The study of high-protein plant components on the example of soybeans and corn for aquaculture feed

It is important to use nutritious compound feeds with high content of protein in order to obtain qualitative marketable fish products under an intensive cultivation. During the production of high-protein aquaculture feeds, protein-rich animal and plant ingredients should be added to the composition. To such components refer: fish flour, meat-and-bone meal, wheat, corn, various types of soybeans, etc. Animal ingredients can be partially replaced by vegetable ingredients, but should not be 100%. Popular plant-based feed additives are soybean and corn. They are rich sources of plant protein which make them an ideal supplement to form a complete fish diet, especially in conditions of the intensive cultivation. These ingredients are often cheaper in comparison to animal proteins, which is the reason why the use of these ingredients makes feed more affordable for fish producers. For producers, semi-finished products of two or more ingredients are produced now as pellets or dry mixes. It is made to simplify the production process. In the majority of cases, these additives include a combination of animal protein and plant protein. This paper considers plant components such as soybean and corn in combination with fish flour for the manufacture of compound feeds. It also presents amino acid compositions of these components. Studies on the determination of the amount of proteins, fats and carbohydrates in experimental feeds containing soybean and corn are conducted and described. In the course of the experiment it is revealed that the feed with soybean content has a higher percentage of crude protein content, but the feed with corn has a higher content of carbohydrates in its composition.