Recently, researchers from Feed Processing and Quality and Safety Innovation Research Team of the Institute of Feed Research of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences found the key indicators that could distinguish the quality of soybean meals, and established a correlation model between quality indicators of soybean meal and the growth performance of Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus GIFT). It is of great significance for evaluating the quality of soybean meals and promoting the efficient application of soybean meal in aquafeeds, which were published in Animals.

The quality of soybean meal varies with factors such as seed genotype, soil type, planting area, processing conditions, storage conditions, etc. Differences in soybean meal quality may lead to differences in the production performances of animals. This study investigated the nutrient compositions and physicochemical properties of soybean meals produced by soybeans from America and Brazil in 2017–2021 under the same controlled conditions. The effects of different soybean meals on the growth performance of Nile tilapia and apparent digestibility coefficients of nutrients and energy were studied. The results of principal component analysis (PCA) showed that protein dispersibility index (PDI), urease activity (UA), glycinin and fibre were the four primary key indicators for distinguishing the characteristics of the tested soybean meals. The results of Partial least-squares regression (PLS) analysis suggested that UA, glycinin, β-conglycinin, and PDI had the greatest impact on the growth performance of Nile tilapia in this study. PDI was a more sensitive indicator than nitrogen solubility index (NSI) for representing the protein quality of soybean meal.

This study was supported by U.S. Soybean Export Council (USSEC); National Natural Science Foundation of China (32172981 and 31902382).

Original link: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/14/1831 

                            By Ma Shifeng (mashifeng@caas.cn)