Protease in the Diet of Broiler: Performance, Nutrient Digestibility, Intestinal Histomorphometric, Meat Quality Characteristics, Carcass Yield

Abstract

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effects of increasing doses of protease on broilers from 1 to 42 days of age. A total of 1290 Ross AP broilers were used, distributed among five treatments: positive control diet, negative control diet (NC), NC + 50 ppm of protease, NC + 100 ppm of protease, and NC + 200 ppm of protease. Each treatment contained six replicates of 43 animals each. The inclusion of proteases in the diet had effects (P < 0.05) on body weight, feed intake, weight gain, and feed conversion in the 12 to 21 day period; body weight, weight gain, and feed intake in the 29 to 42 day period; nutrient digestibility (energy metabolizability coefficient and crude protein at 28 days); and intestinal parameters (crypt and muscle width of jejunum and ileum at 28 days and villus length, crypt length, and jejunum thickness muscle layer at 42 days). These results indicate that the inclusion of protease in broiler feed can improve production parameters when the amount of crude protein in the diet is reduced.