Chemical composition and amino acid digestibility of soybean meal produced in the United States, China, Argentina, Brazil, or India

An experiment was conducted to compare nutritional composition of soybean meal (SBM) produced in China, Argentina, Brazil, the U.S., or India and the apparent ileal digestibility (AID) and the standardized ileal digestibility (SID) of CP and AA in these SBM when fed to growing pigs. Five sources of SBM from China, Argentina, Brazil, and the U.S., and 4 sources from India were collected for a total of 24 sources of SBM. All samples were analyzed for energy, DM, and nutrients, and each source was included in a cornstarch based diet in which SBM was the only AA contributing ingredient. An N-free diet was also formulated. Twenty-five barrows (initial BW: 30.53 ± 1.73 kg) were equipped with a T-cannula in the distal ileum and randomly allotted to a 25 × 8 Youden square design with 25 diets and 8 periods. Results indicate that the concentration of CP was greater (P < 0.05) in SBM from Brazil and India (49.3 and 49.5%, respec-tively) than in SBM from China, Argentina, or the U.S. (45.1, 46.7, and 47.3%, respectively, as-fed basis). The concentration of most indispensable AA followed the same pattern as CP with the exception that SBM from the U.S. contained more (P < 0.05) indispensable AA than SBM from China or Argentina. However, SBM from India contained more (P < 0.05) trypsin inhibi-tors than SBM from the other countries. A greater (P < 0.05) AID and SID of CP and most AA was observed in SBM from the U.S. compared with SBM from Brazil, Argentina, and India, but there were no differences between SBM from the U.S. and SBM from China. However, because of the lower concentration of AA in SBM from China, the concentration of standardized ileal digestible AA in SBM from China was less (P < 0.05) than in SBM from the U.S. Soybean meal from the U.S. or Brazil had less (P < 0.05) variability in SID values than SBM from Argentina, China, or India. In conclusion, the SID of CP and AA is dependent on the country where the SBM is produced. This difference and the variability within each country should be evaluated when formulating diets for pigs.