C. Van Nevel et al., Increasing amounts of peas in a diet fed with or without spray-dried porcine plasma: Effects on zootechnical performance of piglets, VLAAM DIERG, 68(2), 1999, pp. 91-95
The zootechnical performance of piglets fed diets with increasing amounts (
0-40%) of peas was investigated. Rations were fed both with and without add
ition of spray-dried porcine plasma (5%), a potent inhibitor of lectins, on
e of the antinutritional compounds present in peas and thought to be partly
responsible for the growth depressing effect. In contrast to literature da
ta, no negative effects on daily gain, feed intake and feed efficiency coul
d be observed, Villus height and crypt depth, measured in mucosal tissue sa
mples, were also unaffected by the presence of peas. No antibodies against
pea lectin were detected in serum samples. Porcine plasma improved performa
nce of the piglets during the first week of the experiment. We have conclud
ed that lectins in pea cultivars with very low trypsin-inhibiting activity
do not pose any problem as far as a 40% inclusion level is concerned.