Impact of Konjac Powder on Pellet Stability in Duck Meat Feed

• 1. Influence of Konjac Flour Content on Feed Stickiness:
  
  Research shows that when the konjac flour content is 2%, the lower konjac flour content leads to relatively insufficient feed stickiness, resulting in a decrease in pellet stability index. At 4% konjac flour content, the relatively higher konjac flour content imparts stronger bonding properties to the pellets, increasing the pellet stability index. The greater the amount of konjac flour used, the higher the pellet durability index (PDI) of the feed. This is attributed to the fact that konjac flour contains a significant amount of konjac glucomannan polysaccharide, which, due to its large molecular weight, strong hydration ability, and lack of charge, exhibits excellent binding properties. It almost has a higher viscosity than all natural polysaccharides. The high viscosity, when dispersed in the system, thickens the system, acting as a thickening agent and resulting in stable and uniform feed, thereby increasing the PDI of the feed. However, when konjac flour content is 0% and 3%, the pellet stability index of the feed is comparable. This is because other substances added to improve PDI (such as wheat, molasses, bentonite, etc.) have an effect equivalent to that of the 3% konjac flour.
   

• 2. Impact of Konjac Flour Content on Feed Powder Content: From the perspective of feed powder content, as the amount of konjac flour added increases, the feed's powder content gradually decreases. According to the general technical conditions for pelletized feed (GB/T 16765-1997), the powder content of duck meat feed does not meet the standard. Apart from factors during pelletization, comparing feed formulas reveals that the konjac flour content is 0%, while the wheat addition is 12%, significantly higher than other amounts of 0.7%, 0.4%, and 0.1%. Wheat, as a nutritional binding material, has a bonding effect far inferior to konjac flour. Therefore, the konjac flour content is directly related to the feed powder content. Adding konjac flour during feed production helps reduce the feed's powder content, improving feed utilization.
  
   

• 3. Study on the Mixture of Konjac Flour and Wheat:
  
  However, an excessively high amount of konjac flour may pose certain problems. The main component of konjac flour is polysaccharides, with a crude protein content of only 5%-8%. It also contains toxic substances such as alkaloids and polyamines, with a content of about 1%-2%. Its nutritional level is lower than wheat, which has a similar PDI-increasing effect. Therefore, the focus and direction of future research should be on the mixture of konjac flour and wheat. The optimal konjac flour content for enhancing feed PDI requires further investigation.

Reference: "Effect of Different Konjac Flour Usage on Pellet Stability of Duck Meat Feed" by Luo Yi et al.