The mineral profile of GuarPro F-71, a potential protein source for swine and other agricultural animals in the United States

High feed cost is a major economic concern in animal production industries, largely due to the increasing global demands for foods, feeds, and biofuels. Animal producers (especially, animal nutritionists) have been searching for alternative feedstuffs to reduce the feed cost. Guar meal is the main by-product from the guar (Cyamopsis tetragonoba L.) gum industry. Although said to be unpalatable and maybe toxic, the new guar meal products, such as GuarPro F-71, possess promise to be alternatives for feeding animals, mainly because they contain great amounts of protein and carbohydrates, and are inexpensive. The proximate nutrient values and amino acid profile of GuarPro F-71 have been previously reported, this study was conducted to test the hypothesis that the mineral contents of GuarPro F-71 are comparable to that in soybean meal. Three GuarPro F-71 samples were randomly collected from a guar meal production line in India and aliquoted to 30 to 100 g/sample after arrival for analysis in four university and commercial laboratories. The results showed that GuarPro F-71 contained (as-fed basis; ± SD, n = 4) 0.19 ± 0.009% calcium, 0.75 ± 0.018% phosphorus, 0.37 ± 0.012% magnesium, 1.63 ± 0.055% potassium, 119 ± 73 ppm sodium, 182.5 ± 28.03 ppm iron, 20.1 ± 0.81 ppm manganese, 56.9 ± 2.63 ppm zinc, and 10.6 ± 6.61 ppm copper. The sulfur content was 0.55 ± 0.198% (n = 2) and the nickel content was 5.30% (n = 1). When compared with the commonly used soybean meal (dehulled, solvent extracted), the contents of phosphorus, zinc, magnesium, sulfur, and iron in GuarPro F-71 are approximately 5, 17, 37, 38, and 86% greater, respectively, while the contents of potassium, copper, calcium, manganese, and sodium are approximately 27, 30, 42, 43, and 85% less, respectively. Nevertheless, the bioavailabilities of these minerals warrant further investigation.