The availability to the rat of energy from various diet ingredients

Abstract

The digestible and metabolizable energy values of 8 ingredients commonly used in laboratory animal diets were determined using the growing male rat, by the total collection method. Each ingredient was incorporated into a basal diet of maize, wheat, soyabean meal and fishmeal. The metabolizable energy values, on a dry matter basis, corrected to the nitrogen retention of the basal diet for rats per 100 g bodyweight were as follows: maize 15·23 MJ/kg, extracted soyabean mea1 14·1l MJ/kg, barley 12·31 MJ/kg, wheat 14·09 MJ/kg, oatfeed 1·36 MJ/kg, white fishmeal 11·61 MJ/kg, dried skimmed milk 14·32 MJ/kg, casein 17·91 MJ/kg. Additional analytical data for the 8 ingredients are also given.