Nutritional evaluation of seal by-products as an alternative protein source for monogastric animals

• Main Authors: Anderson, Derek Martin, Priest, Gina, Collins, Stephanie Anne, MacIsaac, Janice L
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: NRC Research Press (a division of Canadian Science Publishing) 2019
• Subjects: Harp Seal
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1807/99085; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/abs/10.1139/CJAS-2019-0055

Seal by-products (grey seal with the bone in, grey seal with the bone removed and harp seal) were subjected to five different processing methods: high (100C) and low (45C) temperature oven drying, freeze drying (FD), silage by acid or natural fermentation. Growth performance of diets containing these seal by-products was evaluated in rats as a monogastric model species. With the exception of naturally fermented grey seal without bone, weight gains for rats fed the boneless grey seal products were highest of the seal products (24.65-30.04 g/rat) and statistically similar to those of rats fed casein (32.15 g/rat). An in vivo crude protein digestibility study was conducted using 12 adult white rats in metabolic cages that allowed separate collection of urine and feces. The 16% CP diets contained chromic oxide as an inert fecal marker at 0.5%. Total fecal and urine production as well as feed and water intake were recorded daily within the three experimental periods. Digestibility of CP was significantly higher for the natural fermented grey seal without bone silage (94.0%) than casein (89.0%), whereas the other seal products were statistically similar (91.7-92.7%). Seal by-products have the potential to be used as high protein feedstuffs in monogastric diets. The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author.