diet 1 (959 g/d) and similar for
Diets 2, 3, and 4 (1039, 1061 and 1048 g/d,
respectively). The lower feed intake with
piglets fed the highest CP diet agrees
with observations of Hansen et al.
(1993a) and Jin et al. (1998). Such diets,
providing AA exclusively as protein
bound AA, result in excess and (or) imbalanced AA that may be detrimental for
feed intake in young animals (Harper et
al., 1970; Henry, 1985; Henry and Seve,
1991). Thus, limiting protein content
while balancing dietary AA appears to be
an effective solution to maximize feed,
nutrient and energy intakes in piglets.
Neither weight gain (666 g/d, on average) nor feed efficiency (1.55, on average) were affected by dietary treatment
(Table 2). Interesting enough, the total
weight of internal organs including blood
and empty gastro-intestinal tract (% of
empty BW) was higher with Diet 1 than
Diets 2, 3 and 4, resulting in a lower carcass yield for the animals fed Diet 1 compared with the other treatments (data
not reported). The piglets fed Diet 1 also
Table 2: Effect of dietary crude protein level on performance, nitrogen

excretion, water intake, urine production and feces consistency of
piglets (Le Bellego and Noblet, 2002)
Diet
Dietary CP (%)
Body weight (kg)
Initial
Final
Feed intake (g/day)
Weight gain (g/day)
Feed/gain (kg/kg)
Total nitrogen excretion (g/day)
Nitrogen retention (g/day)
Water consumption (g/day)
Urine (g/day)
Feces consistency (%1)
Hard
Soft
Liquid
1
22.4
2
20.4
3
18.4
4
16.9
11.7
26.0
959a
642
1.50
10.7 a
17.8
1941
757
12.0
26.8
1039b
661
1.58
9.4 a
17.7
1887
643
11.8
27.2
1061b
690
1.54
6.8 b
18.5
1867
625
12.0
26.8
1048b
663
1.58
5.1 c
15.6
1645
481
81.9
14.7
3.4
82.0
14.5
3.5
95.4
4.1
0.5
89.0
9.0
2.0
Diets were formulated to contain about 10.4 MJ NE/kg and 1.01 g stand. dig. lysine/MJ NE. Ratios of digestible threonine,
methionine + cystine, tryptophan, isoleucine and valine were at least at 65, 60, 19, 60 and 70 % of the digestible lysine
supply, respectively.
1
Days with hard, soft or liquid feces in percent of total number of days in the experiment.
a,b,c
Different superscripts indicate significantly different means (p<0.05).
had a higher water content and a lower

lipid and energy content than those fed
Diets 2, 3 and 4 (data not shown).
The N-excretion over the total experiment was reduced by 42 % from Diet 1
to Diet 4 (Table 2). The present results
confirm that reducing the dietary CP
content is an effective strategy to reduce
N-excretion. The reduction in N-excretion of 42 % between Diets 1 and 4
equates to an 8 % reduction in N-excretion per percentage point of CP reduction in the feed when data are adjusted
for identical feed consumption over the
total experiment (1029 g/d). This value
is slightly lower than the 10 % value reported for growing pigs by Dourmad et
al. (1993) and Le Bellego et al. (2001) in
balance trials and Le Bellego et al. (2002)
in a growth trial. The reduction of N-intake with the low CP diets did not affect
N-retention (Table 2) by the animals
(17.6 g/d on average).
The reduction of the CP level in the feed
also resulted in a numerical reduction of
water consumption and urine production of 15 and 36 %, from Diet 1 to Diet
4, respectively, or about 3 % and 7 %
per percentage point reduction of CP in
the feed, respectively (Table 2). These re-
Table 3: Digestible isoleucine requirement estimates for swinea

Body Weight, kg
Initial
Final
Gender
CP
%
ADG
g
ADFI
g
Ile
%
g Ile/
day
mg Ile/
g gain
Reference
5.6
8.4
NA
18.2
505
580
0.59
3.42
6.78
James et al., 2001
4.7
10.2
NA
22.2
183
360
0.61
2.20
12.02
Becker et al., 1963

Oestemer et al., 1973
5.8
15.7
Barrow
14.4
331
534
0.43
2.30
6.95
11.4
23.5
Mixed
16.7
578
993
0.55
5.46
9.95
Bergstrom et al., 1997
15.1
27.7
NA
13.4
467
939
0.38
3.57
7.64
Becker et al., 1957
18.2
34.9
NA
21.5
604
1,159
0.55
6.37
10.55
Brinegar et al., 1950
18.0
40.0
Mixed
17.0
685
1,250
0.50
6.25
9.12
Lenis and van Diepen, 1997
20.5
41.5
Barrow
15.8
690
1,597
0.27
4.31
6.25
Bravo et al., 1970
25.0
55.0
Gilt
17.5
630
1,594
0.35
5.58
8.86
Taylor et al., 1985
44.6
94.4
NA
13.4
590
1,780
0.29
5.16
8.77
Becker et al., 1963
Ingredient digestibility estimates from Southern, 1991. NA = not available.
sults are in agreement with those of Frmaut (1992) and Pfeiffer et al. (1995).
The measurements on feces consistency
revealed no significant effect of the diet
despite a numerically lower percentage
of days with soft or liquid feces with
Diets 3 and 4 compared to Diets 1 and 2
(Table 2). The minor effects on diarrhoea
and performance are probably related to
the relatively good sanitary conditions in
the present experiment. However, in
commercial situations, less favourable
sanitary conditions are common and a
greater effect of low CP diets on the occurrence of diarrhoea and on performance can be anticipated (Gransson et
al., 1995).
Isoleucine Requirements and Ratios of Swine

