As any reduction in dietary nutrients can negatively impact broiler productivity mitigating these effects is imperative. Dietary reductions in minerals, amino acids, and energy can all result in decreased growth and performance. Previous studies have demonstrated that exogenous phytase added to poultry diets can mitigate decreased growth caused by diets deficient in minerals, amino acids, and energy. In this current study, the addition of dose-dependent digestible AA and ME matrix values in addition to a mineral (P and Ca) down-specification in novel consensus bacterial 6-phytase variant supplemented diets resulted in maintained growth performance, bone quality, carcass characteristics, and nutrient digestibility equivalent to those of a nutritionally adequate diet. This study demonstrated the extra-phosphoric efficacy of phytase, at on top of the phosphoric efficacy, in a typical corn-soybean meal based diet fed to broilers through 63 days of age. The results of this current study confirmed that it is possible to account for phytase contributions for increased AA and energy availability, in addition to P and Ca.

Read the full article in the Journal of Animal Science.