Dietary lupins (Lupinus angustifolius and Lupinus albus) can increase digesta retention in the gastrointestinal tract of pigs

Abstract

Lupins are high in crude protein, cell wall materials, and gross energy but uncertainty about the bioavailability of nutrients and adverse effects on feed intake limit their use in the pig industry. Three experiments were conducted to determine the effect of lupins on retention time in the digestive tract by determining the average time it took for ingested polyethylene beads to pass through the digestive tract of pigs fed wheat-based diets containing various lupin species and fractions. In Expt 1, pigs were restrictively fed (1.8 kg/day) diets containing either predominantly wheat or predominantly wheat plus 400 g/kg peas or L. angustifolius seeds or kernels. The retention times of diets co..