The toxic effect of detoxified rapeseed meal obtained by 2 h lixiviation was studied in growing animals. The control diets provided 10% protein from casein, detoxified rapeseed and crude rapeseed. A fourth diet was prepared substituting half casein for detoxified rapeseed meal. Feed consumption, weight gain and protein efficiency ratio revealled good performance for all diets as compared to the crude meal. Protein efficiency ratio (PER) increased from 2,98 for detoxified rapeseed to 3,19 for casein. The lowest PER 2.16 for crude rapeseed was higher than that related by BALLESTER et alii (0,94). In animals fed crude rapeseed meal,no histological changes were detected. The detoxified material showed a satisfactory growth promoting capacity for the rats at the 10% protein dietary level. It did not cause either hypertrophy of the thyroid or histopathological damage to this gland. The present results seem to confirm the good quality of the protein of rapeseed presscake meal obtained from a low glucosinolate cultivar.
rapeseed meal; nutritional value; protein; chemical composition