CHEMISTRY AND

NUTRITIVE VALUES OF

NIGERIA`S

FOODS AND FEEDING

STUFFS

ABN 520

B. R. O. Omidiwura

Introduction, Chemistry and

nutritive values of proteinaceous

feeds; legumes, animal products

Protein

Describe protein as

much as you know it

Protein

• Next to water, protein is the major component of the

body tissue

• It is the essential nutrient for growth. •

• The body is in a dynamic state, with protein and

other nitrogenous compounds being degraded and

resynthesized continuously.

• More protein is turned over daily in the body than is

ordinarily consumed in the diet.

• Proteins are large molecules made up of amino acids

bonded together by peptide linkages.

• They provide the essential amino acids, which are the

initial materials for tissue synthesis and constituent of

tissue protein.

• Thus, it was often referred to as the “currency” of

protein nutrition and metabolism (Young, 2001).

• The maintenance of body tissue is essential because the

body is constantly undergoing wear and tear, and

proteins and amino acids provide continuous repairs.

Physiological functions of proteins

• The formation of regulatory compounds.

• Some hormones, all enzymes and most other

regulatory materials in the body are protein

substances.

• Proteins defend the body against disease.

• Proteins attracts water and this helps to

maintain the fluid balance in their various

compartments.

• In addition, proteins help maintain the balance

between acids and bases within the body fluids

by accepting and releasing hydrogen ions.

• Even though proteins are needed for growth,

maintenance and repair, they will be used to

provide glucose when the need arises.

Sources of protein

1. Animal proteins 2. Plant proteins

• Animal proteins are more “biologically complete”

than vegetable protein with regards to the amino acid

composition.

• The term “complete protein” refers to foods that contain all

the essential amino acids needed by the body, whereas,

“incomplete proteins” refers to foods lacking in one or more

essential amino acids.

• There are more complete proteins from animal sources than

most vegetable proteins, which are “biologically

incomplete”.

Complementarity of proteins

• An incomplete protein can be converted

into a complete protein if two incomplete

proteins are added together by employing

what is called “complementarity of

proteins”. Two plant proteins such as

legumes and grains or legumes and

nuts/seeds can be mixed to produce a

complete protein from two incomplete ones.

Protein use

• It is important to have an appropriate available

energy supply in a balanced diet for efficient

protein use by livestock

• High energy to protein ratio is needed to optimize

the use of the protein

• The protein inclusion in the diet should balance

the provision of “essential”, “semi-essential” and

“conditionally indispensable” amino acids.

• Different protein feed ingredients have their

amino acid strengths and weakness. For

example:

• the lysine limitation in maize, and

• methionine and cysteine limitations in soyabean.

These are key issues for appropriate protein use

and feed formulation.

CLASSIFICATION OF

PROTEIN BASED ON ORIGIN

Plant Protein Sources

1. Soyabean meal

2. Groundnut cake

3. Sesame seed meal

4. Palm kernel cake

5. Cowpea meal

6. Wheat gluten meal

7. Corn gluten meal

8. Cotton seed cake

9. Full fat soya meal

10. Rape seed meal or canola meal

Soybean Meal (SBM)

• Soybean meal has one of the best essential amino

acid profiles of all protein-rich plant feedstuffs

• A high crude protein content of 44 to 50 percent and

a balanced amino acid composition, complementary

to maize meal for feed formulation

• A high level of inclusion (30-40 percent) is used in

high performance monogastric diets

• Whole soyabeans contain about 15% less protein

than soyabean meal. –Why?

Nutrient Soyabean seeds

% of DM

Soyabean meal SBM

(Banaszkiewicz

20000) % 44% CP, % of

DM

49% CP, % of

DM

Crude protein 37.08 43.8 – 49.9 52.8 – 56.3 44.4

Crude ash 4.86 5.6 – 7.2 5.2 – 9.1 6.65

Crude fat 18.38 0.55 – 3.0 1.0 – 3.3 2.18

Crude fiber 5.12 4.3 – 7.2 3.1 – 4.1 6.75

NDF 12.98 12.3 – 18.9 7.4 – 12.2 15.51

ADF 7.22 8.9 – 11.9 5.2 – 6.7 9.5

N-free-

extractive

24 34.3 33.2 31.82

Starch 4.66 5.51 5.46 6.3

Mineral

components

Soyabean

seeds

Soyabean meal SBM

Banaszkiewicz

(2000) Mechanical

extracted (cake)

