AB Vista research presented at the 2018 Poultry Science Association Annual Meeting, held in San Antonio, Texas from July 23rd to 26th, evaluated the possible interaction between xylanase and butyrate supplementation on performance in broilers fed a wheat-based diet.
Sodium butyrate is commonly added to broiler diets to promote animal health. A short chain fatty acid, butyrate is an essential energy source for intestinal epithelial cells and for intestinal function.
Part of the mode of action of NSPase enzymes is improved fibre fermentation and VFA (including butyrate) production, and this is partly responsible for improved performance in broilers fed an NSPase.
Xylanase inclusion was shown to improve broiler feed efficiency and body weight gain in the starter period and feed conversion at 42 days of age, whereas butyrate had no effect on overall performance.
When measured across the different intestinal compartments, VFAs (acetate, propionate and butyrate; end-products of fibre fermentation) were primarily present in the caeca.
The results of the trial showed that xylanase supplementation improved the performance of broilers fed a wheat-based diet, giving superior performance benefits over an added external source of butyrate.
“We know that some specific xylanase end-products produced during the animal’s life are necessary for adapting the intestinal microbiota, which in turn can boost fibre utilisation and performance,” says Gemma Gonzalez Ortiz, AB Vista Research Manager.
A copy of the abstract can be viewed in the Poultry Science Association Abstract Book, available to download at www.poultryscience.org/psa18/
For more information, contact AB Vista on +44(0)1672 517 650 or info@abvista.com. Follow AB Vista on Twitter: @ABVista.
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Notes to editor:
AB Vista is an animal nutrition technology company offering pioneering products and technical services to the global animal feed industry. Since its establishment in 2004, AB Vista has grown to be a top-three player in feed enzymes and is also one of the largest suppliers of natural betaine to the global animal nutrition industry. The company invests heavily in research and development and has a growing portfolio of products and services spanning the poultry, swine, ruminant and aquaculture sectors. AB Vista is headquartered in the UK, with regional offices located in the USA, Brazil, Singapore, Spain, India, China, Germany and Finland.
AB Vista is part of AB Agri, the agricultural division of Associated British Foods, one of Europe’s largest food & retail companies with a market capitalisation of £22 billion.
For further press information please contact Sonya Hayden on +44 (0)20 8647 4467.
