Application and Limitations of Exogenous Fibrolytic Enzymes in Animal Nutrition

Abstract

Dairy industry and poultry industry in India are facing downfall due to low availability and low digestibility of feeds and forages. Ruminants are fed straw based diet which has a very low digestibility. To increase its digestibility, various exogenous fibrlolytic enzymes can be used like cellulase, xylanase, pectinase, amylase etc. These enzymes either can be applied to the feed prior to feeding to hydrolyze the structural carbohydrates or can be directly fed to animals during feeding. The application of these enzymes may improve digestibility of feed, increase feed intake, which may lead to higher feed efficiency, higher growth rate and higher milk production. But care should be taken regarding selection of enzyme, mode and time of application, concentration of enzyme for optimum activity. Therefore, more research is needed to study the specific enzyme for different substrate instead of using a generalized group of enzyme.