Solvent

extracted 44%

CP

Ca 2.62 2.96 3.12 2.71

p 5.7 6.64 6.37 5.14

Mg 2.8 2.84 2.72 2.27

K 15.93 20.28 19.85 6.66

Na 0.29 0.33 0.18 0.3

vitamins Soyabean

meal solvent

Soyabean meal

dehulled

solvent

Soyabean

expeller

Soyabean

full-fat

E, (mg/kg) 3 3.3 6.6 31

Thiamin,

(mg/kg)

1.7 1.7 1.7 6.6

Riboflavin,

(mg/kg)

3 2.6 4.4 2.64

Pantothenic

acid, (mg/kg)

13.3 13.2 13.8 15.6

Biotin, (µg/kg) 320 320 320 286

Folic acid,

(µg/kg)

450 700 450 3542

Niacin, (mg/kg) 59.8 20.9 36.7 22

Amino acids Soyabean seeds %

of DM

Soyabean meal

44% CP, % of DM

SBM, g/16gN

(Banaszkiewicz, 2000)

Arginine 2.45 – 3.1 3.49 – 3.78 6.79

Cystine 0.45 – 0.67 0.66 – 0.75 1.57

Histidine 1.0 – 1.22 1.21 – 1.32 2.58

Isoleucine 1.76 – 1.98 2.15 – 2.78 4.24

Leucine 2.2 – 4.0 3.66 – 3.92 8.21

Lysine 2.5 – 2.66 2.99 – 3.22 6.49

Methionine 0.5 – 0.67 0.6 – 0.69 1.5

Phenylalanine 1.6 – 2.08 2.35 – 3.0 4.93

Threonine 1.4 – 1.89 1.89 – 2.03 3.99

Tryptophan 0.51 – 2.44 0.66 – 0.75 1.05

Valine 1.5 – 2.44 2.24 – 2.67 5.22

Fatty acids Soyabean seeds % of DM Soyabean oil %

Palmitic acid 1.44 – 2.31 07 – 12

Stearic acid 0.54 - 0.91 02 – 05

Oleic acid 3.15 – 8.82 19 – 34

Linoleic acid 6.48 – 11.6 48 – 60

Linolenic acid 0.72 – 2.16 02 – 10

Arachidic acid 0.04 – 0.7 < 1.0

• Soyabean meal is commonly used to spare fish

meal, however, only to a point

• The nutritive value of soyabean is limited by

anti-nutritional factors. Especially by trypsin

and chymotrypsin inhibitors

• trypsin inhibitor reduces digestibility of soy protein

by the enzyme trypsin

• solution: most soybeans are roasted prior to milling

(destroys inhibitor)

Anti-nutritional factors in

soyabean

• Protease inhibitors

• Lectins

• Phytoestrogens

• Stachyose and raffinose

• Phytates

• Allergens

• Pectins

• Oligosaccharides

Full-fat Soybeans

• Full fat soybean meal is different from regular

SBM in that it has a full fat complement

• fat has not been solvent extracted

• 18% fat vs 0.5%

• often used as an energy source or for general

balancing of the formula

• REM: too high fat = reduced nutrient intake

Grains and By-products

• Grains are primarily used as COH sources

• when whole, they contribute about 62%-

72% of dietary starch

• starches are fairly well digested by warm-

water species (60-70%), but not by cold

• heating via extrusion improves digestibility

by 10=15%

• can also be used as binding agents

Grains and By-products

• Corn is commonly used in the U.S., but

is high in xanthophyll (a pigment),

giving tissue a yellow color (not good

for fish sales!)

