Animal Feeds
Feed Analysis and Testing. Cereal grains and legume seeds are major components in the feed formulations for chickens and pigs. These materials contain a range of anti-nutritional factors such as non-digestible polysaccharides and oligosaccharides. Arabinoxylan in wheat and β-glucan in barley increase the viscosity of the gut content and reduce the rate of feed consumption and nutrient absorption.
These problems are alleviated by the addition of appropriate enzymes such as endo-xylanase and β-glucanase to the feed.
The major carbohydrate, anti-nutritional factors in legume seeds are the non-digestible raffinose-series-oligosaccharides. These can be converted to digestible sugars by α-galactosidase treatment. Megazyme has recognised the need for simple and specific assays for these anti-nutritional carbohydrates, and has developed the required test kits.
Analyte | Cat. No. | Analyte Significance | Advantages of Megazyme Test Kits |
---|---|---|---|
Acetic Acid | K-ACETRM | Commonly found in feed or fermented feed | K-ACETRM is a rapid, manual assay kit employing AK and phosphotransacetylase. Stable reagents |
Ammonia | K-AMIAR | Commonly found in feed or fermented feed | Rapid reaction rate (~ 3 min at room temperature). Ideal for manual and auto-analyser applications. Stable reagents |
α-Amylase | K-CERA | A key enzyme in most feeds and plant products | Novel assay employing a defined oligosaccharide substrate. High sensitivity and specificity. AOAC Method 2002.01; AACC Method 22-02.01; ICC Standard No. 303; RACI Standard Method; CCFRA Flour Testing Working Group Method 0018 |
Available Carbohydrates / Dietary Fiber | K-ACHDF | Rapidly and slowly available sugars for digestion or fermentation | Novel procedure, stable reagents |
Fructan | K-FRUC | Fructo-oligosaccharides in grasses and grains | Only kit available. Stable reagents; AOAC Method 999.03; AACC Method 32-32.01 |
D-Fructose / D-Glucose |
K-FRUGL K-FRGLMQ K-FRGLQR |
Major digestible carbohydrates in feeds | Rapid reaction times, choice of simple formats available, ideal for manual and auto-analyser applications, stable reagents |
Galactomannan | K-GALM | Reserve carbohydrate in many legume seeds | Only kit available, stable reagents |
β-Glucan (Barley and oats) | K-BGLU | Major cell-wall polysaccharide of barley and oats | Rapid reaction, stable reagents, only enzymatic kit available. AOAC Method 995.16; AACC Method 32-23.01; EBC Methods 3.10.1, 4.16.1 and 8.13.1; ICC Standard No.166; RACI Standard Method |
β-Glucanase | K-CELLG3 | β-Glucanase in feed | Novel assay employing a defined oligosaccharide substrate. High sensitivity, specificity and stability. Rapid reaction, ideal for manual and auto-analyser applications |
β-Glucanase | K-MBGL | Cellulase and β-glucanase levels in feeds | Only kit available. Stable reagents. RACI Standard Method |
L-Lactic Acid | K-LATE | Commonly found in fermented feed | Rapid reaction, stable reagents. Ideal for manual and auto-analyser applications |
Phytic Acid | K-PHYT | Found in most plant materials. Major form of bound phosphate in plant materials | Novel procedure. Rapid reaction, stable reagents |
Protein Digestibility | K-PDCAAS | The PDCAAS (ASAP-Quality Score) Method is a measure of protein quality | U.S. Pat. No. 9,738,920. Control samples included. ASAP-Quality Score offers: Animal free. High correlation to rat digestibility. Much less expensive than rat model. Faster turnaround time for results |
Raffinose / D-Galactose | K-RAFGA | Found in high levels in legume seeds. Causes discomfort and flatulence in pigs | Rapid reaction, stable reagents |
Resistant Starch | K-RSTAR | Starch that is not digested in the small intestine of monogastric animals | Only kit available. Stable reagents AOAC Method 2002.02; AACC Method 32-40.01 |
Total Dietary Fiber | K-TDFR K-INTDF |
Carbohydrate not digested in small intestine | 1. K-TDFR: AOAC Methods 985.29, 991.42, 991.43 & 993.19; AACC Methods 32-05.01, 32-06.01, 32-07.01 & 32-21.01. 2. K-INTDF is consistent with the CODEX Alimentarius definition of dietary fiber. AOAC Methods 2009.01 & 2011.25; AAAC Methods 32-45.01 & 32-50.11 |
Total Starch | K-TSTA K-TSHK |
Starch content of grain and feed | Rapid assay formats with options of measuring D-glucose with GOPOD reagent or with hexokinase / G-6-PDH. Stable reagents. AOAC Method 996.11; AACC Method 76-13.01; ICC Standard No. 168; RACI Standard Method |
endo-β-Xylanase | K-XylX6 | β-Xylanase in feed | Rapid, colourimetric, assay with excellent sensitivity and reproducibility. Suitable for use with automated analysis systems. |
Beta-Glucanase | S-ABG100 | b-Glucanase in feed | Rapid reaction. Sensitive. Stable reagent |
endo-β-Xylanase | S-AXBP | b-Xylanase in feed | Sensitive. Easy to use. Stable reagent |
Protease | S-AZCAS | endo-Protease added to feed | Easy to use. Stable reagent |