(17b) Fungal Treatment to Enhance the Nutritional Value of Canola Meal for Animal Feed

Canola meal is the second most abundant protein source used in animal dietary after soybean meal. However, high content of fiber and anti-nutritional chemicals such as sinapic acid and phytate has prevented canola meal to be used in its potential capacity. Monogastric animals cannot digest fiber and sinapic acid, which has shown to negatively impact animal growth. Phytic acid is also another factor limiting the digestibility of canola meal. Canola meal’s high phytate content also decreases the bioavailability of its minerals. Pleurotus ostreatus, Ceriporiopsis subvermispora, Mucor indicus, and Rhizopus oligosporus were used to transform canola meal into a high-quality feed for monogastric animals by degrading the fiber and anti-nutrient contents. Among the tested fungi, P. ostreatus had the highest level of protein. After 8 days of fermentation with P. ostreatus, the protein content increased from 46 % to 54.96% and 54.75% for samples with 65% and 70% moisture contents, respectively. The other parameters were analyzed for P. ostreatus at these two moisture content. The best results for phytate removal were obtained at 65 % moisture content after 8 days of incubation where the phytate content was decreased by 55 %. Highest sinapic acid removal was 99.36%, also achieved at 65% moisture content at day 8 of the incubation. Furthermore, the amino acid content of P. ostreatus treated samples were analyzed. Except lysine and histidine, all the other amino acid levels increased for samples contained 65% moisture after 8 days. Fungal conversion is proved to be a viable option to convert canola meal into high valued animal feed.