AveMix® XG 10 – Solving the challenges of rye and sunflower meal in broiler feed
Non-starch polysaccharides
Plant based feed ingredients provide the necessary energy and proteins in broiler feed. However, they also contain anti-nutritional factors in the form of insoluble and soluble non-starch polysaccharides (NSP). This is because monogastric animals do not produce enzymes capable of digesting soluble or insoluble NSP, which means that they cause issues for broiler performance and health. This is in terms of making nutrients inaccessible (nutshell effect) or increasing gut digesta viscosity (gel effect) respectively.
Feed ingredients with complex NSP structure
Wheat, corn and soybean meal extracts are the most commonly used plant based ingredients in broiler feed. Depending on price and availability though, other feed ingredients like rye and sunflower meal can also be used in limited amounts. However, rye and sunflower have a more complex NSP content. As such, their use can result in important negative impacts on feed digestibility and broiler performance. This is why the use of rye and sunflower meal in broiler diets is usually limited relative to more commonly used plant based ingredients.
Sunflower meal contains a high total amount of NSP, while rye contains a medium level of NSP that is higher than wheat and corn (Figure 1). Sunflower meal has both a high insoluble cellulose and a high soluble glucan content, which are respectively responsible for the so called ‘nutshell’ and ‘gel forming’ effect. In contrast, rye is more like wheat and corn in that it is rich in insoluble arabinoxylans which also have a ‘nutshell’ effect.
Figure 1: NSP types and amount present in different plant-based ingredients for broiler feed
The negative impact of NSP can be overcome by applying an appropriate combination of enzymes to degrade these anti-nutritional factors, as is the case with Palital’s synergistically acting NSP degrading enzyme concept. AveMix® XG 10 is a powerful and proven combination of high endo-1,4-beta-xylanase and endo-1,3(4)-beta-glucanase. Further details on the mechanism, mode of action of and benefits of AveMix® XG 10 can be accessed here. In this article, insight is given into the benefit of using AveMix® XG 10 in diets of broilers containing rye and sunflower meal.
AveMix® XG 10 resolves complex NSP structure issues
A 42 day broiler trial was performed using a total of 200 birds, which were randomly allocated into two groups of 100: control and AveMix® XG 10. All birds received the same basal starter, grower and finisher diets (Table 1). The diets were mainly composed of wheat and soybean meal extracted, but also contained relatively high amounts of rye and sunflower meal, up to 11 and 10% respectively. The control group only received the basal diets whilst the AveMix® XG 10 group received the basal diets supplemented ‘on-top’ with the recommended dosage of AveMix® XG 10.
Table 1: Composition of the fiber fraction of the trial basal diets
The incorporation of AveMix® XG 10 in the starter, grower and finisher diets significantly improved the performance of the broilers (Figure 2). Final body weight increased significantly for the broiler diets supplemented with AveMix® XG 10, and feed intake increased numerically. This resulted in a significantly improved feed conversion ratio for the broiler diets supplemented with AveMix® XG 10. These trial findings clearly indicate that AveMix® XG 10 enhanced nutrient utilization in broilers by degrading NSP even when these challenging plant based ingredients were used.
Figure 2: AveMix® XG 10 improves the final body weight and feed conversion ratio of broilers. Bars labelled with * were significantly different from the control group (P<0.001).
In conclusion, this trial clearly demonstrates that AveMix® XG 10 is an effective feed additive to overcome the anti-nutritional issues associated plant based feed ingredients containing challenging complex NSP structures. The guaranteed high enzymatic activities of AveMix® XG 10 results in increased nutrient utilization and production performance. As a consequence, AveMix® XG 10 enables a high degree of feed formulation flexibility in terms of inclusion of plant based feed ingredients. For more information on AveMix® XG 10, please contact us.
