Investigations of the protection of soybean meal and amino acids from rumen degradation with whole blood treatment

In order to clarify the mechanism by which whole blood protects feed protein from rumen degradation, time courses of the amino acid pattern similarities between soybean meal (SBM), whole blood treated SBM (WBTSBM), whole blood treated lysine (WBTLYS) and whole blood and their residual proteins during ruminal exposure were calculated. 1 kg of goat blood was mixed with 1 kg SBM, dried at 60 °C for 24 h and incubated in nylon bags that were suspended in the rumen of Holstein steers. After 24 h of incubation, about 100% and 65% of the nitrogen (N) had disappeared from the SBM and WBTSBM, respectively. s in the amino acid pattern similarities showed that the degradation of SBM protein in the WBTSBM is more uniform compared with untreated SBM protein. This means that the decrease in the rumen degradability of WBTSBM protein is caused by the decrease in the degradability of SBM protein per se. These results suggest that a mechanism other than physical encapsulation may play an important role in the prevention of ruminal degradation. Almost all the lysine was diffused from WBTLYS, being prepared using a 1:2 or 1:1 combination (weight basis) of whole blood:lysine, by washing with water. The amounts of N and the amino acid composition of the WBTLYS residues did not change during the 24 h incubation period. The treatment of lysine with whole blood could not protect the lysine from ruminal degradation.