Techniques for identifying new animal feed ingredients and additives

Description

The identification of potential novel feed ingredients requires quick and effective analytical techniques to assess their composition and functionality. This chapter provides a practical guide to routine and standard methods to detect the main traits of interest in animal feed ingredients and additives. It discusses techniques to evaluate feed nutritional value, including chemical composition and nutrient digestibility. The chapter reviews different in vitro methods for feed evaluation systems as well as assessment of nutrient molecular structure. The chapter also discusses analysis of feed bioactive compounds and their functionality. The chapter concludes with a case study on seaweeds as a potential novel feed for livestock.

Table of contents

1 Introduction 2 Chemical analysis to determine protein, fibre, fatty acid content and digestibility 3 Techniques to determine nutritive value and digestibility: rumen in vitro fermentation techniques, protein evaluation systems and models 4 Analysing nutrient molecular structure 5 Analysing bioactive compounds: screening techniques 6 Analysing bioactive compounds: in vitro evaluation of antioxidant, antimicrobial, prebiotic and enzymatic activity 7 Case study: seaweed as animal feed 8 Summary and future trends 9 Where to look for further information 10 References