Poultry encounter challenges in synthesizing endogenous enzymes to completely degrade antinutritional factors, including phytic acid (PA) and nonstarch polysaccharides (NSP). These exogenous enzymes are present in plant-based feed ingredients, which encapsulate nutrients and adversely affect their digestion in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). Incorporating exogenous enzymes, including phytase and multi-carbohydrase, in broiler diets is a promising strategy for enhancing energy, protein, mineral digestibility, and feed efficiency. However, there remains inconsistency in studies presenting both challenges and opportunities for optimizing enzyme utilization. In the present study, different concentrations of phytase in available phosphorus (AP)-deficient diets, along with its combination with multi-carbohydrase (i.e., galactomannanase, xylanase, β-glucanase, and α-galactosidase) in both AP and energy-deficient diets, were examined for their effects on the growth performance, nutrient digestibility, tibia traits, and carcass quality of broilers fed conventional corn-soybean meal diets. The findings indicate that supplementing nutrient-deficient diets with phytase alone or with multi-carbohydrase did not affect broiler growth, as their body weight, weight gain, feed intake, and feed conversion ratio were similar to those of broilers on a control diet. Those outcomes could be due to the enhancement of nutrient digestibility and bone mineralization, which suggests successful PA and NSP degradation in the GIT of broilers.

Read the full article in the Journal of Animal Science.