Effects of Sodium Sulfite and Extrusion on the Nutritional Value of Soybean Meal in Piglets Weaned at 21 Days

A total of 80 weaned piglets (Landrace $\times$ Yorkshire $\times$ Large White) were used in a 28-day growth assay to detennine the optimal inclusion level of sodium sulfite ($Na_{2}SO_{3}$) as an extrusion enhancer of soybean meal for nursery piglets. piglets (21 d of age, 6.04 kg of BW) were grouped into 4 treatments in a completely randomized block design. Treatments were: 1) Extruded SBM (Control), 2) Extruded SBM with 0.5% $Na_{2}SO_{3}$ (0.5 ESBM), 3) Extruded SBM with 1.0% $Na_{2}SO_{3}$ (1.0 ESBM) and 4) Extruded SBM with 1.5% $Na_{2}SO_{3}$ (1.5 ESBM). Each treatment has 4 replicates of 5 heads per pen. In phase I (d 0 to 14), diets supplied 3,400 kcal ME/kg, 23% crude protein, 1.65% lysine, 0.50% methionine, 0.9% Ca and 0.8% P. Phase II (d 14 to 28) diets contained 3,300 kcal ME/kg, 21% crude protein, 1.45% lysine, 0.45% methionine, 0.9% Ca and 0.8% P. For d 0 to 14, piglets fed 1.5 ESBM had greater ADG, ADFI and FCR compared to piglets fed control and 0.5 ESBM diet. ADG was significantly higher in piglets fed 1.5 ESBM diet than other groups (p<0.05) except 1.0 ESBM. In phase II (d 14 to 28), there was no significant differences in production traits among treatments. For overall period (d 0 to 28), piglets fed diets with high sodium sulfite grew faster than piglets fed control and 0.5 ESBM diets. The highest ADG and the best FeR were obtained in piglets fed diets with 1.5 ESBM during the entire period. Piglets fed 1.5 ESBM diet showed significantly higher crude protein digestibility than 0.5 ESBM (p<0.05) at d 14 post-weanling, but not at d 28 post-weanling. There were no significant differences in digestibilities of total amino acids. In conclusion, the addition level of 1~1.5% sodium sulfite for SBM extrusion could be favorable for rate and efficiency of growth in weaning pigs.