Use of markers to determine the ileal digestibility of amino acids for swine

Many markers can be used in digestibility assays for swine, but needs to be evaluated before its use. An assay was carried out with the objective of measuring the coefficients of ileal apparent (CIAD) and standardized digestibility (CISD) of amino acids in meat and bone meal for swine using different markers. Eight crossbred barrows were equipped with T-cannulas in the distal ileum. Four animals received a free protein diet and another four received a diet containing meat and bone meal as the only protein source in the diet. The treatments consisted in evaluating the chromic oxide, acid-insoluble ash naturally occurring in the diet, cellulose and lignin as markers to determine the apparent and standardized digestibility of the amino acids contained in the meat and bone meal. All data were submitted to analysis of variance and means were compared using the Tukey test, with a significance of 5%. The CIAD, obtained using chromic oxide as external marker, were lower (P