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August 2024
Phosphorus is an essential nutrient for sows, but until now, its bioavailability values for sows have been estimated based on studies conducted with growing pigs.
The study, Standardized total tract digestibility of phosphorus in canola meal fed to gestating or lactating sows without or with a multi-enzyme complex, published in Animal Feed Science and Technology (Velayudhan et al., 2024) was conducted with sows in early, mid and late gestation as well as lactation. The researchers used a semi-synthetic diet, in which canola meal provided the only source of phosphorus. The digestibility did not change with the different productive stages.
This study revealed that the standardized total tract digestibility of phosphorus is 44 to 46%, which is greater than the value determined with growing pigs (34%). This allows more accurate diet formulation and reduces overfeeding phosphorus to sows.
The unique experimental method also allowed for a more precise determination of total tract digestibility of crude protein at 84%, which is higher than previously reported values. The total tract dry matter digestibility of canola meal ranged from 83 to 86%, and remained consistent across different phases of the production cycle.
Velayudhan, D.E., Hossain, M.M., Lee, J., Stein, H.H. and Nyachoti, C.M., 2024. Standardized total tract digestibility of phosphorus in canola meal fed to gestating or lactating sows without or with a multi-enzyme complex. Animal Feed Science and Technology, p.116068. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0377840124001962?via%3Dihub
