Nutritional value of faba beans (<i>Vicia faba</i> L.) fed to young pigs

Abstract

The nutritional value of four varieties of faba beans (Vicia faba L.) originating from Poland (var. Kamir and Martin) and the Netherlands (var. Toret and Pistache) was evaluated on young pigs (20-35 kg) in two experiments. The condensed tannin content in the beans was from <0.1 % (white-flowered var. Toret) to 0.55% (coloured-flowered var. Martin). In the ileal digestibility experiment (PVTC-cannula) the experimental diets consisted of 70% basal diet and 30% faba beans (FB). In the N balance/growth performance experiment the diets contained 50% of crude protein (CP) from FB and 50% from the basal diet. The apparent ileal CP digestibility of FB decreased from 74.3 to 68.8% with an increase of tannin content. The ileal amino acids (AA) digestibility of var. Toret was higher as compared to that of var. Martin. The apparent faecal digestibility of CP depended on the tannin content in FB (R 2 = 0.70, P ^ 0.01). The N retention and body weight gain (BWG) of pigs fed the Toret diet were higher (P^O.01) as compared to those fed the Martin diet. It was concluded that the low content of condensed tannins in FB (< 0.1 %) had a positive effect on ileal digestibility of CP and AA and on growth rate of young pigs.

Apparent and standardized ileal digestibility of protein and amino acids of several field bean and pea varieties in growing pigs

“…The ileal digestibility of fi eld beans and of peas was in agreement with the results reported by Grala et al (1993), Degussa (2001), Mariscal-Landin et al (2002) and Selgado et al (2002a,b), among others, whereas the digestibility of lysine, methionine and threonine in our experiment was several percentage points lower. The differences in the digestibility of amino acids may have resulted from the use of different varieties of legumes (different chemical composition) and the age of the experimental animals.…”

“…The ileal digestibility of fi eld bean and pea protein was signifi cantly lower than in soyabean meal, which may have been an effect of the antinutrients contained in them (Abrahamsson et al, 1993;Grala et al, 1993;Jansman, 1993;Selgado et al, 2002a). The tannin level (Tabel 1) was higher in the coloured-fl owered varieties of peas than in the white-fl owered ones.…”

“…Jansman (1993) points to the negative infl uence of tannins on the availability of proline in rats fed high-tannin diets. This is explained by the ease with which the hydroxyl groups of phenolic compounds bind with groups in the relaxed structure of proline, resulting in a reduction of the antinutritive effect of tannins (Grala et al, 1993).…”

“…Over the past years breeding has led to the registration of legume varieties having reduced levels of antinutrients, including tannins, ADF, and NDF (Gdala et al, 1992;Abrahamsson et al, 1993;Grala et al, 1993;Mariscal-Landin et al, 2002). Tannins form complexes with proteins, metal ions and other macromolecules, lowering their availability to animals (Abrahamsson et al, 1993).…”

Effect of different levels of faba bean in diets on growth performance of young pigs

“…It is probable that the high amount of tannins in faba bean seeds cv. Kodam, 7.2 mg/g, did not have a negative effect on the growth performance of young pigs, which is in agreement with results obtained by Flis et al (1999) and Grala et al (1993).…”