Increasing rumen-undegraded protein is a big challenge of ruminant nutrition. It is both to meet protein requirements of the animals and to reduce nitrogen excretion in the environment by increasing the nitrogen efficiency. F. Dufreneix, P. Faverdin, and J.-L. Peyraud, 2019, in the journal of Dairy Science, looked at possible solutions.
One solution is the industrial processes using heat or tanning to reduce rumen protein degradation, but these have certain limitations. For example, the difficulty in balancing low ruminal degradation and high intestinal digestibility.
Another, more promising, solution is reducing the mean retention time (MRT) or increase the passage rate (Kp) in the rumen by varying the size and specific gravity of particles. This increases the rumen escape protein proportion of concentrate feeds and will improve the effectiveness of industrial processes. A Latin square experiment looked at the combined effect of size and specific gravity on the MRT of particles without interactions with microbial fermentations. A specific gravity of 1.2 to 1.3 showed to be optimal for the escape of particles. Smaller particles of concentrates lose functional specific gravity more rapidly than larger particles due to their higher fermentation rate. A diameter slightly greater than 3 mm seems to be a compromise to delay the start of fermentation and to allow for rapid passage through the reticulo-omasal orifice.
The study shows the importance of specific gravity and particle size of rumen protected amino acids. Thus, achieving a good combination of particle size and specific gravity is critical for ensuring a high metabolizable amino acid amount into the animal.
Unbeatable particle size, specific gravity and homogeneity
When a new product is developed, it is crucial to take all the findings acquired by research into account. The specific gravity and particle size were two of the main requirements when KESSENT was being developed. Varying the size and specific gravity of the amino acid particles will increase the rumen escape protein proportion of concentrate feeds, as proven in the Latin square study (Dufreneix et al., 2019).
The optimal particle size and specific gravity of KESSENT allows it to move through the rumen rapidly, thus leading to reduced physical abrasion and microbial degradation in the rumen and consequently, to increased intestinal bioavailability.
- Specific gravity is 1.21, ensuring a rapid escape from the rumen
- 95% of the particle size is lower than 2.2 mm, ensuring a rapid exit into the abomasum
- The standard deviation and coefficient of variation for both the specific gravity and the particle size are very low, and lower than any other rumen protected Methionine available on the market. This property allows a better homogeneity and stability under real field conditions
When developing our KESSENT technology, a 3-step process known as Process for Rumen-Protected Amino Acids Validation Criteria was used. The 3-step process includes research conducted in vitro in the laboratory, in vivo in the animal and at field level in dairy farms. These researches proved the greater bioavailability of KESSENT compared to other available rumen protected Methionine products. This greater bioavailability is attributed to the particle size, specific gravity, high Methionine content and encapsulation technology.
