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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Animal Biosciences & Biotechnology Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #404126
Research Project: Nutritional Strategies to Improve Production Efficiencies in Broiler Chickens

Location: Animal Biosciences & Biotechnology Laboratory

Title: Effect of phytate concentration and phytase on calcium and phosphorus digestibility in broilers

Author
item LI, WENTING - Danisco Animal Nutrition
item ANGEL, ROSELINA - University Of Maryland
item VENTER, KYLE - University Of Pretoria
item PLUMSTEAD, PETER - US Department Of Agriculture (USDA)
item Proszkowiec-Weglarz, Monika
item ENTING, HENK - Cargill Slu, Cargill Animal Nutrition

Submitted to: Poultry Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/5/2024
Publication Date: 8/31/2024
Citation: Li, W., Angel, R., Venter, K., Plumstead, P.W., Proszkowiec-Wegla, M.K., Enting, H. 2024. Effect of phytate concentration and phytase on calcium and phosphorus digestibility in broilers. Poultry Science. Vol. 103 Issue II. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psj.2024.104191.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psj.2024.104191

Interpretive Summary: Inclusion of microbial phytase, enzyme responsible for degrading phytic acid, an indigestible, organic form of phosphorus, has become an established practice to enhance organic phosphorus utilization (in the form of phytate phosphorus), which is poorly available to poultry species in practical commercial diets. Experimentally, the effectiveness of phytase is usually determined under phosphorus or both calcium and phosphorus deficient conditions. However, efficacy values for potential increase in available or digestible phosphorus and/or calcium from added phytase are usually provided without considering the impact of other dietary factors. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of different level of phytate phosphorus coming from corn on limestone calcium digestibility and diet phosphorus digestibility in the presence or absence of commercially available phytase. Four different level of phytate phosphorus and two different level of microbial phytase were utilized in the experiment. The standardized ileal digestibility of calcium and phosphorus was determined in ileum of broiler chickens 36 h after experimental diet were fed. In summary, dietary phytate phosphorus negatively affected standardized ileal calcium and phosphorus digestibility, regardless of phytase concentration. However, microbial phytase inclusion improved both standardized ileal calcium and phosphorus digestibility, irrespective of PP concentration.

Technical Abstract: Work was done to determine the impact of increasing concentration of phytate-P (PP) from the same source (corn) on standardized ileal digestibility (SID) Ca in limestone and SID P in the diet limestone was added to, in the presence or absence of Buttiauxella spp. phytase in broilers. Treatment (TRT) were based on a 4x2 factorial arrangement of 4 PP (0.16, 0.23, 0.29, and 0.34%) and 2 phytase (0 or 1000 U/kg) concentrations fed for 36 h from 20 to 22 d of age (4 b/pen). Diets were corn based with no added SBM, containing different ratios of corn and corn germ meal mixed to achieve desired concentration of PP from the same grain source. Limestone with a geometric mean diameter of 800 µm was added so the final diets to contain 0.7% Ca. One N/Ca/P free diet was used to determine endogenous losses (n=7). Distal ileal digesta was collected from all birds and pooled by pen. Impacts of PP and phytase on SID Ca and P and digestible (Dig) values of total Ca and P were analyzed by MIXED procedure (SAS 9.4). There was no interaction between PP and phytase on limestone Ca SID or Dig Ca. Irrespective of phytase, increasing PP from 0.16 to 0.34% decreased SID Ca by 29% (from 53.8 to 38.1%; P<0.05). Average SID Ca in 0 and 1000 U phytase/kg was 41.5 and 51.4%, respectively, across all PP concentrations (P<0.05). There were interactions between PP and phytase on SID and Dig P (P<0.05). SID P was 31.1, 24.0, 20.1 and 16.3% for birds fed 0.16, 0.23, 0.29 and 0.34% PP diets, respectively, without phytase (P<0.05). SID P in birds fed diets with 1000 U phytase/kg were 89.9, 87.5, 73.9 and 60.4% in 0.16, 0.23, 0.29 and 0.34% PP TRT, respectively (P<0.05). In summary, dietary PP negatively affected SID Ca and P, regardless of phytase concentration. Phytase inclusion improved both SID and Dig of Ca and P, irrespective of PP concentration.