The effect of enzyme treatment of soybean meal on oligosaccharide disappearance and chick growth performance.

Research was conducted to determine the effects of enzymatically hydrolyzing raffinose and stachyose from soybean meal (SBM) on fecal oligosaccharide concentration and growth performance of chicks fed a corn-SBM diet. The alpha-galactosidase treatment was optimized for oligosaccharide degradation. Enzyme treatment degraded raffinose and stachyose in SBM by 69 and 54%, respectively, compared to untreated soybean meal (USBM). Diets containing enzyme-treated soybean meal (ESBM) resulted in excreta raffinose and stachyose concentrations reduced to below measurable levels (<0.1 mg/ g feces). Enzyme treatment increased (P < 0.05) TME from 2,974 to 3,328 kcal/kg. Three chick growth studies were conducted to determine the effect of feeding ESBM on growth performance. There were no statistical differences (P > 0.05) in growth performance among treatments. Chicks fed the ESBM diet had an increased (P < 0.05) fecal neutral detergent fiber (NDF) content in one of two studies. A fourth experiment was conducted to determine if heating, used to enhance enzyme treatment, would decrease lysine availability. Heating significantly (P < 0.05) reduced lysine availability compared to USBM. These experiments demonstrated that feces could be made void of raffinose and stachyose, but chick growth performance was not significantly (P > 0.05) improved by enzyme treatment.