Animal feed ingredient applications

Soybean meal and corn dried distillers’ grains with solubles (DDGS) are among the top animal feed ingredients for livestock and poultry in the United States (U.S.) (American Feed Industry Association [AFIA], 2019). Corn constitutes over 95% of the overall feed grain produced and utilized in the country (U.S. Department of Agriculture [USDA], 2018). Soybean meal contains 44 to 50% crude protein content and a balanced amino acid profile which makes it the major source of plant protein for livestock

(Balastreri et al., 2016; Food and Agriculture Organization [FAO], 2003; Shen et al., 2016; Zhou et al., 2015). DDGS are considered a low-cost alternative to soybean meal with a protein content that has been reported to enhance productivity of animals (Zhou et al., 2015).

In the animal feed industry, quality and safety of animal feed are of utmost importance. The nutritional quality of feed ingredients is vital in effectively matching diet specifications to animal requirements (Van Barneveld et al., 2018). Rations are now being balanced by diet formulation methods based on the amounts of amino acids that can limit the feed’s nutritional efficiency. Accurate information of the amino acid contents and the use of rapid analysis methods are therefore critical for a precise and cost-effective feed formulation (Van Barneveld et al., 2018; Fontaine et al., 2001; Kovalenko et al., 2006). Wet chemistry methods for amino acid analysis, such as highpressure liquid chromatography (HPLC), are destructive, costly, labor-intensive, slow, and unsuitable for routine use, especially when a large sample size needs to be tested. For these reasons, it is a common practice for feed nutritionists to approximate the amino