Effect of Xylanase Supplementation on the Net Energy for Production, Performance and Gut Microflora of Broilers Fed Corn/Soy-based Diet

The objective of this study was to assess the effect of xylanase on net energy for production, performance, nutrient digestion and gut microflora of broilers fed corn/soy-based diet. Eighty-four day-old male broiler chicks were allocated to two groups receiving two treatments, respectively. Each treatment had six replicate cages with seven broilers per cage. The diets were based on corn and soybean. The treatments were: i) basal diet reduced in apparent metabolizable energy (-0.63 MJ/kg compared to commercial diet specifications); ii) basal diet supplemented xylanase at 4,000 u/kg feed. The experiment used the auto-control, open circuit respiration calorimetry apparatus to examine the heat production and net energy for production. The results revealed that xylanase supplementation did not affect growth performance and diet AME value, but increased NEp value by 18.2% (p<0.05) and decreased daily heat production per kg(0.75) by 31.7% (p<0.05). There was no effect (p>0.05) of xylanase supplementation on the ileal digestibility of N and hemicelluloses, but the ileum digestibility of energy was increased by 2% by xylanase supplementation (p<0.05). Xylanase supplementation increased (p<0.05) the count of lactobacillus and bifidobacterial in the caecum.