Research evaluating isoleucine requirements (Table 3) of pigs is dated, sparse,
and difficult to interpret. Mitchell et al.
(1968a, b) utilized a casein-based diet
and Brown et al. (1974) utilized a
gelatin-based diet to estimate the isoleucine requirement using nitrogen retention or plasma isoleucine, but neither
reported performance data. In papers reporting pig performance, semi-purified
diets containing large amounts of corn
starch with either blood flour (Brinegar
et al., 1950; Becker et al., 1957, 1963;
Bravo et al., 1970; Oestemer et al., 1973)
or herring meal (Henry et al., 1976) have
been utilized, with only four papers uti-
lizing more practical-type ingredients

(Taylor et al., 1985; Bergstrom et al.,
1997; Lenis and van Diepen, 1997;
James et al., 2001).
To complicate matters further, current
genotypes are growing faster, produce
carcasses with a greater percentage of
lean meat, are marketed at heavier body
weights, and have a lower appetite than
pigs utilized in many of the studies cited
above. As such, NRC (1998) recommendations for isoleucine were arrived at factorially using ideal amino acids ratios
(Wang and Fuller, 1989; Chung and
Baker, 1992).
With the misconception that isoleucine is
adequate in common feedstuffs combined
with limited availability of feed-grade
isoleucine, little information regarding
isoleucine needs in swine has been generated. However, recent research from
Liu et al. (1999, 2000a,b) suggested that
isoleucine may be among the limiting
amino acids in todays genotypes fed reduced-protein diets. In addition, widespread commercial availability of lysine,
methionine, threonine and tryptophan,
an ever increasing pressure to lower nitrogen excretion associated with swine
production, and recent volatility of protein ingredients makes the understanding
of the isoleucine requirements and ratios
in swine of critical importance.
Recently, a coordinated research effort
utilized SDBC in the development of an
isoleucine-deficient diet from which future isoleucine requirement and ratio

studies could be conducted (Kerr et al.,
2002, Kerr et al., 2004a, Parr et al., 2003,
2004). From these studies a series of
isoleucine requirement experiments were
conducted in starter (7 to 11 kg), grower
(25 to 45 kg) and finishing (87 to 100 kg)
pigs. In all cases, the basal isoleucine-deficient diet has proved to be fully efficacious when surfeit crystalline isoleucine
was supplemented to the diet.
For 7 to 11 kg pigs, diets contained corn,
soybean meal, dried whey, fish meal, and
7.5 % SDBC. Performance data is shown
in Tables 4 and 5 (Kerr et al., 2004b).
Overall the data suggested an apparent
digestible isoleucine requirement of
0.68 % or an apparent digestible isoleucine:lysine ratio of 0.61 in pigs from 7
to 11 kg, both of which are higher than
current recommendations.
Table 4: Graded levels of isoleucine for growing pigs in 1.25 % digestible

lysine diets containing spray dried blood cells, Experiment 1a
(Kerr et al., 2004b)
Dietary isoleucine, %
Total
App. il. dig.
0.56
0.47
0.62
0.53
0.68
0.59
0.74
0.65
0.80
0.71
0.86
0.77
0.92
0.83
Pooled SEM
Contrast (P-value)
Linear
Quadratic
a
0.01
0.01
0.01
0.01
Plasma urea
N, mg/dL
29.6
27.8
24.8
24.2
24.5
23.8
25.0
0.98
0.01
0.01
0.01
0.01
Average initial and final weights were 6.6 and 10.9 kg, respectively.The trial lasted 16 d with 12 replicates per
treatment and 20 pigs per pen.
Total
App. il. dig.
0.46
0.37
0.55
0.46
0.64
0.55
0.73
0.64
0.82
0.73
0.91
0.83
Pooled SEM
Contrast (P-value)
Linear
Quadratic
The results from these experiments suggest that the true digestible isoleucine requirement of 25 to 45 kg pigs is 0.50 %,
compared with 0.45 % estimated by NRC
(1998).
a
The results from finishing pigs (Table 7)

are more difficult to interpret. Aberrant
gain resulted for pigs fed the second
treatment such that the first two treatments had similar weight gain (541 versus 483 g/d), but each of these were significantly different from the final three
diets. In general, gain and feed efficiency
seemed to plateau around 0.31 % true
digestible isoleucine, with gilts having a
numerically higher plateau than barrows
(data not shown as the interaction was
not significant). Plasma urea nitrogen
data was extremely erratic. In gilts, no
apparent plateau in plasma urea N concentration was reached, even at the
Performance Criteria
ADFI, g
G:F, g/kg
267
560
281
641
348
730
401
772
420
767
412
769
403
755
8.7
11.3
Table 5: Graded levels of isoleucine for starting pigs in 1.10 % digestible

lysine diets containing spray dried blood cells, Experiment 2a
(Kerr et al., 2004b)
For growing pigs, a corn-based diet with

3.2 % soybean meal and 7.5 % SDBC
was utilized with data shown in Table 6
(Parr et al., 2003).
For finishing pigs, an all corn diet with

