Improving Animal Feeds: Enzymes in Farm Animal Nutrition
What Is an Enzyme and Why Do Farm Animals Need Them?
Enzymes are proteins that assist chemical reactions in the body. Although livestock’s gut microflora produce some enzymes, they do not all the enzymes in sufficient quantities to hydrolyze NSP, proteins or phytates to enable absorption of all nutrients.
What is Enzyme Supplementation?
Enzymes come from a variety of natural sources, including plant extracts, animals, and microorganisms. Enzymes are widely used by the agricultural, brewing, biofuel, dairy, and rubber industries to boost production and minimize costs.
History of Enzyme Use in Animal Feed
The agricultural industry began using enzymes in the 1920s. Dr. James Sumner purified the first enzyme in 1924. During the 1950s, scientists in the United States started research into the beneficial effects of adding enzymes to animal feed. In the 1970s, an investigation into the use of phytase to improve the uptake of phosphorus from dietary plant ingredients began.
But it was not until the 1990s that phytase and non-starch polysaccharide degrading enzymes (NSPase) could be produced in sufficient quantities to make it commercially viable.
During the past 30 years, advances in the understanding of the chemical & metabolic processes associated with specific substrates in feed ingredients have permitted companies to produce enzymes targeting these individual substrates.
Fermentation and microbiological technologies, including processes to stabilize enzymes during mass production, have also assisted in the development and production of quality enzyme products for feed-stuffs.
Innovations in agricultural science have fundamentally improved the production process of meat and eggs through the addition of supplementary enzymes to animal diets.
