Global logistic issues have hit feed and animal producers hard, making it difficult to maintain consistent supplies of imported feed ingredients like amino acids and vitamins. The short supply situation for dry L-lysine HCL is even more dire. There are serious concerns that some feed mills will not be able to secure an adequate supply of dry L-lysine HCL and do not have the capability to use liquid lysine sources. The current price of dry lysine has skyrocketed, and alternatives are badly needed.
Blood products, especially spray dried red blood cells (AP 301), contain very high amounts of total lysine (8.2%). The lysine in AP 301 is highly digestible, with a standardized ileal digestibility (SID) of 98%. Past research showed that the Lysine in spray dried red blood cells or spray dried whole blood meal has even higher bioavailability than L-lysine HCL (Figure 1). Therefore, inclusion of spray dried blood products in animal feed can help alleviate the current lysine shortage. Roughly, a 1% (20 lb/ton or 10 kg/tonne) inclusion of AP 301 red blood cells can replace 0.1% (2 lb/ton or 1 kg/tonne) of dry L-lysine HCl.
In swine diets, if using more than 2.5% AP 301 in the formulation, it is recommended to adjust the SID isoleucine to lysine ratio upward a few points to avoid a potential amino acid imbalance because red blood cells contain very high amounts of leucine and very low amounts of isoleucine. It is recommended that a trained nutritionist makes changes in diet formulations to assure all nutrients are appropriately balanced.
Contact the APC sales or technical service team if you have questions about using AP 301.