• corn gluten meal is high in protein

(60%) and contains high levels of MET

(excellent for formulation)

• rice bran often used in developing

countries due to local rice production

• rice bran is a reasonable COH source,

but is high in fiber and fat

• wheat gluten is a good protein source,

but too expensive, often used as a binder

Animal Protein Sources

• Fish meal

• Blood meal

• Casein

• Liver meal

• Meat meal

• Meat and bone meal

• Shrimp meal

• Crayfish meal

• Larva meal

• Feather meal

• Poultry by-products

(litter and feather

meal)

• Maggot meal

• Frog meal

• Grasshopper meal

• Urea

Fish Meal (FM)

• If made from good quality whole fish,

properly processed, it is the highest quality

protein source commonly available

• rich source also of energy and minerals

• highly digestible, highly palatable, also

serves as an attractant

• usually contains about 65% protein, that is

around 80% digestible

• high in LYS, MET (deficient in plant

sources)

Fish Meal (FM)

• if made from byproducts, its quality is not as good

as trawler-caught

• Quality of FM is determined by the part of fish

used and processing method

• only problem observed: high ash content can

sometimes result in mineral imbalance

• used sparingly because of high cost

• can be partially replaced by soyabean meal and

other animal meals

Fish Meal (FM)

• When using FM, one must remember that it cannot be

stored forever

• can become rancid due to high lipid content

• further, not all FM is created equal

• some types (menhaden) appear to be superior to others

(sardine meal)

• FM must be very well ground and sieved to help

remove indigestible parts

• big producer countries are Norway, Canada, USA,

Peru, Mexico, Ecuador

Parameters Norwegian

Norse-LT94

Canadian

Herring meal Whitefish meal

Protein, min. (%) 70 68 60

Fat (soxhlet extraction),

Max. (%)

11.5

Fat (Crude), min. (%) 5 3

Ash, total, max. (%) 14 16 20

Moisture, min (%) 5 5 5

Moisture, max (%) 10 10 10

Ammonia-N (TVN), max

(%)

0.16 0.2 0.2

Pepsin digestibility, min

(%)

94

Digestible protein, min

(%)

90 90

Dimethyl nitrosamine ND

Salmonella ND ND ND

Antioxidant, added

(ethoxyquin, ppm

400 200 200

Amino Acid Norse-LT94 Herring meal Menhaden Anchovy

Steam Flamed

Arginine 95.9 95.7 91.6 91.3 81.5

Histidine 96.4 89.5 90.3 85.4 75.9

Isoleucine 94.9 93.1 90.8 90.6 81.6

Leucine 95.3 93 91 89.3 82.3

Lysine 94.6 90.9 87.7 84.1 80.6

Phenylalanin

e

94.4 92.4 89.5 89.2 80.2

Threonine 93.2 89.4 87.4 85.1 80.7

Tryptophan 85.9 88.1 93.3 72.7 81.3

Valine 94.8 92.6 89.7 89.7 81.5

Average 93.9 91.6 90.1 86.4 80.6

Protein 87 85.1 82.6 78.2 76.7

Methods of assessing quality

• Gross inspection

• Chemical analyses

• Biological evaluation

• Gross inspection

– colour, texture, odour and microscopical

examinations.

• Chemical analyses – in vitro chemical tests

have been used to assess the protein quality of

fishmeals including test for:

– Acid corrected pepsin digestible protein (AOAC and

Torry methods)

– Multienzyme digestible proteins (Pedersen and

Eggum, 1983)

– Total volatile basic nitrogen (Woyewoda et al., 1986)

– Available lysine (Booth, 1971)

– Sulphydryl groups, and disulphide bonds (opstvedt et

al., 1984)

• Biological evaluation

– feeding trials involving growth and

feed utilization measurements for fish

and chicken, and also chick gizzard

erosion score have been used for the

biological evaluation of fishmeal.

QUESTIONS

Meat Meal

Meat and Bone Meal

Test

A. Discuss the following terms

– Biologically complete protein

– Complementarity of protein

• B.

i. The protein quality and nutrient composition of fishmeal

are influenced by a. --------------------------------------------

and b. ----------------------------------------------------------

ii. Soyabean meal is a rich source of high quality vegetable

protein for animal feed but the nutritive value is limited by

anti-nutritional values. List at least 5 of the anti-nutritional

factors.

CHEMISTRY AND

NUTRITIVE VALUE OF SOME

NIGERIAN GRASSES AND

LEGUMES

QUESTION

What is major problem

facing livestock

producers?

What are Forages?

• Forages are plant materials (mainly plant leaves

and stems) eaten by grazing livestock.

• The term may also include pods and seeds.

• The use of forages in livestock feeding is not

restricted to ruminants as forages are sometimes

processed and included in the diets of

monogastrics.

Nutritive Value • Ability of a feed resource to supply nutrients for animal function to

meet the required production target.

