Influence of exogenous enzyme supplementation on energy utilisation and nutrient digestibility of cereals for broilers

The influence of a microbial phytase, produced by solid-state fermentation, on the apparent metabolisable energy and ileal digestibility of phosphorus, nitrogen and starch in sorghum, maize, wheat and barley was examined using 4-week-old broilers. For wheat and barley, the influence of phytase, individually or in combination with glycanases, was also evaluated. Microbial phytase improved (p (less than) 0.05) apparent ileal phosphorus digestibility in all cereals. Phytase supplementation improved (p (less than) 0.05) the apparent metabolisable energy of maize and barley by 2.6 and 7.8%, respectively. Numerical improvements in apparent metabolisable energy were observed in sorghum (1.9%) and wheat (2.1%), but were not statistically significant (p (more than) 0.05). Further improvements (p (less than) 0.05) in the apparent metabolisable energy of wheat and barley were observed when the phytase was combined with glycanases. However, the observed improvements in apparent metabolisable energy were not always associated with enhanced ileal digestibility of protein and starch.