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Camelina (Camelina sativa), an oilseed crop of the Brassica family, is mainly used in the biodiesel industry and production of vegetable oil for human consumption. The seed yield and oil content are comparable to those of canola but camelina is more resistant to environmental conditions. Besides, camelina has a higher content (380 vs. 100 g/kg) of α-linolenic acid than rapeseed oil. The objective of this experiment was to determine the apparent (AID) and standardized ileal digestibility, (SID) of crude protein (CP) and amino acids (AA), the digestible (DE), metabolizable (ME) and calculated net energy (NE) values of screw-pressed camelina cake (SPCC) fed to growing pigs. Six ileal cannulated barrows [(Yorkshire-Landrace) × Duroc] with 80 kg BW were assigned to two experimental diets in a two period crossover design to give six observations per diet. Each period lasted for 10 d; the initial 5 d for diet adaptation, followed by 3 d for urine and faeces collection, and 2 d for ileal digesta collection. Pigs were fed either a corn–soybean meal basal diet formulated to meet NRC (1998) nutrient requirements for 50 to 80 kg pigs or the basal diet with a portion of the corn and soybean meal partially replaced by 200 g/kg SPCC. Titanium dioxide (3 g/kg) was included as an indigestible marker.
The GE, CP, lysine, methionine, threonine, ether extract, NDF, ADF and glucosinolate, tannins and phytate P contents of SPCC (on a DM basis) were 21.5 MJ/kg, 381, 18, 6.8, 16.8, 119, 315, 203 g/kg, 36.3 μmol/g, 20 and 6.4 g/kg respectively. The SID coefficient of CP for SPCC was 0.65. The coefficient of SID of lysine, methionine and threonine for SPCC were 0.58, 0.53 and 0.53, respectively. The DE, ME, and calculated NE values of SPCC were 17.5, 16.2 and 10.2 MJ/kg, respectively.
The DE and ME values of SPCC make it an attractive alternative energy source for swine diets. However, its low CP and AA digestibility and high NDF content may limit inclusion levels. Also, the high glucosinolate content in SPCC could affect pig feed intake, hence contributing further to limiting its inclusion level.
Kahindi, R.K., Woyengo, T.A., Thacker, P.A., Nyachoti, C.M. 2014. Energy and amino acid digestibility of camelina cake fed to growing pigs. Animal Feed Science and Technology. 193; 93 – 101. DOI: 10.1016/j.anifeedsci.2014.03.012.