#!/usr/local/bin/php

This article talks about the effect of heat on availability of lysine in blood meal. The blood meal is a blood often collected in conjunction with the slaughtering of animals and subsequently used as a supplemental protein source for livestock. Normally, the blood is dried and made into blood meal so that it can be handled and incorporated into rations more easily. It is through heat process that it can be dried and study has been done to check the effect of heat on availability of lysine in blood meal. The blood meal is the best source of balance amino acid for animals and the heating process has been questioned as it reduces the contains of lysine in it.

Because there are a lot of animal protein sources that has a poor amino acid balance compared to blood meals that contains lysine being relatively high and isoleucine being very low. Blood meal is somewhat indigestible and is normally restricted in rations to less than 5% to 6 %, depending upon the level of performance desired and the availability of other supplemental protein sources. The effect of heat on availability of lysine in blood meal has something to do on the methods how it is dried by using one of the following methods; drum, ring, lash or spray dried.

One of the easiest ways for the processing of blood meal is through drying or heating. The effect of heat on availability of lysine in blood meal gives an effect on the digestibility of the blood meal, because there is a direct relationship between the amount of heat applied and the digestibility of the blood CP. The effect of heat on availability of lysine in blood meal is that as the amount of heat applied increases, the digestibility of the blood CP decreases.

But no matter how real is the effect of heat on availability of lysine in blood meal, the blood should always be heated prior to be used as a supplemental protein source for livestock to prevent the transfer of disease organisms. It is for healthy and sanitary measures that raw blood should not be fed without being heated to 100oC for 15 minutes. The blood, which can be sourced out from cattle, pigs, chicken, etc. during their slaughter and maybe under a wide and different range of conditions. The blood should be processed as soon as possible after collection to assure that it doesn’t deteriorate and the highest quality blood meal is produced and this is the positive effect of heat on availability of lysine in blood meal.

It is obvious that the lysine level in the blood meal is relatively high (7-8 %), which makes it an excellent supplemental protein source to use with plant derived feed ingredients that are low in lysine. Although the effect of heat on availability of lysine in blood meal will reduce the lysine but enough heat needs to be applied to destroy the pathogenic organisms. The test is when protein solubility is a good simple indicator of protein and amino acid availability. Pepsin digestibility has been shown to be a good test for assessing the availability of the protein fraction of blood meal Processing.