Increasing amounts of peas in a diet fed with or without spray-dried porcine plasma: Effects on zootechnical performance of piglets

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.