5.0 % SDBC (no soybean meal) was utilized with data shown in Table 7 (Parr et
al., 2004).
ADG, g
149
181
254
310
321
317
305
6.8
ADG, g
52
111
207
258
246
260
5.9
ADFI, g
G:F, g/kg
165
318
213
520
351
589
365
708
350
704
359
725
8.2
9.9
0.01
0.01
0.01
0.01
0.01
0.01
Average initial and final weights were 6.6 and 9.9 kg, respectively.The trial lasted 16 d with 12 replicates per treatment
and 22 pigs per pen.
Table 6: Graded levels of isoleucine for starting pigs in 0.95 % digestible

lysine diets containing spray dried blood cellsa (Parr et al., 2003)
Total
True digestible
0.38
0.42
0.46
0.42
0.46
0.50
0.54
0.50
0.58
0.54
0.58
0.62
Pooled SEM
Contrast (P-value)
Linear
Quadratic
ADG, g
459
602
687
695
729
725
38
0.01
0.02
ADFI, g
G:F, g/kg
996
461
1149
524
533
1288
1456
477
1471
496
495
1465
101
53
0.01
0.02
Plasma urea
N, mg/dLb
12.11
10.71
10.05
8.49
8.70
0.52
> 0.10
> 0.10
0.01
> 0.10
Average initial weight was 27 kg.The trial lasted 21 d with 4 replicates per treatment and 5 pigs per pen.
Data from an additional experiment representing five barrows (average initial BW of 26.4 kg) and five gilts (average initial
BW of 25.5 kg), each in a 5x5 Latin square design.
Table 7: Graded levels of isoleucine for finishing pigs in 0.74 % digestible

lysine diets containing spray dried blood cellsa (Parr et al., 2004)
Total
True digestible
0.28
0.25
0.30
0.27
0.32
0.29
0.33
0.31
0.35
0.33
Pooled SEM
Contrast (P-value)
Linear
Quadratic
ADG, g
541
483
652
752
719
44
ADFI, g
G:F, g/kg
1647
316
1210
406
1538
432
1819
452
1683
446
144
41
0.003
0.93
0.15
0.31
Plasma urea
N, mg/dLb
9.5
9.2
9.2
8.5
7.7
0.48
0.04
0.23
0.006
0.28
Average initial weight was 87 kg.The trial lasted 16 d with 6 replicates per treatment and 4 pigs per pen.
Data from an additional experiment representing five barrows (average initial BW of 88 kg) and five gilts (average initial
BW of 89 kg), each in a 5x5 Latin square design. Diets contained 0.63 % total lysine and true digestible isoleucine concentrations of 0.22, 0.24, 0.26, 0.28, and 0.30 %.
highest isoleucine level, while barrows

showed that the plasma urea nitrogen
decrease with increasing isoleucine was
not significant (data not shown). Consequently, the authors based their requirement estimates on the growth study.
The inability of determination of the
isoleucine requirement by plasma urea
nitrogen is supported by Dean et al.
(2004, 2005) due to the dramatic incremental increase in daily feed intake as
dietary isoleucine is increased.
Recently, research at Louisiana State
University (Dean et al., 2004) suggested
the true digestible isoleucine requirement for 80 to 120 kg barrows was not
less than 0.36 % while research at the
University of Missouri (Kendall et al.,
2004) estimated the true digestible
isoleucine requirement for 91 to 117 kg
barrows was also near 0.36 % when using a corn based diet containing 5 %
SDBC.
As most requirement estimates reported
above were above NRC (1998) estimates,
one could question that the use of SDBC
are causing potential branched-chain
amino acid antagonisms (Harper et al.,
1984; Block, 2000) and therefore elevating the need for dietary isoleucine. In
the past, however, most experiments
showing such antagonisms have used
purified or semi-purified diets (Oestemer
et al., 1973; Henry et al., 1976; Langer
and Fuller, 2000). In contrast, using a
barley-based diet, Taylor et al. (1984,
1985) suggested that a leucine:isoleucine

ratio of 4.0 had no detrimental effect on
pig performance at low isoleucine levels,
and at higher levels of isoleucine, a 4.5
ratio was without effect. Likewise, Edmonds and Baker (1987) showed that up
to 4 % supplemental leucine did not affect pig performance when added to a
typical corn-soybean meal-based diet.
Due to the possibility that the use of
SDBC overestimates the actual requirement
of isoleucine, researchers at Louisiana
State University are currently evaluating
the impact of leucine and valine additions to corn soybean meal diets. Data
suggests that the ratios of branchedchain amino acids in previous experiments were not the cause of feed intake
and growth depressions when a cornSDBC diet was fed. However, differences
in levels of dietary crude protein, amino
acid composition, and sources of amino
acids (protein-bound or crystalline) may
still be playing a role in branched-chain
metabolism and subsequent requirements for these amino acids (Dean et al.,
2004). Consequently, additional research
is needed to evaluate branched-chain
amino acid balance and the optimal level
of blood co-products (SDBC) that can be
used in North American and European
type diets fed to swine.
Evaluation of isoleucine dose-response data

and implications for commercial feed formulation
The response in performance to a limiting nutrient can best be described by exponential regression analysis (Schutte
and Pack, 1995). The regression curves
facilitate the calculation of the most economical dietary amino acid level in that
they predict performance for each incremental step of amino acid supplementation following the law of diminishing returns. The feed cost per kg weight gain
will decrease to the point where the relative increase in cost from adding one
unit crystalline isoleucine to the feed
equals the revenues from relative improvement in animal performance. In
order to determine this point, performance data have to be combined with
actual cost of both feed and supplemented isoleucine.
Figure 2: Weight gain and feed conversion response of piglets (7 11 kg BW) to graded levels of dietary isoleucine
(adapted from Kerr et al. 2004b)
Feed conversion ratio

