Supplementation of Avizyme 1502 to corn-soybean meal-wheat diets fed to turkey tom poults: the first fifty-six days of age

Responses of Combined Non-starch Polysaccharide Enzymes and Protease on Growth Performance, Meat Quality, and Nutrient Digestibility of Yellow-Feathered Broilers Fed With Diets With Different Crude Protein Levels

The aim of this study was to investigate the responses of non-starch polysaccharide (NSP) enzymes and protease combination on growth performance, meat quality, and nutrients digestibility of yellow-feathered broilers fed with corn-soybean meal basal diets with normal and subnormal crude protein (CP) levels. The experimental design was completely randomized with a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments, including six replicates of 20 birds per pen. Two basal diets were formulated with normal CP level as positive control (PC) and subnormal CP level without extra essential amino acid (AA) supplementation as negative control (NC). The basal diets were supplemented without or with NSP enzymes and protease. Broilers fed with the NC diet had lower (P < 0.05) final body weight (BW), average daily weight gain (ADG) on days 1–21, 22–56 and 1–56 and higher (P < 0.05) feed-to-gain ratio (F/G) on day 22–56 than those fed with PC diet. The broilers fed with the NC diet had higher (P < 0.05) L^* and b^* values in thigh muscle, crypt depth in the duodenum, and dry matter (DM) digestibility as well as lower (P < 0.05) villus height, musculature thicknesses, and villus height: crypt depth in the duodenum than those fed with the PC diet. Dietary NSP enzymes and protease combination increased (P < 0.05) the ADG and F/G of the broilers on days 1–56, and pH values in breast and thigh muscles as well as the digestibility of DM, gross energy (GE), CP and most AAs of the broilers on day 56. Compared with the PC diet, the combination of NSP enzymes and protease exhibited greater (P < 0.05) improvements in the digestibility of DM, CP, and some AAs (Asp, Ile, and Leu) in the broilers fed with the NC diet. In conclusion, reducing CP diet without essential AA supplementation impaired the growth performance and meat color of the thigh muscles of the broilers. The combination of NSP enzymes and protease effectively improved the growth performance, meat quality, and nutritional values of the broilers. In terms of the digestibility of DM, CP, and some AAs, the magnitude of response to the addition of NSP enzymes and protease was greater in the low nutritional-quality diet with a subnormal CP level.

The Enzymatic Digestion of Pomaces From Some Fruits for Value-Added Feed Applications in Animal Production

With the noticed steady increase of global demand for animal proteins coupled with the current farming practices falling short in fulfilling the requested quantities, more attention is being paid for means and methods intended to maximize every available agricultural-resource in a highly sustainable fashion to address the above growing gap between production and consumers' demand. Within this regard, considerable efforts are being invested either in identifying new animal feed ingredients or maximizing the utilization of already established ones. The public preference and awareness of the importance of using waste products generated by fruit-dependent industries (juice, jams, spirits, etc.) has improved substantially in recent years where a genuine interest of using the above waste(s) in meaningful applications is solidifying and optimization-efforts are being pursued diligently. While many of the earlier reported usages of fruit pomaces as feedstuffs suggested the possibility of using minimally processed raw materials alone, the availability of exogenous digestive and bio-conversion enzymes is promising to take such applications to new un-matched levels. This review will discuss some efforts and practices using exogenous enzymes to enhance fruit pomaces quality as feed components as well as their nutrients' accessibility for poultry and swine production purposes. The review will also highlight efforts deployed to adopt numerous naturally derived and environmentally friendly catalytic agents for sustainable future feed applications and animal farming-practices.

Supplementation of amylase combined with glucoamylase or protease changes intestinal microbiota diversity and benefits for broilers fed a diet of newly harvested corn

Background

The effect of amylases combined with exogenous carbohydrase and protease in a newly harvested corn diet on starch digestibility, intestine health and cecal microbiota was investigated in broiler chickens.

