It has been well established that nutrient digestibility, animal performance and the bone ash content of broilers are improved with the use of commercial phytase enzymes. How well the phytase enzyme can facilitate these improvements is very much dependent on the ability of the enzyme to breakdown the phytate molecule in the gastrointestinal tract of the bird.
Recently, Bello et al. (2019) investigated the efficacies of two phytase enzymes at two dose rates, 500 FTU/kg and 1,000 FTU/kg, on the breakdown of the IP6 phytate. They did this by measuring the IP6, IP5, IP4 and IP3 concentrations in the crop, proventriculus, and gizzard, as well as the distal ileum digesta, and ileal IP6 disappearance in broilers at 22 days of age.
The authors found that to efficiently degrade and decrease the antinutritional effects of IP on nutrient digestibility and utilisation, the source and dose of dietary phytase are important factors to consider. In this study they found that one commercial phytase (at 1 000 FTU/kg) had a greater effect on the degradation of IP6, IP5, and IP4 across the digestive tract segments and increased phosphorus availability and bone quality when compared to the other phytase and the lower dose.