Effects of dietary n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and ... - FINS

1 st WorkshopXIII International Feed Technology Symposiumcontent of amylose, such as in high-amylose maize in which the amylose content rangesfrom 55 to 85%. Although both forms of starch are polymers of α-D-glucose as amonosaccharide component, they are significantly distinguishable from one another overtheir functional properties. The amylose to amylopectin ratio in the starch granules is oneof the most important parameters that significantly affects functional properties of starch.Starches components of only one polysaccharide component have specific properties andas such broaden utilisation of starch, i.e. maize as a high yield carbohydrate plant. Theunique chemical structure and functional properties of starch, as well as, its nutritivevalue distinguish it as a naturally renewable polymer from all other carbohydrates.Molecular marker assisted selection with the aim of getting a desirable genotype is nowroutinely applied in maize breeding programmes, which enables genetic control of amolecular starch structure, whereby its properties can be altered [3]. The performedstudies show that the starch granule structure and interactions with other componentswithin the endosperm, as well as, processing conditions influence starch digestibility.However, in order to determine more detailed parameters of the starch structure thataffect animal feed digestibility further systematic studies are necessary [13]. Consideringdirections of nutritive and technological observations, a special attention today should bepaid to the development of inbreds and hybrids with specific traits and for special purposes.Studies of the structure and unique properties of starch of speciality maize hybrids areaimed at hybrids such as waxy, high amylose, high lysine and high protein hybrids,which, again, due to being a raw material for the sustainable animal feed production gettheir own great and deserved importance [6, 8, 14]. The objective of the present studywas to perceptibly present our recent results on investigations on a starch role in animalfeed and to describe the utility value of grain of different ZP maize hybrids as a rawmaterial in its production.MATERIAL AND METHODSThe basic chemical composition of grain, i.e. the content of starch, protein, oil, crudefibre and ash, was determined on the selected samples of the most widely grownZP maize hybrids. The chemical structure and functional properties of maize starcheswere observed through the determination of contents of amylose, amylopectin, resistantstarch, then the determination of thermo-chemical parameters of gelatinisation andviscosity. The digestibility of different native maize starches was observed via enzymatichydrolysis by -amylase pancreas of swine. The in vitro digestibility of maize grain drymatter was observed with the method after Tolley and Terry.All methods used in this study were described in detail in previously publishedmanuscripts [1, 8, 9].RESULT AND DISCUSSIONThe chemical content and structure, functional properties and the digestibility of starchand maize grain, as a basic component in animal feed production, are described anddiscussed in this study.The content of starch and other basic chemical constituents of the grain, i.e. thechemical composition of maize grain is its most important property, not only for food22