Effect of Exogenous Enzymes on Ruminal degradation of Feed and Animal Performance: A review

Abstract

Review was made on the effect of exogenous enzymes on ruminal degradation of feed and animal performance. A wide variety of carbohydrase, protease, phytase and lipase enzymes have been used in animal feeds. Although supplementation of exogenous enzymes to ruminants has shown to increase digestibility of poorly digested feeds and improves animal performance in terms of weight gain and milk yield, the effect is not consistent to different researches. The inconsistent results from studies can be contributed to a number of factors, including diet composition, type of enzyme preparation, complement of enzyme activities, and amount of enzyme provided, enzyme stability, and method of application. Among the different methods of enzyme application, pre-ingestion treatment of feed results in a better intake, digestibility and animal performance. Similarly supplementation of enzymes to the total mixed ration brings enhanced performance of animals. Even while the appropriate level of enzyme supplementation to different types of feeds is not specified, several studies have shown that applications of high levels of enzymes to forages or diets produce less desirable responses than low levels. The better understanding of the production techniques, enzyme activity, mode of enzyme action and application techniques of commercial non starch polysaccharidase enzymes can help the scientific community for competent utilization of these biotechnological products for efficient utilization of the available feed resources.

Key words; exogenous enzymes, supplementation , Animal performance