Interpretive Summary: Nutritional evaluation of fish protein hydrolysate and its application in piglet production

By: Nan Zhang, Xiaoming Song, Wenxuan Dong, Ling Liu, Zhiying Cui, and Yongxi Ma

Fish meal (FM) is often used as a feed ingredient for piglets to adapt to the digestive physiological characteristics. However, due to the rising price and uneven quality of FM, the feed industry has been searching for protein sources with the same or better qualities as FM. Fish protein hydrolysate (FPH), a new protein material rich in peptides and free amino acids, has the potential to serve as an alternative to traditional fish meal. Our study was conducted to determine the digestible energy (DE), metabolizable energy (ME), and ileal digestibility of amino acids (AA) of FPH, and to evaluate the effects of FPH on the performance of piglets. We found that FPH had a high value of digestible energy and ileal digestible essential amino acids, and could improve nutrient digestibility, immunity, antioxidant capacity, and intestinal health of piglets, while adverse to nitrogen deposition in piglets.

Read the full article in the Journal of Animal Science.