Research on Evaluation of Expeller/Cold-pressed Canola (EPC) as a Valuable Feed Ingredient for Poultry

Expeller/cold-pressed canola (EPC) is a co-product of oil production obtained by the mechanical pressing/expelling of canola seed. The differences in techniques of cold-press extraction highly affect the variability among EPC. The objective of this research is to develop a thorough nutrient profile of the EPC to identify its best possible applications and to optimize nutrient utilization in formulating poultry and swine diets. Twenty-two samples of EPC were collected across Western Canada and analyzed using advanced wet chemistry procedures. On average and DM basis, EPC contains 36.6% of crude protein, 16.8% of fat, 31.7% of dietary fiber, and 6.15% of ash. Variation in the chemical composition of EPC samples was observed. Variability in fat and glucosinolates contents (range from 8.5 to 24.1%, DM, and 4.7 to 14.7 µmol/g DM, respectively) reflects the difference in processing methods. Differences in the content of other chemical components of EPC samples would not be qualitative but quantitative due to the variable fat content. It also influenced the variation in the AMEn of EPC which was determined in the broiler chicken study. The AMEn averaged 2322 kcal/kg DM but ranged between 1877.8 and 2642.6 kcal/kg DM. Ongoing research is carried out to determine the amino acid digestibility, to develop the equations for prediction on the nutritive value of EPC, and to develop a nutritional strategy for efficient utilization of EPC in monogastric animal nutrition.

Key words: expeller/cold-pressed canola (EPC), broiler chicken, chemical composition, glucosinolates, AMEn.

Presented at the 2022 Animal Nutrition Conference of Canada. For information on the next edition, click here.