The role of enzymes in poultry feed and the environment

Enzymes are chemicals or catalysts released by cells. These enzymes speed up specific chemical reactions. This definition is reserved for enzymes secreted in the digestive tract to aid in the digestion of food. Today, these enzymes can be efficiently produced and added to livestock and poultry feed.

Role of Protease Enzyme in Feed

Protease is a protein-digesting enzyme that breaks down the starch-bound proteins in feed ingredients. The combination of amylase, xylanase, and protease enzymes increases the energy available for growth and egg production by digesting the digestible parts of food.

Adding a combination of these three enzymes to a bird’s diet typically increases the birds’ available energy by 3 to 5 percent.

The inclusion of amylase, xylanase and protease enzymes in poultry diets breaks down the digestible parts of the feed, making nutrients available through the feed, reducing feed costs. Enzymes are widely used to improve nutrient utilization in feed and phytases have been shown to be the most effective means of reducing phosphorus pollution and environmental problems such as eutrophication by optimizing the utilization of phytate phosphorus.

Recently, the use of proteases as feed enzymes has received attention. Proteases are added to feed with the aim of increasing the hydrolysis of dietary protein and thus allowing better nitrogen utilization. The environmental impacts of reducing dietary protein and reducing nitrogen excretion were examined in a life cycle assessment (LCA), which considered all stages in broiler production from feed ingredient production to manure formation. When animals make better use of nitrogen, it is possible to reduce dietary protein and also reduce nitrogen in manure. A wide range of environmental impacts were analyzed, including emissions of pollutants and nitrogen compounds to the air and aquatic environment, with significant benefits observed for all impacts, the most important of which was the benefit related to reduced ammonia emissions, which led to reduced health risks and environmental impacts such as acidification and eutrophication.

Regarding the use of proteases, the greatest impact was achieved when they were used as a tool in a low-protein diet. However, their use in a diet with normal protein levels also provided significant benefits. Studies show that the use of proteases can significantly contribute to current efforts to reduce nitrogen emissions from livestock production.

Sources:

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