The enzyme is a biological catalyst composed of proteins, amino acids with minerals and vitamins. The advantages of using commercial enzymes in poultry feed include improved product performance and feed utilization, minimized environmental pollution due to reduced nutrient of manure.
The animal feed industry uses enzymes that degrade crude fibre, starch, proteins, and phytates, and being proteins, they are eventually digested or excreted by the animal, having no residual effect on products like meat or egg.
Three classes of enzymes (phytases, carbohydrases, and proteases) are typically considered for use in poultry feeds.
Role of enzymes in animal nutrition: The key benefits of enzymes improve feed efficiency and reducing the cost of production of meat and eggs. Enzymes improve the consistency of feed that helps in the maintenance of gut health and the digestion process results in overcoming the growth of disease-causing bacteria
Poultry naturally produces enzymes to aid the digestion of feed nutrients. However, they do not have enzymes to break down fibre completely and hydrolysis of non-starch polysaccharides (NSP) is present in the cell wall of the grains. They need exogenous enzymes in feed to aid digestion.