Abstract
Soybean meal was fermented by Aspergillus usami in order to reduce phytate content. Aflatoxin B1 was not detected in the fermented soybean meal. The contents of crude protein, crude fiber, ether extract and crude ash were slightly increased following fermentation with a concomitant reduction in nitrogen free extract. Though the fermentation partly degraded proteins in the soybean meal, there was small difference in amino acid composition between the soybean meal and the fermented soybean meal. The results showed that the fermentation did not affect nutritional value of protein in soybean meal. Approximately 55% of phosphorus extracted by trichloroacetic acid was inositol hexaphosphate (phytate) in the soybean meal. The content of inositol tetra to hexaphosphates was not detected in the fermented soybean meal. These results indicated that the fermentation almost completely eliminated phytate in soybean meal. Phytase activity was not detected in the unfermented soybean meal. However, the enzyme activity in the fermented soybean meal was 167.7 U/g. When the fermented soybean meal in supplemented in formula feeds, phytase in the fermented soybean meal might partly degrade the phytate in other ingredients in the digestive tract. The fermented soybean meal is possibly used as a phytate-free protein source of feed, which contains high available phosphorus.