This study was carried out to evaluate effects of phytase (0, 1,000, and 2,000 uf/kg) on apparent P availability of five energetic feeds (corn, extruded corn, wheat meal, rice meal and low-tannin sorghum) and five protein feeds (extruded soy, soybean meal, sunflower meal, cottonseed meal and corn gluten) using a purified diet as control. One hundred (100.00 ± 5.00 g) Nile tilapia juveniles (Oreochromis niloticus) were allotted to ten cages to allow feeding and fecal collection. For each feed and […]

This experiment was carried out to evaluate the influence of the reduction of dietary CP levels and amino acid supplementation on performance of barrows maintained in a high environmental temperature. A total of sixty crossbreed (Landrace x Large White) piglets (average body weight = 29.8 kg) was allotted in a completely randomized experimental design with five treatments (17, 16, 15, 14 and 13% CP), six replications and two animals per experimental unit. Diets and water were suplied ad libitum until […]

An experiment was conduced with the objective of evaluating the effects of diet formulation methods and supplementation of ractopamine (RAC) on the performance and carcass characteristics of finishing barrows. Sixty commercial hybrid swines were used, distributed in a randomized experimental block design, in a 2 x 3 factorial arrangment, with two levels of RAC and three methods of diet formulation. Supplementation with RAC improved the final weight, daily weight gain (DWG) and feed conversion (FC) of the finishing barrows. Addition […]

This experiment was conduced to determine the level of CP with amino acid supplementation in diets to gilts under high environmental temperature in finishing phase. Thirty-five crossbreed gilts (Landrace x Large White) with an average initial weight of 60.3 kg were allotted in a randomized experimental design with five diets (17.3, 16, 14.7, 13.4, and 12.1% CP) seven replications and one animal by experimental unity. The experimental diets were supplied ad libitum until the end of the experiment when the […]

The effect of the substitution of an antibiotic by different levels of spent mushroom substrate (SMS) of Agaricus blazei on the performance of broiler chicks from 1 to 42 days old was evaluated. Seven diets were evaluated, six with SMS addiction (0.0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, and 1.0%) and one with antibiotic (avilamycin 10 ppm). A total of 588 one day old chicks was allotted to a complete randomized design, with six replications per diet (three per sex) and 14 […]

The present experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of the different levels of soybean oil on endogenous losses, apparent and true ileal digestibility of amino acids in growing pigs diets. Four isoprotein corn and soybean meal based diets meeting the nutritional requirements for this phase, supplemented with crescent levels of soybean oil, (0.0, 1.5, 3.0, and 4.5) were evaluated. Chromic oxide (0.25%) was added to serve as digestibility marker. Sixteen cannulated pigs (simple T-cannula), with weight of 48.0 ± […]

An experiment was carried out to evaluate digestible lysine requirement for male broilers chicks of Ross line from 1 to 11 days old. A total of 1050 one day old male chicks were fed with five isoenergetic (2,950 kcal ME/kg) and isoproteic (23% CP) diets, with digestible lysine levels of 1.12, 1.17, 1.22, 1.27 and 1.35%. A completely randomized bloc design was used with seven replications of 30 birds per experimental unit. A comparative slaughter technique was conducted to determine […]

Apparent digestibility coefficients of dry matter, crude protein, gross energy and ether extract from protein feeds: soybean meal and fish meal and from energy feeds: corn and wheat middlings were evaluated for Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens). Adult female fish were stocked in cages and held in two fiberglass aquaria (30 fish/aquarium) for feeding and two aquaria for collect fecal samples, both with conic shape with 30L. The results of apparent digestibility coefficients for DM, CP, GE and EE were […]

The last twenty years have been characterized by some remarkable technological advances in the field of genomics which were essential to unveil the genome of varies species. Furthermore, these genomic advances contributed to pinpoint particularities in genome sequences which might be associated with phenotypic variations, therefore, it became possible to study functions associated with specific sequences in a more holistic context within biological systems. More importantly, the blossoming in genomics contributed to a better understanding on the mechanisms that control […]

This review covers methods that have been applied to study the nutrient value or quality of specific ingredients fed to dogs, cats and comparable species (i.e. foxes, minks, rats, etc.). Typically, the nutritional value or utilization of a specific ingredient is measured by total tract digestibility and has been expanded through the measurement of total nutrient balance (i.e. nitrogen or energy). However, to better understand digestion it is necessary to obtain a more accurate measurement of nutrients entering and leaving […]