Supplementation of carbohydrases or phytase individually or in combination to diets for weanling and growing-finishing pigs

¹ Department of Animal Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907-2054, USA
² Danisco Animal Nutrition, Marlborough, Wiltshire, SN8 1XN, U.K

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: ladeola{at}purdue.edu.

	Abstract

The overall objective of the studies reported here was to evaluate the growth and nutrient utilization responses of pigs to dietary supplementation of phytate- or non-starch polysaccharide-degrading enzymes. In Exp. 1, growth performance and nutrient digestibility responses of 48 10-kg pigs to dietary supplementation of phytase or cocktail of xylanase, amylase and protease (XAP) alone or in combination were evaluated. Growth response of 150 23-kg pigs to dietary supplementation of phytase or xylanase individually or in combination was studied in Exp. 2 in a 6-wk growth trial; whereas, Exp. 3 investigated the nutrient digestibility and nutrient retention responses of 30 24-kg pigs to dietary supplementation of the same enzymes used in Exp. 2. In Exp. 1, the pigs were used in a 28-d feeding trial. They were blocked by BW and sex and allocated to 6 dietary treatments. The treatments were a positive control (PC) diet; a negative control (NC) diet marginally deficient in P and DE; NC with phytase added at 500 or 1,000 FTU/kg; NC with xylanase (X) at 2,500 U/kg, amylase (A) at 400 U/kg and protease (P) at 4,000 U/kg; and NC with a combination of phytase added at 500 FTU/kg and XAP as above. In Exp. 2 and 3, the 5 dietary treatments were positive control (PC); negative control (NC); NC plus 500 FTU/kg phytase; NC plus 4,000 U/kg xylanase; and NC plus phytase and xylanase. In Exp. 1, low levels of non-phytate P and DE in the NC diet depressed (P < 0.05) ADG of pigs by 16%, but phytase linearly increased (P < 0.05) ADG by up to 24% compared with NC. Cocktail of XAP alone had no effect on ADG of pigs, but the combination of XAP and phytase increased (P < 0.05) ADG by 17% compared with NC treatment. There was a linear increase (P < 0.01) in Ca and P digestibility in response to phytase. In Exp. 2, ADG was 7% greater in PC than NC (P < 0.05) and there were no effects of enzymes addition on any growth response criteria. In Exp. 3, addition of phytase alone or in combination with xylanase improved (P < 0.05) P digestibility. Phosphorus excretion was greatest (P < 0.01) in the PC and lowest (P < 0.05) in the diet with combination of phytase and xylanase. Combination of phytase and xylanase improved P retention (P < 0.01) above the NC diet to a level similar to the PC diet. In conclusion, combination of phytase and carbohydrases improved ADG in 10-kg but not 23-kg pigs, but was efficient in improving P digestibility in pigs of all ages.

Key Words: carbohydrases, digestibility, growth, phytase, pigs, retention

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