article · Animals
An evaluation of microbial phytase additives examined their impact on laying hens fed diets with reduced available phosphorus. Three hundred and sixty Bovans brown hens were fed either a standard diet or one of three low-phosphorus diets supplemented with bacterial or fungal phytases derived from Escherichia coli, Aspergillus niger, or Trichoderma reesei. Overall productive performance, general egg quality, liver function indicators, and reproductive organ morphology remained unaltered across all groups. However, hens given phytase supplements laid eggs with significantly thicker and heavier shells. Blood tests showed elevated calcium and phosphorus levels. Furthermore, eggs from treated birds displayed higher calcium and phosphorus concentrations in the yolk, alongside reduced levels of cholesterol and malondialdehyde. The bacterial and fungal enzymes performed equivalently, successfully compensating for dietary phosphorus reduction.
Phosphorus is a crucial and costly mineral in poultry farming. Demonstrating that microbial enzymes can safely compensate for lower phosphorus feed levels without impairing hen health or laying rates provides practical options for poultry nutrition. Additionally, the resulting increases in eggshell thickness and favourable changes in yolk composition offer benefits for egg transport resilience, shelf life, and consumer nutrition.
This applied research tests commercial enzyme preparations, indicating an approach that is near-market and ready for farm-level deployment. Animal feed manufacturers and commercial egg producers can use these findings to reformulate laying rations with reduced inorganic phosphorus, lowering feed costs without sacrificing bird health. The equivalence between bacterial and fungal sources also provides feed millers with sourcing flexibility when procuring enzyme supplements.
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Catalytic and physicochemical properties of microbial phytase sources may differ, affecting phosphorus (P) release and subsequently the productive and reproductive performance of layers. The current study aimed to evaluate the impact of bacterial and fungal phytase sources on layer productivity, egg production, biochemical blood indices, and reproductive morphology. For this purpose, 360 Bovans brown hens at 42 weeks of age were randomly allocated into 4 experimental groups, each with 15 replicates of 6 hens. The first group (control) was fed a basal diet with 4.6 g/kg available P. In contrast, the second, third, and fourth groups were fed diets treated with 3.2 g/kg available P, supplemented with either 5000 FTU/kg of bacterial <i>E. coli</i> (Quantum<sup>TM</sup> Blue 5G), fungal <i>Aspergillus niger</i> (VemoZyme<sup>®</sup> F 5000 Naturally Thermostable Phytase (NTP)), or fungal <i>Trichodermareesei</i> (Yemzim<sup>®</sup> FZ100). Dietary supplementation of bacterial and fungal phytases did not affect the productive performance or egg quality criteria, except for increased shell weight and thickness (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Serum hepatic function biomarkers and lipid profiles were not altered in treated hens, while calcium and P levels were increased (<i>p</i> < 0.05) related to the controls. Ovary index and length, and relative weight of oviduct and its segments were not influenced. The contents of cholesterol and malondialdehyde in the yolks from treated birds were lower compared to control hens, while calcium and P content increased (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Conclusively, bacterial and fungal phytase sources can compensate for the reduction of available P in layers' diets and enhance shell and yolk quality without affecting productive performance, and no differences among them were noticed.
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DOI: 10.3390/ani11020540
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