The Potential of Locally-Sourced European Protein Sources for Organic Monogastric Production: A Review of Forage Crop Extracts, Seaweed, Starfish, Mussel, and Insects

Organic monogastric agriculture is challenged because of a limited availability of regional and organic protein-rich ingredients to fulfill the amino acid requirements. The development of novel feed ingredients is therefore essential. The use of starfish (Asterias rubens), mussel (Mytilus edilus), insect, green and brown seaweed, and forage crop extracts exhibits different approaches to increase protein availability in a sustainable manner through improving the protein quality of existing ingredients, better use of under- or unutilized material, or development of circular bioeconomy. This review assessed limitations and opportunities of producing, processing, and using these novel ingredients in feed. The use of non-renewable resources and the effect on the environment of production and processing the feed ingredients are described. Protein concentration and amino acid quality of the feed ingredients are evaluated to understand their substitution potential compared with protein-rich soya bean and fishmeal. Feedstuffs’ effect on digestibility and animal performance is summarized. With the exception of seaweed, all novel ingredients show potential to partly substitute fishmeal or soya bean fulfilling part of the protein requirement in organic monogastric production. However, improvements during production and processing can be made to enhance protein quality, sustainability of the novel ingredients, and nutrient utilization of novel feed ingredients.

Influence of the input system (conventional versus organic farming) on metabolite profiles of maize ( Zea mays ) kernels

Maize ( Zea mays ) kernels grown conventionally and organically, respectively, were investigated using a gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS)-based metabolite profiling methodology. By analysis of three cultivars grown at two locations with different input systems and at a third location where both organic and conventional farming were applied, the impact of the growing regime on the metabolite spectrum should be put into the context of natural variability. The applied analytical approach involved consecutive extraction of freeze-dried maize flour and subsequent subfractionation. Approximately 300 compounds from a broad spectrum of chemical classes were detected, of which 167 were identified. The metabolite profiling data were statistically assessed via principal component analysis (PCA) and analysis of variance (ANOVA). The PCA demonstrated that the observed separations were mainly due to genetic differences (cultivars) and environmental influences. The different input systems (conventional/organic) only led to minor differentiations. ANOVA and quantification of selected constituents confirmed these observations. Only three metabolites (malic acid, myo-inositol, and phosphate) were consistently different because of the employed input system if samples from all field trials were considered.