Abstract
Trypsin inhibitor assay and performance studies to measure the response of finishing pigs to diets containing raw or roasted groundnuts, fed whole or ground, showed that dry heating of groundnuts at 120°C decreased the trypsin inhibitor activity of groundnuts by about 29 per cent. However, this decrease in the inhibitor activity of heated groundnuts did not bring about a resultant improvement in the performance of pigs consuming diets containing heated rather than raw groundnuts. Our data suggest that with blood meal added to complement groundnuts in lysine or with the diet formulated to be adequate in lysine, finishing pig can utilize up to 20 per cent groundnuts in their diet. Carcass data showed that pig consuming the 20 per cent groundnut diet had greater backfat, smaller loin eye area and lower percentage lean cuts than those consuming the basal soya bean meal diet. Carcass fat from pigs fed groundnuts was somewhat soft. Grinding of groundnut before feeding was justified in our study.