Methods

Two hunderd and eighty-eight 5-day-old female chickens were randomly divided into six treatments: a newly harvested corn-soybean meal diet (control); control supplemented with 1,500 U/g α-amylase (Enzyme A); Enzyme A + 300 U/g amylopectase + 20,000 U/g glucoamylase (Enzyme B); Enzyme B + protease 10,000 U/g (Enzyme C); Enzyme C + xylanase 15,000 U/g (Enzyme D); and Enzyme D + cellulase 200 U/g + pectinase 1,000 U/g (Enzyme E). Growth performance, starch digestibility, digestive organ morphology, and intestinal microbiota were evaluated in the birds at 16 and 23 d of age.

Results

Compared with the control diet, supplementation with Enzyme A significantly decreased ileum lesion scoring at 16 d of age (P < 0.05); supplementation with Enzyme B or Enzyme C showed positive effects on ileal amylopectin and total starch digestibility (P < 0.05); Broilers fed with a diet supplemented with Enzyme D had a tendency to decrease body weight gain at 23 d. Enzyme E supplementation improved lesion scoring of jejunum and ileum at 16 d (P < 0.05), and increased ileal amylopectin or total starch digestibility at 23 d (P < 0.05). Supplementation of enzymes changed cecal microbiota diversity. High numbers of Campylobacter, Helicobacter and Butyricicoccus, Anaerostipes and Bifidobacterium, Sutterella and Odoribacter were the main genera detected in supplementations with Enzymes B, C, D, and E respectively.

Conclusions

Supplementation with amylase combined with glucoamylase or protease showed a beneficial effect on starch digestibility and intestinal microbiota diversity, and increased growth of broilers fed with newly harvested corn.

Interactive effects of dietary protein concentration, a mono-component exogenous protease and ascorbic acid on broiler performance, nutritional status and gut health

A total of 640 male Ross 308 broiler chickens were used to explore the interactive effects of diet nutrient density, exogenous protease and ascorbic acid on performance, nutrient digestibility and various gut health metrics. A total of eight dietary treatments were arranged as a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial with the factors being adequate or reduced (~4%) crude protein and amino acids, without or with exogenous protease and without or with supplemental ascorbic acid. Over the 35-day experimental period, birds that received the adequate diet had higher (P < 0.01) bodyweight gain and lower (P < 0.001) feed conversion ratio (FCR) than birds that received the diet with reduced protein and amino acid density. Supplemental protease reduced (P < 0.001) FCR and this influence was more apparent in birds fed the diet with reduced protein concentration. Gut tensile strength tended to be increased by protease (P = 0.09) and ascorbic acid (P = 0.06) supplementation. Supplemental protease reduced (P < 0.001) jejunal goblet cell numbers and epithelial thickness and increased (P < 0.05) villus height compared with unsupplemented diets. Ascorbic acid tended (P = 0.05) to increase sialic acid concentration in ileal digesta. Protease increased (P < 0.01) the coefficients of apparent ileal digestibility for all amino acids other than methionine and this effect tended (P = 0.07 to 0.09) to be more pronounced in the low protein diet for aspartic acid, histidine and arginine. The concentration of taurine in ileal digesta was reduced (P < 0.01) by protease whereas hydroxyproline concentrations tended (P = 0.09) to increase by ascorbic acid addition. These results confirm previous reports on the effectiveness of exogenous protease in diets reduced in crude protein and digestible amino acids. Furthermore, both protease and ascorbic acid may influence gut health through promotion of tensile strength, epithelial morphology and endogenous protein flow. The interaction between exogenous protease and ascorbic acid on gut health with an emphasis on collagen structure and tight junction integrity is an area for future study.

Effects of corn source and exogenous enzymes on growth performance and nutrient digestibility in broiler chickens