1.80
Weight gain (g/d)

350
330
310
290
270
250
230
210
y = 136.8 + 201.3 (1 - e-7.55 (ISO - 0.47))
190
170
150
130
0.70
0.65
0.75
0.45
0.55
0.50
0.60
7.70
y = 1.80 - 0.51 (1 - e-13.56 (ISO - 0.47))
1.60
1.50
1.30
1.40
0.80
0.85
1.20
0.45
0.50
0.55
For the present example, cost of the

basal feed without isoleucine supplementation was set at 290 US$ per ton
and L-Isoleucine was set at 30.0 US$ per
kg. Weight gain and feed conversion
responses of pigs (7 -11 kg BW) to graded dietary levels of isoleucine are given
in Figure 2.
The cost per kg feed and feed cost per kg
weight gain were calculated for the
dietary isoleucine levels covered in the
experiment by Kerr et al. (2004b) based
on regression curves for performance
and aforementioned price assumptions.
The calculations can easily be done with
a spreadsheet software. The following
equation was used:
Cost per kg weight gain =
feed conversion ratio * cost per kg feed.
At the given set of performance and
price conditions, feed cost per kg weight
gain reached a minimum at an ileal digestible level of 0.62 % isoleucine
(Figure 3).
0.70
0.65
0.75
0.80
0.85
Formulation example considering a ratio of

ILE to LYS of 60 : 100
Kerr et al. (2004b) determined an optimum ILE: LYS ratio for starting (6 to
11 kg) pigs based on pig performance and
plasma urea nitrogen (PUN). Based on
the an average of all performance variables and plasma urea nitrogen, the results suggest the apparent digestible
isoleucine requirement is 0.68 % and the
ILE : LYS ratio is 0.61. Assuming that this
ratio is also sufficient for growing-finishing pigs, the question is: At what dietary
crude protein level will isoleucine become limiting considering a minimum
ratio of ILE : LYS of 60 : 100?
Figure 3: Effect of ileal digestible isoleucine content in the diet on feed

cost per kg weight gain (US$)
Feed cost per kg weight gain (US$/kg)
0.73
0.71
Assumptions:
Cost of unsupplemented diet: 0.40 US$/kg
Cost of L-Isoleucine: 30 US$/kg
0.69
0.67
0.65
0.63
0.61
Price changes for supplemental amino

acids affect the economic optimum level
for dietary isoleucine. Figure 4 shows the
economic optimum dietary isoleucine
level for L-Isoleucine prices of 30.0, 20.0
and 10.00 US$ per kg. The greatly varying price for L-Isoleucine results in most
economic levels of 0.62, 0.65 and 0.70 %
isoleucine in the diet.
0.60
Ileal dig. ISO content (% of diet)
Ileal dig. ISO content (% of diet)
0.59
Minimum cost at 0.62 % Isoleucine
0.57
0.45
0.50
0.55
0.60
0.65
0.70
0.75
0.80
0.85
Ileal dig. Isoleucine content (% of diet)
Figure 4: Effect of varying L-Isoleucine price on economic optimum

dietary Isoleucine content
Feed cost per kg weight gain (US$/kg)

0.75
0.70

0.60
Cost of L-Isoleucine:
10 US$/kg Minimum cost
at 0.70 % Isoleucine
0.55
0.65

0.50
0.45
0.50
0.55
0.60
0.65
0.70
0.75
0.80
0.85
Ileal dig. Isoleucine content (% of diet)
Table 8: Effect of ILE to LYS ratio on dietary crude protein content:

European-type diets*
Ingredient (%)
Wheat
Barley
Soybean meal, 44 %
Soybean oil
Vitamin/Mineral-Premix
L-Lys-HCl
DL-Methionine
L-Threonine
L-Tryptophan
Nutrients (%)
ME (MJ/kg)
(kcal/kg)
Crude Protein
stand. dig. Lys
stand. dig. Met
stand. dig. M + C
stand. dig.Thr
stand. dig.Trp
stand. dig. Ile
25 40
40.00
39.24
15.46
1.46
3.27
0.39
0.08
0.10
Body weight (kg)

40 70
45.00
39.37
11.78
0.01
3.30
0.36
0.06
0.10
0.01
70 115
45.00
43.39
7.48
3.61
0.35
0.04
0.12
13.5
3230
17.0
min ratios
0.90
100
0.30
33
0.56
60
0.57
63
0.17
18
0.55
60
13.2
3150
16.0
min ratios
0.81
100
0.27
33
0.53
62
0.53
65
0.17
19
0.50
60
13.12
3140
14.5
min ratios
0.71
100
0.23
33
0.47
65
0.50
70
0.14
19
0.44
60
* Basis: EU ingredient prices, summer 2005.
In Tables 8 and 9, the results of least cost

formulations are shown for EU and US
diets, respectively. EU diets were based
on barley, wheat and soybean meal,
whereas US diets are based on corn and
soybean meal. Diets were formulated for
pigs in the body weight ranges of 25 40
kg, 40 70 kg and 70 115 kg. Ratios of
standardized digestible Met+Cys, threonine and tryptophan to lysine were at
least 60, 63 and 18 to 100 (25 40 kg
BW), 62, 65 and 19 to 100 (40 70 kg
BW) and 65, 70 and 19 to 100 (70 115
kg BW), with Met : LYS at 33 : 100.
Least-cost formulations were conducted
using actual EU and US feed ingredients
prices and an L-Isoleucine price of
30 US$ / kg. A minimum ratio of ILE :
LYS of 60 : 100 was considered in the
formulas.
Results of least-cost formulation will depend on ingredient prices. Under the given price scenarios for the EU, dietary
crude protein can be reduced down to
about 17.0, 16.0 and 14.5 % for body
weight ranges of 25 40 kg, 40 70 kg
and 70 115 kg, respectively, before
isoleucine gets limiting (Table 8). Considering US feed ingredient prices, dietary
crude protein can be reduced down to

about 16.5, 15.5 and 14.0 % for body
weight ranges of 25 40 kg, 40 70 kg
and 70 115 kg, respectively, before
isoleucine becomes limiting (Table 9). Increasing availability of supplemental
amino acids allows reducing the crude
protein level in diets while maintaining
adequate essential AA supply and animal
performance.
References
Ball, R. O. and F. X. Aherne (1982): Effect of diet complexity and feed
restriction on the incidence and severity of diarrhoea in early-weaned
pigs. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 62: 907913.
Ball, R. O. and F. X. Aherne (1987): Influence of dietary nutrient
density, level of feed intake and weaning age on young pigs. 2. Apparent nutrient digestibility and incidence and severity of diarrhoea.
Can. J. Anim. Sci. 67: 11051115.
Table 9: Effect of ILE to LYS ratio on dietary crude protein content:

