Alltech True Check
With the continued rise of feed ingredient costs, there is increasing pressure to be as efficient as possible in animal diet formulations.
Alltech True Check™ is a flexible analysis designed to stimulate the digestive systems of poultry and swine, providing a prediction of nutrient release from the feed. It allows us to quantify the benefits of adding enzymes and determine the best enzymes for individual feeds. This means we can help formulate feeds that will have the most benefit for the animal while reducing inputs and environmental impact.
How does Alltech True Check work?
Alltech True Check stimulates digestion using a system that replicates each stage of the digestion process. The feed is ground and diluted, then goes through different phases in which enzymes matching endogenous production, pH, temperature and time are carefully adjusted to mimic the crop, gizzard and small intestine of a chicken, or the stomach and small intestine of a pig. After this process, the samples are analyzed for phosphate, reducing sugars and alpha amino nitrogen.
How can the analysis help optimize feed formulation?
Analysis of free phosphates demonstrates the conversion of phytic acid into a digestible form. A higher free phosphate level indicates more phosphorus available to the animal. The use of enzymes to increase phytic acid hydrolysis reduces the need to add mineral sources of phosphorus to the diet and minimizes excretion of unabsorbed phosphorus into the environment.
Animal feed includes fiber, which is largely composed of non-starch polysaccharides found in plant cell walls, such as cellulose, hemicellulose and pectin. Non-starch polysaccharides are composed of sugars but are not easily digested by monogastric animals. Enzymes can be used to help convert the longer polysaccharides into digestible sugars, measured as reducing sugars, allowing increased energy availability to the animal.
Free amino nitrogen analyzes the amount of protein being converted into digestible free amino acids. Increasing protein release from feeds allows for lower crude protein formulation in diets. Reducing dietary crude protein is crucial to reduce excretion of nitrogen into the environment and can also improve animal health.
By simulating the digestive process in the lab, Alltech True Check provides a fast, effective screening method for novel diet formulations and enzyme additions. Use of Alltech True Check can reduce wasted nutrients, increasing production efficiency while also minimizing the environmental impact of animal production.