FrançaisValine
Valine: Break through the feed optimisation barrier!
Valine is one of the amino acids for pigs and poultry that have to be supplied in the feed because animals are unable to synthesize it. Its main biological function is its involvement in the synthesis of muscle protein; in other words, growth performance.
1. Valine: an indispensable amino acid for growth performance
In piglets, recent research by AJINOMOTO EUROLYSINE S.A.S. has corroborated previous literature findings of a requirement of a minimum ratio of 70% digestible Valine to Lysine for optimum growth. L-Valine supplementation to balance piglet diets leads to a significant improvement in performance, as shown in the following chart.
In broilers, valine is also a limiting amino acid in feed formulation and a minimum ratio of 80% digestible Valine to Lysine is recommended. With L-Valine available today, it becomes easier to formulate pigs and poultry diets without minimum crude protein constraint (see bulletin 32, AJINOMOTO EUROLYSINE S.A.S. Formulator Handbook). The use of L-Valine in feeds means that the amino acid requirements of animals can be satisfied without causing an imbalance in amino acids. Ideal amino acid profiles, in which the level of each amino acid is expressed as a percentage of the optimum lysine level for growth, have been defined as follows:
|
Poultry |
Pig |
||||
|
Chicken and Turkey |
Layer |
Piglet |
Grower-Finisher |
Sow |
|
| Valine: Lysine digestible |
80% |
90% |
70% |
68% |
>70% |
2. L-Valine, to further reduce dietary crude protein
The reduction of crude protein in feeds has been limited by a lack of information on the exact level of valine that is required for optimum growth and, to a large extent, by the non-availability of feed grade L-Valine. AJINOMOTO EUROLYSINE SAS's new L-Valine gives the feed industry the opportunity to implement further decreases in dietary protein content, which can be driven by nutritional, economic and environmental goals, such as:
- An improvement in feed efficiency
- A reduction of protein oversupply to the animal thus improving health conditions and reducing digestive disorders
- A reduction of nitrogen excretion from animals into the environment.
On the basis of a piglet feed containing 70% SID Val:Lys ratio, the use of L-Valine breaks through the old feed optimisation barrier allowing a further decrease in the crude protein content of about 2 percentage points of protein (see graph).
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