US diets*
Ingredient (%)
Corn
Soybean meal, 48 %
Wheat middlings
Vitamin/Mineral-Premix
L-Lys-HCl
DL-Methionine
L-Threonine
L-Tryptophan
Nutrients (%)
ME (MJ/kg)
(kcal/kg)
Crude Protein
stand. dig. Lys
stand. dig. Met
stand. dig. M + C
stand. dig.Thr
stand. dig.Trp
stand. dig. Ile
25 40
71.52
19.80
4.96
3.27
0.31
0.07
0.07
Body weight (kg)

40 70
69.06
15.30
11.95
3.22
0.30
0.08
0.06
0.03
70 115
68.37
11.49
16.54
3.19
0.27
0.04
0.10
13.5
3230
16.5
min ratios
0.90
100
0.31
33
0.54
60
0.57
63
0.16
18
0.56
60
13.2
3150
15.3
min ratios
0.81
100
0.28
33
0.50
62
0.53
65
0.17
19
0.49
60
13.0
3110
14.1
min ratios
0.71
100
0.25
33
0.46
65
0.50
70
0.13
19
0.44
60
* Basis: US ingredient prices, summer 2005.
Becker, D. E., A. H. Jensen, S. W. Terrill, I. D. Smith, and H. W. Norton (1957): The isoleucine requirement of weanling swine fed two
protein levels. J. Anim. Sci. 16: 26-34.
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J. Anim. Sci. 22: 1093-1096.
Bergstrom, J. R., J. L. Nelssen, M. D. Tokach, and R. D. Goodband
(1997): Determining the optimal isoleucine:lysine ratio for the SEWreared, 10 to 20 kg pig. J. Anim. Sci. 75 (Suppl. 1): 60 (Abstr.).
Block, K. P. (2000): Interactions among leucine, isoleucine, and valine with special reference to the branched-chain amino acid antagonism. Page 229-244 in Absorption and Utilization of Amino Acids,
Vol. 1. M. Friedman, ed. CRC Press Inc., Boca Raton, FL.
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(1970): Reevaluation of the isoleucine requirement of the growing
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Brinegar, M. J., J. K. Loosli, L. A. Maynard, and H. H. Williams
(1950): The isoleucine requirement for the growth of swine. J. Nutr.
42: 619-624.
Brown, H. W., B. G. Harmon and A. H. Jensen (1974): Total sulfurcontaining amino acids, isoleucine and tryptophan requirements of
the finishing pig for maximum nitrogen retention. J. Anim. Sci. 38:
59-63.
Chung, T. K., and D. H. Baker (1992): Ideal amino acid pattern for
10-kilogram pigs. J. Anim. Sci. 3102-3111.
Danielsen, V. (1984): Effekten av reduseret proteintilldelning till
smagrise / The effect of reduced protein supply for weaners. Hyologiosk Tidskrift 12: 16-19.
Dourmad, J. Y., Y. Henry, D. Bourdon, N. Quiniou and D. Guillou

(1993): Effect of growth potential and dietary protein input on
growth performance, carcass characteristics and nitrogen output in
growing-finishing pigs. In: M. W. A. Verstegen, L. A. den Hartog, G.
J. M. Kempen, and J. H. M. Metz (Ed.) Nitrogen flow in pig production and environmental consequences: Proceedings of the First International Symposium, Wageningen (Doorwerth), 206211. Centre for
Agricultural Publishing and Documentation (PUDOC), Wageningen,
Netherlands.
Edmonds, M. S., and D. H. Baker (1987): Amino acid excesses for
young pigs: effects of excess methionine, tryptophan, threonine or
leucine. J. Anim. Sci. 64: 1664-1671.
Frmaut, D. (1992): A study of the requirements for amino acids of
Belgian growing pigs (2060 kg body weight) in relation to production and environment. Katholieke Universiteit, Leuven, Belgium.
Gransson, L., S. Lange and I. Lnnroth (1995): Post weaning diarrhoea: focus on diet. Pig News Inform. 16: 89N 91N.
Hansen, J. A., D. A. Knabe and K. G. Burgoon (1993a): Amino acid
supplementation of low-protein sorghum-soybean meal diets for 5- to
20-kilogram swine. J. Anim. Sci. 71: 452-458.
Hansen, J. A., J. L. Nelssen, R. D. Goodband and T. L. Weeden
(1993b): Evaluation of animal protein supplements in diets of earlyweaned pigs. J. Anim. Sci. 71: 1853-1862.
Harper, A. E., R. H. Miller, and K. P. Block (1984): Branched-chain
amino acid metabolism. Ann. Rev. Nutr. 4: 409-454.
Harper, A. E., N. J. Benevenga and R. M. Wohlhueter (1970): Effects
of ingestion of disproportionate amounts of amino acids. Physiol. Rev.
50: 428558.
Dean, D. W., L. L. Southern and T. D. Bidner (2004): Isoleucine requirement of late finishing barrows. Minnesota Nutrition Conference,
St. Paul, September 21-22, (in press).
Henry, Y. (1985): Dietary factors involved in feed intake regulation in

growing pigs: A review. Livest. Prod. Sci. 12: 339354.
Dean, D. W., L. L. Southern, B. J. Kerr, and T. D. Bidner (2005):

Isoleucine requirement of 80 to 120 kilogram barrows fed corn-soybean meal or corn-blood cell diets. J. Anim. Sci. 83: 2543-2553.
Henry, Y., P. H. Duee and A. Rerat (1976): Isoleucine requirement of

the growing pig and leucine-isoleucine interrelationship. J. Anim.
Sci. 42: 357-364.
Henry, Y. and B. Seve (1991): Incidence de lquilibre en acides amins du rgime sur lapptit et la croissance du porc, selon le taux de
protines et leur nature: lexemple du tryptophane. Journes Rech.
Porcine en France 23: 119126.
Mitchell, J. R., Jr., D. E. Becker, A. H. Jensen, B. G. Harmon and H.

