Supplemental Enzyme and Probiotics on the Growth Performance and Nutrient Digestibility of Broilers Fed with a Newly Harvested Corn Diet

Abstract

A new grain phenomenon happens in newly harvested corn because of its high content of anti-nutritional factors (ANFs), which can cause low nutrient digestibility and diarrhea in animals. Enzymes and probiotics have been shown to relieve the negative effect of ANFs for animals. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of enzymes and probiotics on the performance and nutrient digestibility of broilers, fed with newly harvested corn diets. A total of 624 Arbor Acres Plus male broiler chickens were randomly divided into eight treatment groups (A: normal corn diet, CT: newly harvested corn diet, DE: newly harvested corn diet + glucoamylase, PT: newly harvested corn diet + protease, XL: newly harvested corn diet + xylanase, BCC: newly harvested corn diet + Pediococcus acidilactici BCC-1, DE + PT: newly harvested corn diet + glucoamylase + protease, XL + BCC: newly harvested corn diet + xylanase + Pediococcus acidilactici BCC-1). Each group was divided into six replicates, with 13 birds each. On day 21, growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and digestive enzyme activity were measured. Compared with the normal corn diet (PC), the newly harvested corn diet (NC) produced shorter digesta emptying time (p = 0.015) and increased visual fecal water content (p = 0.002) of broilers, however, there was no effect on performance. Compared to the newly harvested corn diet (NC), supplemental enzyme of DE increased the activity of chymotrypsin (p = 0.016), however, no differences in the digestibility of three kinds of organic matter, digesta emptying time, visual fecal water content, or performance were found. Supplemental protease (PT) significantly increased digesta emptying time (p = 0.004) and decreased the activity of maltase (p = 0.007). However, it had no effect on the digestibility of three kinds of organic matter or the performance of broilers. Supplemental xylanase (XL) decreased the activity of amylase (p = 0.006) and maltase (p < 0.001); however, it had no effect on digesta emptying time, visual fecal water content, the digestibility of three kinds of organic matter, or performance of broilers. Supplemental DE, combined with PT (DE + PT), increased the digesta emptying time (p = 0.016) while decreasing the visual fecal water content (p = 0.011), and the activity of amylase (p = 0.011), lipase (p = 0.021), and maltase (p < 0.001), however, there was no effect on performance. Supplemental BCC individually decreased the activity of amylase (p = 0.024) and maltase (p < 0.001), however, it increased the activity of trypsin (p < 0.001) and tended to improve feed conversion ratio (FCR) (p = 0.081). Supplemental BCC-1, combined with XL (XL + BCC), increased the activity of trypsin (p = 0.001) but decreased the activity of amylase (p = 0.013), lipase (p = 0.019), and maltase (p < 0.001). Pediococcus acidilactici BCC-1 (109 cfu/kg), protease (800,000 U/g) individually, or protease (800,000 U/g) in combination with glucoamylase (800,000 U/g) were supplemented in newly harvested corn diets for growing broilers. Hence, this study mainly explores the alleviation effect of enzyme and probiotics on the negative phenomenon caused by the utilization of newly harvested corn in broilers and provides a better solution for the utilization of newly harvested corn in production practice.

Supplemental enzymes and probiotics on the gut health of broilers fed with a newly harvested corn diet

“…Improvements in intestinal morphological characteristics demonstrate enhanced digestibility and absorption of nutrients in broilers, which may improve their FCR and ultimately lead to improved growth performance. In the early stage of this study, it was indeed observed that the supplementation of BCC had a tendency to decrease the feed conversion rate of broilers, but had no effect on growth performance ( Luo et al, 2022 ). However, the mechanism of action of enzymes and probiotics to improve intestinal morphology is still not clear.…”

“…It was shown that xylanase and probiotics can improve the intestinal barrier function of broiler chickens and maintain intestinal homeostasis by up-regulating the mRNA expressions of MUC2, Claudin-1, and Occludin. Additionally, our previous research found that the use of newly harvested corn to formulate poultry diets resulted in decreased starch digestibility and diarrhea in broilers ( Luo et al, 2022 ). This may be due to the high content of antinutritional factors such as total pentosans and water-soluble pentosans in newly harvested corn ( Table 2 ).…”

“…Newly harvested corn is commonly used in poultry feed in the autumn. Our previous studies found that newly harvested corn decreases apparent metabolizable energy ( AME ) ( Yin et al, 2022 ), increases feed cost and feed conversion ratio ( FCR ) ( Luo et al, 2022 ), and causes diarrhea ( Yin et al, 2022 ).…”

“…However, if amylase, xylanase, and protease could exert individually beneficial effects for newly harvested is unknown. Our recent research found Pediococcus acidilactici BCC-1 or protease individually, as well as in combination with glucoamylase, are recommended in newly harvested corn diets for broilers ( Luo et al, 2022 ). However, if the beneficial effects were achieved by improving gut health is unknown.…”

The Comparative Effects of Supplementing Protease Combined with Carbohydrase Enzymes on the Performance and Egg n-3 Deposition of Laying Hens Fed with Corn-Flaxseed or Wheat-Flaxseed Diets

“…The proteases or proteinases are proteolytic enzymes that can be used to hydrolyze the trypsin inhibitor of flaxseed [5]. A study reported that protease in corn-based diets increases the chyme emptying time and trypsin activity, leading to enhanced energy absorption [15]. However, the impact of proteases on amino acid digestibility is dependent on the product, supplementation level, and diet composition [16,17].…”