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Freeze-Dried and Commercially-Prepared Alfalfa Protein Concentrate Evaluation with Rats and Swine^{1 ,2,}

Oregon State University, Corvallis 97331 and Berkeley 94710

Abstract

Alfalfa protein concentrate (APC) was evaluated as a protein source using rats and swine. In an experiment with young (18 kg initial weight) pigs, a freeze-dried (FD) APC sample gave growth and feed/gain similar to that with soybean meal (SBM) as the supplement, whereas gains were reduced (P<.01) with a commercial APC sample (X-Pro). A rat experiment indicated that both APC preparations gave increased growth when supplemented with lysine and methionine. Digestibility of the crude protein in the FD-APC was similar to that of SBM, while for the X-Pro it was lower (P<.01). Three other APC preparations, prepared with different drying temperatures (FD, 77 C, 91 C), were evaluated with rats and pigs. No differences (P<.05) in growth rate of pigs and rats fed these preparations occurred, but in both cases, the trend was to improved performance with reduced drying temperatures. The results indicate that the commercial preparation (X-Pro) was of inferior quality, but if adequate processing methods are used, APC can be the equal of soybean meal as a protein supplement for swine.

¹ Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station Technical Paper No. 4325.

² Reference to a company or product does not imply approval of recommendation of the product by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to the exclusion of others that may be suitable.

³ Department of Animal Science, Oregon State University.

⁴ A.R.S., Western Regional Research Laboratory, Berkeley, CA