W. Norton (1968b): Determination of amino acid needs of the young
pig by nitrogen balance and plasma-free amino acids. J. Anim. Sci.
27: 1327-1331.
James, B. W., R. D. Goodband, M. D. Tokach, J. L. Nelssen, J. M.

Derouchey, and J. C. Woodworth (2001): The optimum isoleucine:lysine ratio to maximize growth performance of the early-weaned pig.
J. Anim. Sci. 79 (Suppl. 2): 62 (Abstr.).
NRC (1998): Nutrition Requirements of Swine. 10th ed. Natl. Acad.

Press, Washington, DC.
Jin, C. F., I. H. Kim, K. Han and S. H. Bae (1998): Effects of supplemental synthetic amino acids to the low protein diets on the performance of growing pigs. Asian-Aus. J. Anim. Sci. 11: 17.
Kats, L. J., J. L. Nelssen, M. D. Tokach, R. D. Goodband, J. A.
Hansen and J. L. Laurin (1994a): The effect of spray-dried porcine
plasma on growth performance in the early-weaned pig. J. Anim.
Sci. 72: 2075-2081.
Kats, L. J., J. L. Nelssen, M. D. Tokach, R. D. Goodband, T. L. Weeden, S. S. Dritz, J. A. Hansen and K. G. Friesen (1994b): The effects
of spray-dried blood meal on growth performance in the earlyweaned pig. J. Anim. Sci. 72: 2860-2869.
Kendall, D. C., B. J. Kerr, R. W. Fent, S. X. Fu, J. L. Usry and G. L.
Allee (2004): Determination of the true ileal digestible isoleucine requirement of 90 kg barrows. J. Anim. Sci. 82 (Suppl. 2): 67 (Abstr.).
Kerr, B. J., M . T. Kidd, J. A. Cuaron, K. L. Bryant, T. M. Parr, C. V.
Maxwell and E. Weaver (2004a): Utilization of spray-dried blood
cells and crystalline isoleucine in nursery pig diets. J. Anim. Sci. 82:
2397-2404.
Kerr, B. J., M. T. Kidd, J. A. Cuaron, K. L. Bryant, T. M. Parr, C. V.
Maxwell and J. M. Campbell (2004b): Isoleucine requirements and
ratios in starting (7 to 11 kg) pigs. J. Anim. Sci. 82: 2333-2342.
Kerr, B. J., T. M. Parr, B. S. Borg, J. M. Campbell, K. L. Bryant, and
M. T. Kidd (2002): Development of an isoleucine deficient diet in
growing and finishing pigs. J. Anim. Sci. 80 (Suppl. 2): 41. (Abstr.).
Langer, S., and M. F. Fuller (2000): Interactions among the
branched-chain amino acids and their effects on methionine utilization in growing pigs: Effects on nitrogen retention and amino acid
utilization. Br. J. Nutr. 83: 43-48.
Le Bellego, L., J. van Milgen, S. Dubois and J. Noblet (2001): Energy
utilization of low protein diets in growing pigs. J. Anim. Sci. 79:
12591271.
Le Bellego, L. and J. Noblet (2002): Performance and utilization of
dietary energy and amino acids in piglets fed low protein diets. Livestock Production Science, 76: 45-58.
Oestemer, G. A., L. E. Hanson, and R. J. Meade (1973): Reevaluation

