Role of Phytase in Poultry Diet

Poultry birds require high-quality diets with readily available nutrients for rapid growth. Enzymes enhance energy efficiency, and productivity in poultry enabling cost-effective meat production. Each enzyme in poultry feed has unique traits affecting its inclusion rate, gut activity, and effectiveness. The enzyme market is expanding due to its role in improving feed quality.

Phosphorus (P) in Poultry

• Importance: Essential for growth, metabolism, and forming DNA/RNA. Deficiency causes poor growth, rickets, and even death, while excess phosphorus disrupts calcium absorption.

Phosphorus-Phytate Relationship

• Phytate: The primary phosphorus storage in plants (70-80% in seeds). Poultry poorly digest phytate, leading to challenges:

• Inorganic phosphorus supplementation (e.g., DCP, MCP) is required.
• High phosphorus excretion in manure, causing environmental issues.
• Anti-nutritional effects: Phytate binds calcium, zinc, and magnesium, reducing their availability.
• Increased nutrient losses, lowering poultry performance.

Challenges in Phytate Phosphorus Utilization

• Dietary: High calcium inhibits, while Vitamin D3 boosts phytase activity.
• Bird: Age and species influence hydrolysis efficiency.
• Feed: Ingredients, processing, and exogenous phytase impact phosphorus release.

Phytase: A Key Feed Additive

Phytase hydrolyses phytate, releasing phosphorus and reducing its binding to proteins and minerals, improving nutrient absorption. Widely used in poultry feed, it enhances digestion and feed efficiency. Since grains are an integral part of poultry feed, animal nutritionists widely use phytase in poultry feed formulations for several benefits.

Types and sources

Phytase feed enzymes used in commercial poultry feed are classified into two categories based on the site. Firstly, where the hydrolysis of the phytate molecule begins are: 3-Phytase & 6-Phytase. Secondly, classification based on origin: Fungal phytase & Bacterial phytase.

 Factors which affects its effectiveness

• pH: Phytase activity is influenced by pH, with optimal performance in the pH range of 2.5 to 5.5.
• Temperature: Phytase being a protein is prone to denaturation due to excess heat of pelleting.
• Pepsin: As the Phytase enzyme in poultry feed is a protein it is bound to proteolytic hydrolysis by protein-digesting enzyme, which is pepsin in poultry gut.
• Feed phytate level: Phytase activity increases in low-phytic acid diets, but high-phytic acid diets release more phosphorus.
• Amount of enzyme used in feed: Need to follow the manufacturer recommendations as given.

Conclusion:

Supplementation of phytase in poultry feed helps in reducing dependence on expensive inorganic phosphate supplements in poultry production, and it also enhances the digestibility of amino acids, energy, and micronutrients, which eventually leads to improved nutrient utilization, better growth performance, and more generalized sustainability. 

Selecting the right phytase enzyme is crucial for poultry feed manufacturers to maximize its benefits. Glamac offers Glavizyme 5000, a high-quality bacterial 6-phytase that is intrinsically thermostable and effective across a broad pH range.