• The feed and animal types are therefore functions that

determine the nutritive value of a feed resource.

• A feed resource with a high nutritive value for a particular animal

specie A may have a low nutritive value for animal specie B.

• Nutritive value is a function of the feed intake (FI) and the

efficiency of extraction of nutrients from the feed during

digestion (digestibility)

• Feed of high nutritive value promote high levels of production (live

weight gain)

• Feed intake in ruminants consuming fibrous forages is

primarily determined by the level of rumen fill, which in turn is

directly related to the rate of digestion and passage of fibrous

particles from the rumen.

Chemical composition of feed

resources

• Chemical composition of the feed is not a sure way

of determining the nutritive value of feed.

• A feed resource may have an excellent chemical

composition but may not be adequately digested and

absorbed by the animal.

• Chemical composition is therefore of limited value

as a predictor of nutritive value.

Nutritive value of ranking

• The nutritive value of feeds should be ranked on the

following characteristics

– Voluntary consumption potential.

– Potential digestibility and ability to support high rates of

fermentative digestion.

– High rates of microbial protein synthesis to the rumen relative

to volatile fatty acids (VFA) produced (fermentation

protein/energy (P/E) ratio)

– High rate of propionic acid synthesis (glucogenic) relative to

total VFA synthesis fermentation glucogenic/energy (G/E)

ratio) and

– Ability to provide bypass nutrients (protein, starch and lipid)

for absorption from the small intestine (aborbed P/E and G/E

ratios)

GRASSES

• Grasses are grouped into about 620 genera

with nearly 10,000 species.

• The grass family (Gramineae) include about

75% of the species cultivated as forage

crops and all cereal crops.

Classification of Grasses

• Forages are often named according to a botanical

binomial.

• Plants with same reproductive structures belong

to same genus while

• the species consists of a natural population of

plants with common morphological

characteristics, having a common ancestry and

capable of reproducing like types. – Example, for Guinea grass Panicum maximum

– Panicum is the ‘Genus’ while ‘maximum’ is the species.

Characteristics of the grass family

• Annual or perennial

• Herbaceous (non-woody)

• Height at maturity from few

centimetres to 20m

• Monocotyledons

• The leaves are bore on the

stem, one at each node, but

are projected alternately in

two rows on opposite sides

of the stem

• The leaf consists of sheath,

blade, and ligule

• The blades are parallel

veined and typically flat

and narrow

• The stems can be creeping

or erect

• Possession of fibrous root

system

• Possession of inflorescence

(a unit called spikelet)

• The flowers are usually

small perfect flowers-

usually wind pollination

• Hypogeal germination

Some major grass species of tropical region

Common names Species

Gamba grass Andropogon gayanus Kuth

African star grass Cynodon nlemfuensis

Guinea grass Panicum maximum

Bermuda grass Cynodon dactylon

Carpet grass, lawn grass, blanket grass Axonosus compressus

Napier grass Pennisetum purpureum

Giant spear grass Imperata cylindrical (Linn.)

Rhodes grass Chloris gayana Stapf.

Job‟s tears Coix lacryma-jobi

Protein content (g/kg dry matter) of most grasses vary between 6-13%

LEGUMES

• Improvement in soil fertility (N-fixing ability)

• Green manure to replenish organic matter content of

the soil

• Protect the soil surface against erosion run-off (crop

cover)

• Sources of protein for livestock production

• Sources of fuel as fire woods

Classification of Legumes

• The pasture legumes

•

• Calopogonium

• Canavalia

• Stylosanthes

• Lablab

• Pueraria

• Centrosema

• etc

• The browse legumes

• Leucaena

• Cassia

• Acacia

• Cajanus

• etc

Characteristics of Legumes

• May be annual, biennials or

perennials

• Dicotyledons

• Possession of pods- monocarpellary

(one-chamber)- with two sutural

dehiscing along both sutures

• Most legumes grow symbiotically

with rhizobial bacteria that form

nodules (difference between

nodules and gall formation in roots)

• Arrangement of the leaves on

petioles can be unifoliate or

trifoliate

• Compound leaves can be pinnate

where a central leaflet is connected

by long petiodule where all blades

have equally short petiolules

• Leaves have reticulate veination

• Stem of legumes vary greatly

between species in length, size and

amount of branching and

woodiness

• Most legumes have prominent tap

root system

• Development of colourful flowers-

pollination may be self, insect,

birds, etc

• Germination is epigeal

Pasture Legumes

• The tropical legumes are generally richer in protein and

most minerals but have a range of digestibilities similar

to tropical grasses.

