Scientifically Speaking …
By Matthew Wedzerai Use of seaweeds as pellet binders in
broiler diets Only high-quality pellets can withstand rough handling such as during transportation, storage, and moving in feed lines. A recent study shows us how to simultaneously hit two birds with one stone; the study has shown that the use of binding agents from natural sources like seaweed not only helps achieve the desired pellet quality but also improves bird performance.
On top of improving bird performance, the feed industry aims for improving feed quality with lower cost of production by reducing feed dustiness and wastage. Several factors affect pellet quality but the main factor that has an effect on feed quality is the raw materials and additives used in the formulation. Some feed ingredients have a positive impact on pellet quality, while others adversely affect quality. From previous studies, it is observed that feed formulation and grinding have greater impact (60%) on physical pellet quality than other factors related to the pelleting process (40%). On the other hand, use of synthetic pellet binders such as calcium lignosulfonate and bentonite do not have specific benefits to the growth performance of the bird. In addition to bird performance, pellet binders from natural sources like seaweed help contribute to a better environment, and possibly to improved preference of the meat product. Seaweeds are important sources of hydrocolloids such as agar,
alginate, and carrageenan. These hydrocolloids can be described as water soluble carbohydrates that are used to increase viscosity of solutions to form gels. Based on these properties of seaweeds, researchers from the University of Malaysia Pahang carried out a study to evaluate the benefits of using seaweed-based pellet binders on pellet quality, growth performance, feed efficiency and carcass characteristics of broilers.
The study Two seaweeds Kappaphycus alvarzeii and Sargassum polycystum were used as pellet binders to evaluate their benefits on pellet quality, growth performance, feed efficiency and carcass characteristics of broilers from day-old to 35 days of age. The diets consisted of the control (no additive), a commercial binder, and three levels of each seaweed type as follows:
• Control: basal diet without seaweed • Seaweed 1: basal diet + S. polycystum at 2%, 5%, and 10% • Seaweed 2: basal diet + K. alvarezii at 2%, 5%, and 10% • Commercial binder: basal diet with a commercial binder
Pellet quality The quality of pellets was measured by the Pellet Durability Index (PDI) and pellet hardness for all the diets. PDI mainly indicates the ability of the pellet to resist attrition during storage and transport. On pellet hardness, it is generally accepted that harder pellets will also be more durable. The results on PDI and pellet hardness performed on the pellet produced with the addition of both seaweed powders (K. alvarezii and S. polycystum) indicated improvement in pellet quality. Treatment with addition of S. polycystum showed a higher pellet durability index than with the control, the K. alvarezii and the commercial binder diets. However, the PDI of both the K. alvarezii and the commercial binder were not better than the control diet. For both seaweeds, the PDI values were higher with the 2% and 5% than with the 10% inclusion level. On pellet hardness, the K. alvarezii at 5% showed the highest
value compared to the rest of the diets, while the S. polycystum and commercial binder were better than the control. Compared to S. polycystum, the higher hardness values from K. alvarezii were attributed to its higher swelling capacity and water retention capacity properties that improve the physical and structural properties of the pellet. In addition, K. alvarezii has a higher gel strength and viscosity compared to S. polycystum. This was attributed to the type of polysaccharide content in the seaweeds. While K. alvarezii produce carrageenan, S. polycystum does not produce carrageenan but produce alginate instead. Carrageenan can form a strong and rigid gel with water.
Table 1. Effect of seaweed pellet binders on pellet durability index (PDI) and pellet hardness, and seaweed differences on swelling capacity (SWC) and water retention capacity (WRC).
Parameter PDI
Hardness (N) SWC (mL/g) WRC (g/g)
Control 2 %
86.33 19.08 - -
Source: Subakir et al., 2021 PAGE 18 JULY/AUGUST 2021 FEED COMPOUNDER
Comment section is sponsored by Compound Feed Engineering Ltd
www.cfegroup.com
87.93 19.42 - -
S. polycystum 5 %
87.73 16.00 13.3 8.2
10 % 80.37 19.00 - -
2 %
65.87 16.07 - -
K.alvarezii 5 %
48.13 24.93 34.2 10.0
Commercial
10 % 35.63 22.73 - -
37.23 19.97 - -
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68