of the isoleucine requirement of the young pig. J. Anim. Sci. 36: 679683.
Owen, K. Q., J. L. Nelssen, R. D. Goodband, M. D. Tokach, L. J. Kats
and K. G. Friesen (1995a): Added dietary methionine in starter pig
diets containing spray-dried blood products. J. Anim. Sci. 73: 26472654.
Owen, K. Q., R. D. Goodband, J. L. Nelssen, M. D. Tokach and S. S.
Dritz (1995b): The effect of dietary methionine and its relationship to
lysine on growth performance of the segregated early-weaned pig.
J. Anim. Sci. 73: 3666-3672.
Parr, T. M., B. J. Kerr and D. H. Baker (2004): Isoleucine requirement for late-finishing (87 to 100 kg) pigs. J. Anim. Sci. 82: 13341338.
Parr, T., M., B. J. Kerr and D. H. Baker (2003): Isoleucine requirement of growing (25 to 45 kg) pigs. J. Anim. Sci. 81: 745-752.
Pfeiffer, A., H. Henkel, M. W. A. Verstegen and I. Philipczyk (1995):
The influence of protein intake on water balance, flow rate and apparent digestibility of nutrients at the distal ileum in growing pigs.
Livest. Prod. Sci. 44: 179187.
Prohaszka, L. and F. Baron (1980): The predisposing role of high dietary protein supplies in enteropathogenic E. coli infections of weaned
pigs. Zentralblatt fr Veterinrmedizin 27: 222232.
Schutte, J. B. and M. Pack (1995): Sulfur amino acid requirement of
broiler chicks from 14 to 38 days of age. 1. Performance and carcass
yield. Poult. Sci. 74: 480-487.
Taylor, S. J., D.J.A. Cole and D. Lewis (1985): Amino acid requirements of growing pigs. 6. isoleucine. Anim. Prod. 40: 153-160.
Taylor, S. J., D.J.A. Cole and D. Lewis (1984): Amino acid requirements of growing pigs. 5. The interaction between isoleucine and
leucine. Anim. Prod. 38: 257-261.
Wang, T. C., and M. F. Fuller (1989): The optimal dietary amino acid
pattern for growing pigs. 1. Experiments by amino acid deletion.
Br. J. Nutr. 52: 77-89.
Le Bellego, L., J. Noblet and J. van Milgen (2002): Effect of high temperature and low protein diets on performance on growing-finishing
pigs. J. Anim. Sci. 80: 691-701.
Lenis, N. P. and J.T.M. van Diepen (1997): Requirement for apparent ileal digestible isoleucine of young pigs. J. Anim. Sci. 75 (Suppl.
1): 185 (Abstr.).
Liu, H., G. L. Allee, J. J. Berkemeyer, K. J. Touchette, J. D. Spencer
and I. B. Kim (1999): Effect of reducing protein level and adding
amino acids on growth performance and carcass characteristics of finishing pigs. J. Anim. Sci. 77 (Suppl. 1): 69. (Abstr.).
Liu, H., G. L. Allee, E. P. Berg, K. J. Touchette, J. D. Spencer and J.
W. Frank (2000a): Amino acid fortified corn diets for late-finishing
barrows. J. Anim. Sci. 78 (Suppl. 2): 45. (Abstr.).
Liu, H., G. L. Allee, K. J. Touchette, J. W. Frank and J. D. Spencer
(2000b): Effect of reducing protein and adding amino acids on performance, carcass characteristics and nitrogen excretion, and the valine requirement of early-weaned finishing barrows. J. Anim. Sci. 78
(Suppl. 2): 45. (Abstr.).
Mitchell, J. R., Jr., D. E. Becker, B. G. Harmon, H. W. Norton and A.
H. Jensen (1968a): Some amino acid needs of the young pig fed a
semisynthetic diet. J. Anim. Sci. 27: 1322-1326.
Dr. Meike
Rademacher
email:
meike.rademacher@
degussa.com
Research Highlights
Effect of DL-Methionine on Various Performance and Slaughter

Characteristics in Slowly Growing Broilers Fed According to Organic105020
Farming Recommendations
A. Lemme, K. Damme, and A. Petri
The EU directive 1804/99 sets the
rules for organic livestock production. Feeding broilers in organic
farming systems is also regulated by
this directive. In this context especially those paragraphs are important where the guidelines for diet
composition, allowed ingredients,
feed additives etc. are given. Only
the use of feedstuffs listed in Annex
II, Parts C and D are authorised,
which have to be produced according to organic farming rules, but until 24. August 2005 and inclusion of
maximum 20 % of conventionally
produced ingredients such as maize
gluten, or potato protein is possible.
After this transitional period it will
be much more, difficult to cover the
nutrient needs of poultry, since supplementation of diet with crystalline
amino acids are generally prohibited.
Especially the lack of native methionine in leguminoses and sunflower

meal, the common organic protein
sources, limits growth development
of broilers, impairs utilisation of the
dietary protein and increases nitrogen excretion.
the Dutch Ministry for Agriculture,

the France and Belgian producers
and feed compounders favour the
reintroduction of SAA. In the UK,
authorities tolerate the use of SAA
in organic poultry rations in the
moment.
Although maximising broiler performance is not the prime target in the

organic farming systems, question
arises whether the guidelines of the
EU directive 1804/99 are in line with
the idea of sustainability in broiler
production. Another problem is the
difficulty to harmonise production
standards at EU level. There are major differences in the interpretation
and implementation of the EU Regulation (Bloch, 2003). Austrian Ministry for example supports the ban of
synthetic amino acids (SAA), whilst
Therefore, the objective of the

experiment presented here was to
investigate the effects of three kinds
of diets on performance, feed and
protein conversion as well as related
parameters under organic farming
conditions. Diets were formulated to
currently valid regulations and to
that regulation coming in force in
August 2005 with and without supplementation of DL-Met.
Archiv fr Geflgelkunde 2005, 69, 4,
159-166
Research Highlights
Dietary Trypotphan Need of Broiler Males from Forty-Two to Fifty-Six

1020
Days of Age
50
A. Corzo, E. T. Moran, D. Hoehler, and A. Lemme
Tryptophan requirements of broiler
males from 42 to 56 d of age were
studied. Ross x Ross 308 chicks were
placed in an open-sided house, and
provided common starter and grower diets from 0 to 42 d of age. Subsequently, a corn, soybean meal, corn
gluten meal, and gelatin combination of feedstuffs provided 0.12 %
Trp to which 0.04 % increments of
L-Trp were supplemented at the expense of an isonitrogenous amount
of L-Glu to 0.24 %. Birds that received diets containing 0.12 % Trp
exhibited aberrant behavior based
on the spillage of considerable
amounts of feed from the trough

and contamination of adjacent
waterers with floor litter. There were
reductions in body weight gain, feed
conversion, and carcass and breast
fillets weights and yields with dietary
Trp at 0.12 %, but these were not
affected at Trp levels at or above
0.16 %. Exponential regession
analyses showed that body weight
gain improved as Trp increased, with
maximum overall performance being attained at 0.17 %, wheras
chilled carcass weight maximized at
0.16 % dietary Trp. Nitrogen retention measured using the same exper-
imental feeds and sample birds at 48

to 49 d of age was unaffected by dietary Trp. Plasma uric acid, albumin,
total protein, and aspartate-transferase measured concurrently with
nitrogen retention were not altered;
however, blood glucose was reduced
in broilers fed 0.12 % dietary Trp.
Overall results suggest that broiler
males need approximately 0.17 %
dietary Trp between 42 and 56 d of
age, which closely agrees with the
NRC (1994) recommendation of
0.16 % Trp estimated from modeling
for this feeding period.
Poultry Science 2005, 84, 226-231
Research Highlights
Effect of Glutamine and Spray-Dried Plasma on Growth Performance,

