Impacts of Phytase and/or Carbohydrases on Performance, Intestinal Organs and Bone Development in Broilers Fed Wheat-Based Diets Containing Different Levels of Phosphorus

Abstract

The experiment was conducted to study the effects of an enzyme cocktail (CGX) (consist of cellulase, beta-glucanase and xylanase) and/or phytase supplementation to wheat based broiler starter diet on live performance, intestinal organ measurements and bone development. One-day-old male Ross 308 strain broiler chickens (n = 120) were allocated to 8 dietary treatments in a randomized complete block design. The treatments were as follows: Positive control (containing 0.50% Nonphytate Phosphorus (NPP)) (PC), PC + Phytase (150 g ton(-1) feed) (PCP), PC + CGX (100 g ton(-1) feed) (PCR), PC + CGX + phytase (PCRP) and negative control (containing 0.25% NPP) (NC), NC + phytase (150 g ton(-1) feed) (NCP), NC + CGX (100 g ton(-1) feed) (NCR), NC + CGX + Phytase (NCRP). The experiment lasted for 21 days. Birds fed the PC diet exhibited significantly higher Weight Gain (WG) (p<0.001) and improved Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR) (p<0.001). Birds fed the NC diet exhibited significantly (p<0.01) higher duodenum, jejunum, ileum and cecum length. Combining two enzymes significantly (p<0.05) reduced the relative length of duodenum, jejunum, ileum and cecum in NC diets. Nonphytate phosphorus level was significantly affected (p<0.01) tibia length of birds, although enzymes was not influenced statistically to tibia length or width. There was a significant increase (p<0.01) in the percentage of toe ash with increasing NPP level at 21 days. Toe ash was not affected by phytase, CGX or in combination. Thus, supplementation of phytase and CGX enhanced broiler chick performance with respect to WG and FCR.