•

• The CP for tropical legumes may vary from 5.6-40%.

• The leafier parts possess higher protein values than the

older leaves but lower values than the seeds.

• Low CP digestibilities have been associated with low CP

percentages in the plans and vice versa i.e the higher the

CP the higher in plant the digestibility of CP

Some pasture Legumes

Common names Systematic or scientific names

centro Centrosema molle formerly C. pubescens

alfalfa Medicago sativa

calopogonium Calopogonium muconoides

Pigeon pea Cajanus cajan

Tropical kudzu Puereria phaseoloides (Roxb.) Benth.

Groundnut Arachis hypogen

Cowpea Vigna sinensis

Stylo Stylosnathes guinensis

Lablab (Hyacinth beans) Dolichos lablab

Pueraria phaseloides

This is a vigorious, deep-rooted, perennial

twinning and climbing legume, slightly

woody, hairy.

Feeding Value

• P. phaseloides possess high level of protein (CP

12-24%), and minerals, particularly Ca.

• has a high digestibility (IVDMD 60-70%).

• In Nigeria, 6-month regrowth had insacco DMD

of 52%, CP 14%, P 0.29% and Ca 0.80%.

• Palatability/acceptability: requires a period of

adaptation by cattle.

• Commonly of only low to moderate palatability

to grazing cattle during the wet season.

• Relative palatability increases substantially at

flowering

Centrosema molle

• This is a perennial, trailing-climbing-

twining herb with strong taproot system.

Feeding Value

• Nutritive value high CP contents (17-26%)CP,

• Medium IVDMD (45%-65%)

• In common centro 3-month old leaf, means of 7 cuts:

26%, 52% IVDMD, 0.24%P, 0.86 Ca.

• Palatability/acceptability: High to medium

• Toxicity: None detected so far

• Production potential.

• In pure stands, up to 12 t/ha/year D, possible

• In mixed pastures, 1-3 t/ha/year (humid tropics,

Australia).

• About 260-600 kg/ha/year LWG reported for mixtures

with a grass (e.g Panicum maximum)

Pigeon pea (cajanus cajan)

• Nutritive value

• High quality (10-15% crude protein)

especially when developing seed

pods are nmixed with the edible stem

fraction.

• Threshing waste was an extremely

nutritious feed for sheep..

• Pigeon pea is moderately unpalatable

until stock becomes accustomed to

the taste

Lablab purpureus (Lablab)

• Soil advantages • adaptability to any soil

• drought resistant

• Grows in diverse range

of environmental

conditions

• Green through dry

season

• Provides up to six

tonnes of dry matter/ha

• Livestock advantages • Palatable to livestock

• Provides adequate

needed protein and can

be utilized in several

ways

• It can be grazed on

pasture setting or as a

companion

Browse Legumes

• The word browse means shorts or sprouts,

especially tender woody plants with leaves.

•

• The term is also extended to include the

fruits and pods, which are often more

valuable than the foliage, especially if the

browse shrub is deciduous (evergreen)

Some common browse plants „top feeds‟

Common names Species

Gliricidia, quick-quick Gliricidia sepium (Jacq) Steud.

Leucaena, ipil-ipil Leucaena leucocephala (Lam) de Wit

Baobab Adansonia digitata L

Calliandra calothyrsus Meissner

Balanities aegyptiaca (L) Del

Acacia Faidherbia albida (formerly Acacia albida)

Caloropis precera

Sesbania sesban

Prosopis juliflora (SW) Dc

Zizyphus mortiania

Ficus spp

Tephrosia spp

Albizia saman

Features of browse

• A common feature of the browses found in

drier regions is that they have thorns and

spines which are protective mechanism

against desiccation and animals.

• In spite camels and goats have been

equipped to handle the thorns.

Leucaena leucocephala (Ipil-ipil)

• Perennial fast growing

nitrogen fixing tree

• Grows in both tall and small

bushy weedy type

• In tropics with many varieties

• Nutritive forage especially for

cattle, sheep and goats

• It is used as firewbood, timber,

charcoal, fence posts and rich

organic feftilizer