Nutritional value of 15 corn gluten meals for growing pigs: chemical composition, energy content and amino acid digestibility

The objectives of this study were to determine the chemical composition, energy content and amino acid digestibility for corn gluten meals (CGM) and to develop prediction equations for estimating energy content and amino acid digestibility for growing pigs based on the chemical characteristics of these meals. The 15 CGM tested were obtained from seven Chinese companies. Experiment 1 was conducted to determine the digestible (DE) and metabolisable energy (ME) of the 15 CGM. The 18 growing barrows (38 +/- 4 kg) were assigned to three 6 x 6 Latin square designs. The 15 CGM test diets were formulated to contain 19.20% CGM, which replaced 20% of the energy supplied by corn and crystalline amino acid in the basal diet. Experiment 2 was conducted to determine the apparent (AID) and standardised (SID) ileal digestibility of the crude protein (CP) and amino acids in the 15 CGM using chromic oxide as an inert marker. The 18 growing barrows (25 +/- 2 kg) fitted with a simple T-cannula were assigned to three 6 x 6 Latin square designs. The 15 test diets contained 35% of one of the 15 CGM as the sole source of amino acids in the diet. The results showed a considerable variation in the chemical composition of CGM within and among plants. On dry matter basis, the DE and ME content of the CGM ranged from 18.8 to 21.0 MJ/kg and from 18.0 to 19.9 MJ/kg, respectively. There were no significant differences in the AID and SID for CP, arginine, lysine, glycine and proline among the 15 CGM, however, for all the other amino acids, significant differences were found for their AID and SID. With R2 values exceeding 0.50, the DE of CGM can be predicted accurately from CP and fibre content and ME from starch and fibre content. Suitable prediction equations for SID of methionine were also developed.