Animal Feed Science and Technology 150 (2009) 139–143 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Animal Feed Science and Technology journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/anifeedsci Short communication Chemical composition and standardised ileal digestible amino acid contents of Lathyrus (Lathyrus cicera) as an ingredient in pig diets B.P. Mullan a , J.R. Pluske b , M. Trezona a , D.J. Harris c , J.G. Allen a , K.H.M. Siddique d , C.D. Hanbury d , R.J. van Barneveld e , J.C. Kim a,∗ a Animal Research and Development, Department of Agriculture and Food, Locked Bag No. 4, Bentley Delivery Centre, WA 6983, Australia b School of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA 6150, Australia c Chemistry Centre, 125 Hay Street, East Perth, WA 6004, Australia d Centre for Legumes in Mediterranean Agriculture, University of Western Australia, Nedlands 6907, Australia e Barneveld Nutrition Pty Ltd./BECAN Consulting Group, Level 1, Suite 11, Plaza Chambers, 3-15 Dennis Street, Springwood, Queensland 4127, Australia article info Article history: Received 30 January 2008 Received in revised form 22 May 2008 Accepted 17 July 2008 Keywords: Pigs Lathyrus cicera Energy Amino acids Digestibility abstract Lathyrus cicera is a grain legume that is well adapted to grow in low rainfall regions. However, it contains a neurotoxin, 3-(-N-oxalyl)-l- 2,3-diaminopropionic acid (ODAP), which can cause paralysis of the lower limbs, known as “lathyrism”. An experiment was conducted to measure the nutrient content and ileal digestible amino acid content of a recently-released low ODAP Lathyrus variety chalus. Chemical analyses and total tract digestibility showed that the new Lathyrus variety chalus contained 0.9 g ODAP/kg, 265 g crude pro- tein/kg and 13.5 MJ digestible energy/kg on an as-fed basis. The ileal digestible nutrient content of chalus was measured with six grower pigs (Large White×Landrace, 43 ± 0.3 kg) fitted with a simple T- piece cannula. The chalus contained 12.9, 1.4 and 5.4g of apparent ileal digestible lysine, methionine and threonine, respectively/kg. Standardised ileal digestible amino acid content was calculated using published endogenous amino acid losses determined in 34- kg-growing pigs under a protein-free method. The chalus contained 14.3, 1.5 and 6.0 g of standardised ileal digestible lysine, methionine and threonine, respectively/kg. © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. ∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +61 8 9368 3322; fax: +61 8 9474 1295. E-mail address: jkim@agric.wa.gov.au (J.C. Kim). 0377-8401/$ – see front matter © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.anifeedsci.2008.07.005