Effect of supplementing NSP hydrolyzing enzymes on the performance of broiler chickens

An experiment was conducted to study the possible beneficial effects of supplementing non-starch polysaccharide (NSP) hydrolyzing enzymes to diets based on soybean meal (SBM) or sunflower cake (SFC) for commercial broiler chicks. Day-old broiler female chicks (160) were distributed randomly into 4 groups (8 replicates of 5 chicks each) in each pen were offered isonitrogenous and isocaloric diets ad lib (Table 1), containing either SBM or SFC replacing 100% SBM, supplemented with or without NSP enzyme @ 0 or 1g/kg diet upto 42 days. NSP enzyme supplementation failed to influence these parameters except, relative weight of liver and length of intestine, which were decreased (P<0.01) with enzyme supplementation. Weight gain at 2 Id of age, DM digestibility, RTC yield and abdominal fat content decreased, but the weight gain 42 d of age was not affected by replacing SBM with SFC in broiler diet. The relative weights of giblet, gizzard and intestine and length of intestine decreased in broilers fed SFC based diet. Cost of feeding was higher in groups fed SFC based diet and NSP enzyme supplemented diets compared to SBM and enzyme un-supplemented groups, respectively. Interaction between protein source and enzyme supplementation significantly influenced blood profile and fat content in liver. It was concluded that SBM could be replaced completely with SFC in iso-caloric and iso-nitrogenous diets without affecting weight gain at 42 days of age, but feed utilization was significantly lower in SFC diets broilers. Supplementation of NSP hydrolyzing enzymes did not have any beneficial effects in SBM or SFC based diets.