Energreen Nutrition Australia Pty Ltd is the supplier of pelleted Soybean hulls (Maxi-Soy®) in Australian and overseas markets for equine and ruminant nutrition. Benefiting from the low GI nature of soyhulls because of its high cellulose, hemicellulose, and pectin content, it is a good source of digestible energy for horses. Meanwhile, because of the low level of starch it is not readily digestible and therefore does not harm equine and ruminant health.

Soybeans are primarily processed for their oil, which leads to the generation of two primary by-products:

1.       Soybean meal (High protein)

2.       Soybean hulls (High fibre)

Soybean hulls are the skin of the soybean which comes off during processing. These soyhulls are small and are not dense. Therefore, soyhulls are pelleted to increase ease of handling and bulk density without compromising the nutritional value.

The chemical composition of soybean hulls depends on the efficiency of the dehulling process and so, the soybean hulls contain variable amounts of cellulose (29–51%), hemicelluloses (10–25%), lignin (1–4%), pectin (4–8%), protein (11–15%), and minor residues. Therefore, soybean hulls are primarily lignocellulose material.

Soybean hulls are the skin of the soybean which comes off during processing.

Studies on the inclusion of soybean hulls in equine diets have shown lower contents in starch level without compromising the caloric density of the feed (Hua-Min Liu and Hao-Yang Li, 2017).

Fibre is essential to the equine diet and provides 30–70% of a horse’s digestible energy requirements. It is to be noted however, that not all fibre ingredients are created equal! Soybean hulls are a highly digestible and rapidly fermentable fibre source also known as a “super fibre.”  They provide a good level of digestible energy for horses as they contain high levels of pectin. A good way to compare the quality of fibre ingredients is to look at the lignin to NDF (neutral detergent fibre) ratio. This is as a measure of digestibility where the lower ratio, the better the digestibility. Soybean hulls have a good lignin: NDF ratio at 3.7% compared to oat hulls at 8.2%, wheat bran at 9% and rice bran at 48%. Soybean hulls are digested mostly in the cecum and since they contain relatively small amounts of starch, they are a safe and healthy ingredient for equine diets.

Chemical Composition of (Maxi-Soy®)