NUTRITIONAL-EVALUATION OF BIOLOGICALLY TREATED WHITE KIDNEY BEANS (PHASEOLUS-VULGARIS L.) IN PIGS - ILEAL AND AMINO-ACID DIGESTIBILITY

We studied the effect of feeding young growing pigs a semisynthetic di et containing 7.5% white kidney beans-germinated (GB), pancreatin trea ted (PTB), or untreated (raw beans RB)-on protein and amino acid (AA) digestibilities at the terminal ileum. Eleven castrated male pigs (12. 2 kg live weight) fitted with a post-valve T-cecal cannula and two blo od catheters were used. The N-15-isotope dilution method was used to d etermine the amount of endogenous protein passing the terminal ileum a nd the true ileal protein digestibility. Ileal crude protein losses in pigs fed the RE, GB, and PTB diets were 51.9, 27.4, and 51.1 g/kg of DMI, respectively. The total amounts of AA passing the terminal ileum of the pigs fed the RE, GB, and PTB diets were 48.6, 21.4, and 42.2 g/ kg DMI, respectively. The apparent ileal crude protein and AA digestib ilities of the RE, GB, and PTB diets were 74, 87, and 75% and 76, 89, and 78%, respectively. True ileal protein digestibilities were 88, 93, and 93% for the RE, GB, and PTB diets, respectively. On the basis of this research, germination of white kidney beans improves the digestio n of protein by decreasing the content of bean antinutritional factors and increasing the bean true ileal protein digestibility.