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Two milk substitute diets for which the protein was provided either exclusively by skim milk powder (control) or partially (34%) by dehulled raw pea flour were given for 2 and 4 wk, respectively, to five preruminant calves, each fitted with a reentrant ileocecal cannula. Ileal apparent digestibility was lower with the pea diet during wk 1 than with the control diet. Four of the cannulated calves exhibited significant intolerance to the pea diet, resulting in lower digestibility during wk 4. In contrast, fecal digestibility of the pea diet, measured in four additional calves without reentrant cannulas, did not significantly decrease between wk 1 and 4. The AA composition of ileal digesta from the first group of calves did not vary greatly, suggesting that the differences observed in their apparent digestibility of proteins were due mainly to changes in the loss of endogenous proteins. However, pea legumin survived digestion in the small intestine in amounts generally equivalent to 1 to 3% of intake. Most of that undigested fraction was smaller than the native legumin: 40 to 200 kDa instead of 360 kDa. Also, a 45-kDa fragment was detected in the urine. Increased intestinal permeability could have favored the development of the high systemic anti-pea antibody titers that were observed in all of the calves.

In vivo and in vitro gastric emptying of protein fractions of three milk replacers containing either milk protein (control), a mixture (50:50 on a CP basis) of milk protein and native whey protein concentrate, or a mixture (50:50 on a CP basis) of milk protein and heated whey protein concentrate was studied. In vivo gastric emptying was measured in three preruminant calves fitted with reentrant duodenal cannulas and used in a 3 x 3 Latin square design. In vitro gastric emptying was determined after enzymatic digestion in an artificial stomach. In vivo and in vitro flow rates of protein N (12% TCA-insoluble N) and total N were higher for milk replacers containing whey proteins than for control. Gastric emptying of NPN (12% TCA-soluble N) was slightly higher for diets containing whey proteins than for that containing milk proteins. Gastric emptying of all protein fractions was similar for the two milk replacers containing whey proteins. In vivo and in vitro results were significantly correlated, suggesting that the in vitro method reproduced conditions for proteolysis and could be used to predict gastric digestion of protein fractions.

Summary ― The ileal digestion of 3 milk substitutes in which skim milk powder was either the only protein source (control diet) or was partially replaced (50%) by a heated soyabean flour (SF diet) or an alcohol-treated soyabean protein concentrate (SC diet) was studied in 6 preruminant calves which were fitted with an ileo-caecal re-entrant cannula. The apparent digestibility of total nitrogen and amino acids was lower with the SF and SC diets than with the control diet (0.89, 0.89 and 0.94, respectively, for amino acid nitrogen). Assuming that true digestibility was complete with the control diet, the values were lower with the SF and SC diets, especially for cystine, threonine, valine, isoleucine, leucine and histidine. With the SF and SC diets, digesta contained more aspartic acid and glutamic acid but less threonine, sulfur amino acids, lysine, serine and alanine than with the control diet. The additional undigested fractions obtained with the SF and SC diets compared to the control diet were rich in aspartic and glutamic acids, and poor in arginine, suggesting that partially degraded dietary fractions different from the whole soyabean escaped digestion in the small intestine; these fractions probably originated mainly from glycinin. No significant differences were observed between the 2 soyabean diets.

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