Fatty acid and nitrogen utilization of processed flaxseed by adult chickens

Abstract

The effect of flaxseed processing on the utilization of fatty acids and nitrogen were examined in adult chicken. Two batches (A and B) of flaxseed were processed by autoclaving, pelleting, or microwave roasting. Thirty grams of the ground ingredient was given to fasted Leghorn roosters. The apparent digestibility of total fatty acids of raw flaxseeds A and B were 660 and 490 g kg-1, respectively. Its improvement (p < 0.05) reached 29% for flaxseed A after three-times repeated pelleting. Similarly, it was 39% (p < 0.05) for flaxseed B after 4 min of microwave roasting. The improvement in the absorption of major individual fatty acids in flaxseed followed the same pattern as that of total fatty acids. The apparent digestibility of linolenic acid in extruded full-fat soybean was much higher (p < 0.05) than that in raw flaxseed A, but not that in processed flaxseed A (p > 0.05). Furthermore, roosters given canola seed had significantly higher true nitrogen utilization (p < 0.05) than those fed raw flaxseed A. This difference was reduced or non-existent (p > 0.05) with processed flaxseed. Proper flaxseed processing effectively increases the utilization of major fatty acids and nitrogen in flaxseed for adult chicken. © 2005 Society of Chemical Industry.