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of exogenous enzymes on growth performance, ileal digestible energy (IDE) and apparent ileal digestibility of CP and amino acids (AA) in broiler chickens fed corn-soy diets formulated using 3 different sources of corn (corn 1, corn 2, and corn 3). One-day-old male broiler chicks (n = 3,600) were allocated to 15 dietary treatments as 5 treatments for each corn as follows: positive control (PC) with no exogenous enzymes and adequate in all nutrients; negative control (NC) without exogenous enzymes and a 3% reduction in calculated ME relative to the PC diet; NC plus a commercial xylanase; NC plus a commercial mixture of xylanase, amylase, and protease; and NC plus a commercial mixture of xylanase and β-glucanase. Enzyme products had no effects on performance variables, and in some instances, they had negative impacts. In most cases, there were no effects of enzyme products on IDE and digestibility of CP and AA in the starter and finisher phases. Effects of exogenous enzymes on ileal digestibility were mainly found in the grower phase, and these responses were mostly observed in birds fed corn 2 diets compared with birds receiving corn 1 or corn 3 diets. Although analyzed nutrient contents of 3 corn samples were similar, supplementing corn 2 diets with enzyme products was associated with greater responses on digestibility parameters. Factors related to diets (e.g., availability of substrates) and birds (e.g., enzymatic activities in the digestive tract) may have limited nutrient digestibility, and these limitations may have provided favorable conditions for exogenous enzymes to specifically work on their substrates in corn 2 diets in the grower phase. Effects of enzyme products on IDE and digestibility of CP and AA were not consistent and varied depending on corn sources, enzyme products, and dietary phases.

Recent advances in research on enzymes for poultry diets

Exogenous enzymes have been used extensively in the diets of poultry to improve productive performance. Further research, however, is needed to evaluate the efficacy of enzyme use and for the expansion of the use of enzymes to accommodate the wide array of dietary constituents used in poultry feeding programs. The use of effective phytase preparations to improve bird performance and to reduce environmental P pollution has shown less than optimum results, partly due to the potential negative effects of nontargeted dietary fiber components and to confounding influence of inadequate knowledge of accurate P requirements and the tendency for the use of excessive safety margins in diet formulation. Targeting specific nonstarch polysaccharides (NSP) of wheat, barley, or rye with enzyme preparations has proven effective for diets based on these cereals but not for corn- and soybean meal-based diets, primarily due to the differences in constituent NSP. The increased use of whole flaxseed in poultry diets represents an additional research area for effective enzyme development to alleviate potential negative effects of constituent NSP components. Such challenges of the enzyme development process and their outcomes are presented in this publication.

BOARD-INVITED REVIEW: opportunities and challenges in using exogenous enzymes to improve nonruminant animal production

Diets fed to nonruminant animals are composed mainly of feed ingredients of plant origin. A variety of antinutritional factors such as phytin, nonstarch polysaccharides, and protease inhibitors may be present in these feed ingredients, which could limit nutrients that may be utilized by animals fed such diets. The primary nutrient utilization-limiting effect of phytin arises from the binding of 6 phosphate groups, thus making the P unavailable to the animal. The negative charges allow for formation of insoluble phytin-metal complexes with many divalent cations. Furthermore, phytin and protein can form binary complexes through electrostatic links of its charged phosphate groups with either the free amino group on AA on proteins or via formation of ternary complexes of phytin, Ca(2+), and protein. The form and extent of de novo formation of binary and ternary complexes of phytin and protein are likely to be important variables that influence the effectiveness of nutrient hydrolysis in plant-based diets. Nonstarch polysacharides reduce effective energy and nutrient utilization by nonruminant animals because of a lack of the enzymes needed for breaking down the complex cell wall structure that encapsulate other nutrients. Enzymes are used in nonruminant animal production to promote growth and efficiency of nutrient utilization and reduce nutrient excretion. The enzymes used include those that target phytin and nonstarch polysaccharides. Phytase improves growth and enhances P utilization, but positive effects on other nutrients are not always observed. Nonstarch polysaccharide-hydrolyzing enzymes are less consistent in their effects on growth and nutrient utilization, although they show promise and it is imperative to closely match both types and amounts of nonstarch polysaccharides with appropriate enzyme for beneficial effects. When used together with phytase, nonstarch polysaccharide-hydrolyzing enzymes may increase the accessibility of phytase to phytin encapsulated in cell walls. The future of enzymes in nonruminant animal production is promising and will likely include an understanding of the role of enzyme supplementation in promoting health as well as how enzymes may modulate gene functions. This review is an attempt to summarize current thinking in this area, provide some clarity in nomenclature and mechanisms, and suggest opportunities for expanded exploitation of this unique biotechnology.