Kim et al.

2013; Jaworski et al. , 2013). But, instability in the supply, nutritional imbalance,

reduced productivity and palatability are some of the limitations with these raw

materials. However, rapeseed meal has potential for being used as an alternative

due to higher nutrients content in its bi-product produced during the oil extraction

and about 35-40% crude protein, 2.3% lysine 10% crude fiber and relatively

good amino acid composition (Thacker, 1990; Nasi and Siljander-Rasi, 1991).

It is a residual product after extracting oil from seeds and the nutrients depend

on the kind of seed, cultural environment and processing methods (Bell and

Jeffer, 1976; Sauer et al. , 1982). Major limiting factor in use of rapeseed meal in

animal diets is the higher content of erucic acid and glucosinolates which causes

change in the thyroid tissue and acts as trophic factors to reduce the palatability

and growth (Bell, 1993). Due to its rich content of crude protein (38-41%), it

was recommended as a raw material as protein source with better amino acid

composition to replace the soybean meal in growing-finishing pigs diet (Mullan

et al. , 2000; Brand et al. , 2001; Roth Maier, 2004). Recently few studies have

been conducted on the performance of laying hens supplemented with different

concentration of canola (Gul et al. , 2012; Ahmad et al. , 2013) and reported the

production of monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA)-rich functional eggs without

compromising there quality characteristics. Hickling (1994) reported that, dietary

inclusion of 10 to 15% CM to fattening pigs, had no effect on the performance.

However, studies on domestic canola meal are still incomplete and its usage is not

investigated. Therefore, present study was conducted to investigate the effects

of dietary increasing levels of solvent-extracted canola meal (CM) as a substitute

for soybean meal as an energy and amino acid source on growth performance,

apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of nutrients and its economic efficiency

in finishing pigs

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The protocol for this experiment was approved and swine were cared according to

the guidelines of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of Kangwon

National University, Chuncheon, Republic of Korea.

Animals and experimental design

A total of 192 finishing pigs (Landrace × Yorkshire × Duroc; initial body weight

of 48.62 ± 3 kg) were randomly allotted to 4 treatments on the basis of BW. There

were 4 replicate pens in each treatment with 12 pigs per pen. Dietary treatments

were basal diet supplemented with 0, 4, 8 and 12% canola meal. Experimental diets

were fed in meal form for 35 days. Experimental diets were formulated to contain

3,350 (kcal/kg) ME and 0.85% lysine. Vitamins and minerals were supplemented

in all diets and all diets met or exceeded the National Research Council (NRC,

2012) nutrients requirements for finishing pigs.

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Journal of Animal Research: v.4 n.2. Dec. 2014