Nutrient Profile, Energy Digestibility in Pigs, and In Vitro Degradation Characteristics of Wheat Flour Milling Co-Products

Using wheat flour milling (WFM) co-products in pig diets may reduce feed cost. Still, energy digestibility is lower for WFM co-products than for feed grains. Inadequate information exists about their fermentation characteristics and the relationship between digestible energy (DE) value and chemical characteristics or in vitro energy digestibility. The objectives were to (1) determine the chemical characteristics, in vitro and in vivo DE values, and energy digestibility of WFM co-products in growing pigs: (2) determine their in vitro microbial fermentation characteristics, and (3) establish relationships between in vivo DE value of WFM co-products and their chemical composition, fermentation characteristics, or in vitro digestibility values. Across Canada, 94 WFM co-products were sampled and characterized for their chemical composition and in vitro dry matter (DM) and energy digestibility using pepsin, pancreatin, and a multi-enzyme complex containing arabinase, &beta:-glucanase, hemicellulase, xylanase, and cellulase. The in vivo energy, DM digestibility and DE value of 9 WFM co-products (2 shorts, 5 millrun, 1 middling, and 1 bran) were determined using a corn-based diet and 40 growing pigs in two periods to obtain 8 observations per diet. After in vitro digestion, the 9 WFM co-product samples were subjected to microbial fermentation using fresh fecal inoculum in a cumulative gas-production technique. The WFM co-products had a high content of crude fiber (up to 7.9% in shorts, 9.9% in millrun, 7.1% in middlings, and 12.0% in bran) and crude protein (CP: up to 27.8% in shorts, 20.0% in millrun, 22.1% in middlings, 15.9% in bran). The DE values ranged from 2.84 to 3.74 Mcal/kg DM among WFM co-products. Among chemical characteristics, neutral detergent fiber was the best predictor (R2 = 0.81) for in vivo DE value, followed by crude fiber (R2 = 0.78), and acid detergent fiber (R2 = 0.72). The in vitro DE values predicted (R2 = 0.80) in vivo DE values of 9 WFM co-products. Based on principal component analysis, total gas and short-chain fatty acid production varied among WFM co-products and was associated with the CP content of WFM co-products. In conclusion, WFM co-products contain high crude protein and have a high DE value for growing pigs but vary substantially in nutritional value.