Performance and some intestinal functions of broilers fed diets with different inclusion levels of sunflower meal and supplemented or not with enzymes

Abstract

Enzyme supplementation of diets enhances broiler performance by improving some of the basic production parameters such as average feed intake, feed conversion ratio, or average weight gain. The enzyme NSPase is commonly used in broiler diets containing high levels of viscous cereals such as barley, oat, wheat, or sorghum. The use of NSPase in diets with different levels of sunflower meal has been not been extensively explored. The experiment was carried out to evaluate the effects of the inclusion of sunflower meal levels in grower and finisher broiler diets supplemented or not with enzymes (cellulase, β-glucanase, and xylanase) on broiler performance, intestinal function, and carcass traits. A completely randomized experimental design, with 3*2 factorial arrangement with five replicates, was applied (1200 Ross 308 broilers). Sunflower meal inclusion and enzyme supplementation started in grower phase. Broiler performance significantly improved in grower phase (weight gain and feed conversion ratio) by enzyme supplementation, while the effect of sunflower meal was evident in finisher phase, when it significantly reduced weight gain. Sunflower meal increased ileal viscosity, and the interaction between diet and enzyme supplementation was statistically significant. Maltase activity was reduced with sunflower meal dietary inclusion, while enzyme supplementation had no effect either on maltase or sucrase activity. There were no any effects of sunflower meal inclusion with or without enzyme supplementation on carcass characteristics. It can be concluded that high inclusion of sunflower meal in broiler diets may impair broiler performance, but this may be overcome by enzyme supplementation. The effect of enzyme supplementation more evident in the grower phase than in the finisher phase.

The influences of feeding broilers on graded inclusion of sunflower meal with or without Avizyme on growth, protein and energy efficiency, carcass traits, and nutrient digestibility

“…Our findings are partially in line with those reported by Horvatovic et al (14), who found that the inclusion of SFM in broiler diets did not have any impact on carcass yield of broilers.…”

The Practical Application of Sunflower Meal in Poultry Nutrition

“…Neither SFM nor exogenous enzymes had any effect on broiler carcass parameters during the fattening period (Horvatovic et al, 2015).These results are in agreement with reports from other researchers, who also did not find any response of SFM or exogenous enzymes on carcass parameters (Tavernari et al, 2008;Mushtaq et al, 2009). In the work of Saleh et al (2005) supplementation of cellulase to corn soya diet of broiler significantly reduced abdominal fat.…”

“…Body weight gain significantly improved with dietary enzyme mixture (cellulase, β-glucanase, and xylanase) at 0.01% through the entire experimental period. Neither SFM nor enzyme supplementation had any effect on feed consumption (Horvatovic et al, 2015).…”

“…But, SFM significantly increased digesta viscosity in the ileum, while addition of exogenous enzyme to diet decreased viscosity of digesta particularly in the treatments with SFM level. The digesta viscosity increased from the upper to the lower digestive tract (Horvatovic et al, 2015). This phenomenon may be attributed to the impact of the concentration of compounds such as crude fiber that produce the high viscosity through the digestion process or probably due to the increased hydration of those compounds (Boros et al, 1998).…”

Effects of dietary supplementation of endo-1,4-b-D-glucanase producing Bacillus subtilis sp.-fermented products on growth performance in broilers

“…However, the dietary addition of enzyme or EBFP did not improve carcass weight, yield, breast, and thigh meat contents although the live weight in birds fed a diet supplemented with 0.1% of EBFP was highest among treatments at the experiment end date. Horvatovic et al (2015) also reported that the addition of exogenous enzyme had no effects on carcass traits in broilers indicating that the positive effect of fibrolytic enzyme supplementation on growth performances may not induce the improvement of carcass traits.…”