We studied the composition of the carbohydrate fraction of 27 soybean meals (SBM) from Argentina (ARG), Brazil (BRA), and USA (9 per origin) randomly collected from European crushing plants and feed mills during the 2022/2023 harvest season. The samples were analyzed for sucrose, stachyose, raffinose, total sugars, starch, crude fiber (CF), neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and non-starch polysaccharides (NSP) content in the same laboratory using official methods. The average CP content of all the samples, on 88% DM bases was 46.0 ± 0.97%. Data were analyzed as a completely randomized design by ANOVA, with SBM origin as the main effect. Sucrose (7.93 and 7.26 vs. 6.08%), stachyose (4.96 and 5.41 vs. 4.01%), total sugars (10.3 and 9.30 vs. 8.82%), and starch (0.64 and 0.72 vs. 0.42%) contents were higher for the ARG and USA meals than for the BRA meals (P < 0.001). In contrast, NDF (9.95 vs. 8.51 vs. 9.07%), and soluble (4.31 vs. 4.01 vs. 4.23%) and total (16.0 vs. 14.9 vs. 15.7%) NSP contents were higher (P < 0.05) for the BRA meals than for the ARG meals, with USA meals being intermediate. However, no differences were detected for CF and insoluble NSP contents. The differences in sugar composition detected in the NSP fraction were numerous, with higher contents in glucose (3.84 and 3.89 vs. 3.11%), xylose (1.39 and 1.33 vs. 1.20%), and mannose (1.10 and 1.12 vs. 0.89%) for the BRA and USA meals than for the ARG meals (P < 0.01), whereas, the ARG meals had higher contents in galactose (4.40 vs. 4.14 and 4.04%) and fucose (0.32 vs. 0.31 and 0.30%) than for the BRA and USA meals (P < 0.001). A similar composition was detected for the insoluble NSP fraction, with BRA and USA meals had more glucose (3.66 and 3.64 vs. 2.92%; P < 0.01) and mannose (0.55 and 0.57 vs. 0.39%; P < 0.05) than the ARG meals. In contrast, the ARG meals had more galactose (3.23 vs. 2.97 and 2.88%) and fucose (0.23 vs. 0.22 and 0.21%) contents than BRA and USA meals (P < 0.001). Xylose content was higher (1.04 vs. 0.86 vs. 0.98%; P < 0.01) for the BRA meals than for the ARG meals, with the USA meals being intermediate. For the soluble NSP fraction, mannose content was higher for the BRA and USA meals than for the ARG meals and glucose was higher for the USA meals than for the ARG and BRA meals, and the galacturonic acid was higher in the BRA meals than in the ARG and USA meals. In conclusion, the carbohydrate composition of the SBM varies according to the origin of the beans. Carbohydrates plays a crucial role, still not well investigated, on physiological and nutritional aspects of poultry nutrition. Consequently, new studies are needed on the carbohydrate fraction of the SBM because of its significant interest for poultry feeding.

Talegón, G., R. Lázaro, L. Cámara, J. García and G. Mateos. 2025. Influence of the origin of the soybeans on the composition of the carbohydrate fraction of soybeans meal arriving to European ports. 2025 Poultry Science Association Annual Meeting, Abstract 458P