Performance, Digesta Viscosity and Microbial Load in Broilers Fed Diets That Contain 20% Wheat with Roxazyme G2G

Abstract

Non-starch polysaccharides (NSP) are one of the potential factors reducing nutrient bioavailability in ingredients such as soyabean meal and wheat. Digesta viscosity, which is partly correlated with the modulation of gut can be reduced when wheat-based diets is supplemented with NSP degrading enzyme. In a 42-day trial, an experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of Roxazyme G2G supplementation on digesta viscosity, gut microbial load, gut pH, and length between October and November 2012 using 120 day-old broiler chickens fed wheat-based diets with or without enzyme supplementation. Brooding of birds was for 7 days after which they were randomly allotted into 3 dietary treatments in a completely randomized design. The diet consisted 4 replicates of 10 birds each. Body weight gain, feed intake, feed conversion ratio and feed efficiency ratio were the growth performance indices measured. On day 42, birds were slaughtered and digesta samples from the duodenum, jejunum, ileum, and caeca were collected for viscosity determination and microbial load analysis. Length of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and pH were also measured. The growth performance of birds fed wheat based-diet with enzyme was identical to those without enzyme and the control diet. Enzyme supplementation had significant (P =.05) influence on the gut microbial loads at different sections of the GIT. Birds fed wheat-based diets supplemented with enzyme had significantly lower microbial loads as compared with birds in other diets. The pH values obtained were slightly acidic (4.40 – 5.10) in birds on enzyme-supplemented diets across the different GIT sections. Summarily, Roxazyme G2G resulted in improved gut pH, and reduced gut microbial loads in birds fed wheat-based diets.