1020
Small Intestinal Morphology, and Immune Responses of Escherichia
coli
50
K 88+-challenged weaned pigs
G. F.Yi, J. A. Carroll, G. Allee, A. M. Gaines, D. C. Kendall, J. L. Usry,Y. Torides, and S. Izuru
Forty weaned barrows (5.32 0.3 kg
BW) at 17 2 d of age were used to
investigate the effects of feeding glutamine and spray-dried plasma on
the growth performance, small intestinal morphology, and immune
responses of Escherichia coli K88+challenged pigs. Pigs were allotted to
four treatments including: 1) nonchallenged control (NONC); 2) challenged control (CHAC); 3) 7 % (asfed basis) spray-dried plasma (SDP);
and 4) 2 % (as-fed basis) glutamine
(GLN). On d 11 after weaning, all
pigs were fitted with an indwelling
jugular catheter. On d 12 after
weaning, pigs in the CHAC, SDP,
and GLN groups were orally challenged with skim milk E. coli K88+
culture, whereas pigs in the NONC
group were orally inoculated with
sterilized skim milk. Rectal temperatures and fecal diarrheic scores were
recorded and blood samples collected at 0 (baseline), 6, 12, 24, 36, and
48 h after the challenge for serum

hormone and cytokine measurements. At 48 h postchallenge, all
pigs were killed for evaluation of
small intestinal morphology. There
was no effect of feeding SDP or GLN
on growth performance during the
11-d prechallenge period (p = 0.13).
At 48 h after the challenge, CHAC
pigs had decreased ADG (p = 0.08)
and G:F (p = 0.07) compared with
the NONC pigs; however, SDP and
NONC pigs did not differ in G:F, and
GLN and NONC pigs did not differ
for ADG and G:F. At 6, 36, and 48 h
after the challenge, CHAC, SDP, and
GLN pigs had increased rectal temperature relative to the baseline
(p = 0.09). At 12 and 36 h after the
challenge, CHAC pigs had the highest incidence of diarrhea among
treatments (p = 0.08). Serum IL-6
and ACTH were not affected by
treatment or time after E. coli challenge (p = 0.11). In proximal, midje-
junum, and ileum, CHAC pigs had

greater villous atrophy and intestinal
morphology disruption than NONC
pigs (p <0.01), wheras SDP and GLN
pigs hd mitigated villous atrophy and
intestinal morphology impairment
after E. coli challenge. Pigs in the
SDP had the lowest GH at 12 h and
the greatest GH at 36 h after the
challenge among treatments (p =
0.08). Pigs in the NONC had the
highest IGF-1 at 12 and 36 h
postchallenge (p < 0.04). These results indicate that feeding glutamine
has beneficial effects in alleviating
growth depression of E. coli K88+challenged pigs, mainly via maintaining intestinal morphology and
function, and/or possibly via modulating the somatotrophic axis.
Journal Animal Science, 2005, 83, 634643
AminoNewsTM
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This information and all further technical advice is based on our present knowledge and
experience. However, it implies no liability or other legal responsibility on our part, including with regard to existing third party intellectual property rights, especially patent rights.
In particular, no warranty, whether express or implied, or guarantee of product properties
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Information for the Feed Industry

Volume 07/Number 01 April 2006

Amino acids in animal nutrition:

It is scientifically proven that crystalline

amino acids and more.

Amino acids in animal

How to Manage the

Degussa Feed Additives

Effect of DL-Methionine on Various

Dietary Trypotphan Need of Broiler

Dr. Alfred Petri

Volume 07/ Number 01 April 2006

these impairments are easily overcome by

2 Degussa Feed Additives

amino acids and more.

Digestibility and availability of crystalline

amino acids and more.

Volume 07/ Number 01 April 2006

tions, presence of anti-nutritional factors

Figure 1: Ileal amino acid digestibility of an amino acid mixture consisting

Standardised ileal digestibility, %

The effects of feeding frequency and

These research reports are supported by

Degussa Feed Additives 3

Volume 07/ Number 01 April 2006

Table 2: Effect of meal frequency on energy utilization of a 13.9 % low

times per day, which is close to ad libitum

4 Degussa Feed Additives

amino acids and more.

for 0.15 % L-Lysine HCl, 0.08 %

amino acids and more.

Volume 07/ Number 01 April 2006

The effects of supplemental crystalline

nitrogen, and 57 % report improved

Degussa Feed Additives 5

amino acids and more.

Volume 07/ Number 01 April 2006

Low CP Animal Performance

LMA, cm2 Backfat, cm

Kerr et al., 1995

Lys, Thr, Trp

Lys, Thr, Trp, Met,

Lys, Thr, Trp, Met,

Lys, Thr, Trp, Met

Lys, Thr, Trp, Met

Lys, Thr, Trp

Lys, Thr, Trp, Ile,

Figueroa et al., 2002

Lys, Thr, Trp

Lys, Thr, Trp

Lys, Thr, Trp, Met,

Lys, Thr, Trp

Kerr et al., 2003b

Lys, Thr, Trp, Met

Gomez et al., 2002a2

Lys, Thr, Trp, Met

Gomez et al., 2002a2

Lys, Thr, Trp, Met,

Lys, Thr, Trp

Knowles et al., 19981

Lys, Thr, Trp, Met

Knowles et al., 1998

Lys, Thr, Trp, Met,

Knowles et al., 1998