Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of an enzyme complex on broiler performance, metabolizable energy, and nitrogen and phosphorus balance.
In the first experiment, 960 one-day-old male Cobb broilers were placed in 3 nutritional levels and without enzymes, totaling 6 treatments, with 20 birds in each treatment.
Treatments were reared with 8 replicates until 42 days of age.
A control diet was adjusted to meet the nutritional needs of the broilers. Diets containing 100 and 150 percent of the enzyme matrix reduced available phosphorus, metabolizable energy, and amino acid levels.
Inclusion of an enzyme complex at 200 g/t of feed resulted in better broiler performance, 4 percent weight gain, and 3 percent feed conversion ratio improvement (P<0.05).
In the second experiment, 240 male broilers were randomly assigned to the same treatments with 8 replicates of 5 birds per cage.
In this method, total faecal collection was used, and an interaction between diets and enzyme complex was observed for phosphorus absorption, nitrogen uptake and retention.
Enzyme complex supplementation improved apparent metabolizable energy values in nitrogen by 2.02% and also had significant effects on phosphorus and nitrogen balance (P<0.05).
Phosphorus retention improved by 1.26% and nitrogen retention increased by 5.3%, while nitrogen excretion decreased by 3.3%.
Based on the results of the present study, it is recommended to add 200 g/t of feed of enzyme complex to the diet of broilers (taking into account the reduction of nutrients based on 100% enzyme feed matrix).
Poultry diets are typically based on corn and soybean meal.
When enzymes are added as exogenous supplements to the feed, their energy can be fully utilized.
Enzymes added to the feed improve the digestibility of nutrients and energy in the feed provided to broilers.
In general, enzymes break down plant cell walls, reduce feed viscosity, and break down proteins and anti-nutritional factors.
However, these benefits depend on the type of enzyme, and each will have a specific function (e.g., phytase, carbohydrases, and proteases).
In order to improve nutrient availability and minimize the adverse effects of anti-nutritional factors, diets containing phytase or carbohydrase are commonly used in industrial broiler feeding.
Previous studies have shown improvements in weight gain, feed conversion ratio and carcass characteristics when enzymes are added as exogenous supplements.
Different strategies are used to use the combination of two enzymes (reducing nutrient properties or allocating specific amounts of nutrients based on enzymes).
It is usually recommended to use enzyme feed matrix for feed formulation. This will allow to reduce the energy associated with the diet, phosphorus, protein and amino acids, which will result in a reduction in the environmental excretion of nutrients and the cost of the diet.
However, in order to prevent the loss of performance of broilers, studies evaluating the reduction of nutrients with respect to the efficiency of enzyme complexes are recommended.
Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the addition of an enzyme complex on performance, metabolizable energy in the diet and phosphorus and nitrogen balance in broilers.
The results of the present study indicate that EC supplementation may reduce the adverse effects of protein-phytate complexes and reduce the loss of dietary nutrients such as phosphorus, protein, and carbohydrates.
In general, the addition of enzyme complexes to broiler diets has many benefits.
Enzyme supplementation improved broiler performance, with the greatest effect on weight gain (92.3% higher) and feed conversion ratio (74.2% better) between 1 and 42 days of age.
Metabolizable energy utilization and metabolizable energy nitrogen improved by 2.05 and 2.02%, respectively.
On average, phosphorus excretion decreased by 82.6% and phosphorus retention increased by 26.10%, while nitrogen excretion decreased by 30.3% and retention increased by 30.5%.
Conclusion: Based on the results of the present study, considering the reduction in nutrients obtained when considering 100% of the nutritional matrix of the enzyme complex in the diet formulation, the addition of 200 grams of the evaluated enzyme complex per ton of broiler feed is recommended.
