Determination of the energy contents and nutrient digestibility of corn, waxy corn and steam-flaked corn fed to growing pigs

Abstract

Objective The research was conducted to determine the digestible (DE) and metabolizable energy (ME) contents as well as the apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of nutrients in corn, waxy corn and steam-flaked corn fed to growing pigs. Methods Eighteen growing pigs with initial body weight of 15.42±1.41 kg were randomly allotted to three diets including a corn diet, a waxy corn diet and a steam-flaked corn diet in a completely randomized design. Each treatment contained six replicates. The experiment lasted for 12 days, which comprised 7-d adaptation to diets followed by a 5-d total collection of feces and urine. The energy contents and the nutrient digestibility in three ingredients were calculated using direct method. Results Compared to normal corn, both the amylose and dietary fiber contents in waxy corn were numerically lower, but the starch gelatinization degree was numerically greater. Moreover, the DE and ME contents as well as the ATTD of neutral detergent fiber and acid detergent fiber (ADF) in waxy corn were significantly greater (p<0.05) than those in normal corn when fed to growing pigs. Furthermore, the steam-flaked corn had greater (p<0.05) DE and ME contents, and ATTD of ether extract and ADF compared to normal corn. Conclusion Both variety and processing procedure have influence on chemical compositions, energy contents and nutrient digestibility of corn. The waxy corn and steam-flaked corn had greater degree of starch gelatinization and DE and ME contents compared to normal corn when fed to growing pigs.

Ruminal Degradability and Bypass Nutrients of Alkaline or Steam-Treated Cassava Chip and Corn Grain

“…The average range of CP and EE in corn grain (7.61-8.44, 3.68-4.95) and cassava chips (1.51-2.27, 0.67-1.02) were similar to many previous studies that reported cassava chips and corn grain as high-starch energy source feeds, with cassava chips containing 2.3% CP and 0.3% EE and corn grain containing 8.8% CP and 4.7% EE (Suksombat et al, 2007). The reduction of CP and EE contents in all treated cassava chips and corn grain in this experiment were similar to the findings of Ma et al (2019), who found that, after steaming, the bulk density of normal corn grain and the CP and EE concentrations decreased. This occurred because a higher-temperature treatment at 100 °C reduced the CP and EE concentrations.…”

Yield and Quality Stabilities of Waxy Maize Genotypes using Biplot Analysis

“…Ma et al (2019) reported that the mean energy values of dent corn and waxy corn varieties were 378.5 and 380.5 kcal 100 g -1 , respectively, which were slightly higher than the energy values calculated in this study. The difference is probably related to the higher oil and protein contents of waxy Corn genotypes used in the experiment compared to those used by [38]. The energy values, similar to the grain chemical composition, are under the influence of the genetic structure.…”

“…The starch ratios of waxy corn genotypes have been reported between 69.01 and 73.2% [7,47,38]. The differences between starch ratios reported in the literature and those obtained in this study can be attributed the difference in the genotypes used.…”

“…The crude oil ratio of waxy Corn genotypes reported in the previous studies ranges from 4.4 to 5.1% [7,47,41,38]. The crude oil ratios obtained in the experiment were relatively lower compared to those reported in the literature.…”

“…The protein ratios in various experiments reported varying between 8 and 13% [19,45]. In addition, the protein ratio of waxy corn varies reported varying between 7.89 and 9.4% [46,41,7,38]. The protein ratios reported in previous studies are compatible with the dent corn, while higher than the waxy corn genotypes.…”