Abstract #576

# 576
Nutrient profile and digestibility of macadamia nut cake as determined using an in vitro model of swine.
Utsav P. Tiwari1, Rajesh Jha*1, 1University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI.

Highly variable price and market availability of some conventional feedstuffs, such as corn, wheat, soybean meal (SBM) make imperative to explore alternative feedstuffs to be used in swine diets. Macadamia nut cake (MNC), a coproduct from macadamia nut oil extraction process, is available and can serve as a potential feedstuff. However no or limited information of its nutrient profile and digestibility value limit its use in swine diets. To explore the nutritional value, MNC was analyzed for its basic nutrients, fibers, GE, AA and fatty acids content using standard methods. Digestibility of DM and GE of MNC was determined using an in vitro 3-step enzymatic assay using pepsin, pancreatin and viscozyme (which mimics the digestion occurring in the gastrointestinal tract of swine) with 4 replicates of sample digested over 2 batches. All replicates were used to determine DM digestibility while 2 replicates from each batch were used to determine GE digestibility. The MNC sample contained 93.1% DM. On DM basis, Ash, CP, crude fat, NDF, ADF, lignin and GE were found to be 3.7%, 25.5%, 11.9%, 35.8%, 28.0%, 16.0% and 5581 kcal/kg, respectively. In vitro DM and GE digestibility were found to be 76.7 and 71.4%, respectively. The concentration of Lys, the first limiting AA in swine, was found to be 0.7%. Linoleic and linolenic acid content were 2.5 and 0.2%, respectively. Gross energy content in MNC is comparable with that of corn and higher than SBM, due to high residual oil content, while protein content is twice as high as corn but lower than SBM. However, high fiber and presence of potential antinutritional factors like tannin and phytic acid need to be considered while using MNC in swine diets. In conclusion, MNC is not merely a good source of protein and energy but also had fairly high DM and GE digestibility when studied using an in vitro model of swine. Hence, it may serve as a potential alternative of some conventional sources of protein and energy in swine diets.

Key Words: in vitro digestibility, macadamia nut cake, swine