Effect of phytase supplementation of diets containing rice bran on growth performance and bone characteristics in broiler chickens

Abstract

Reduced growth rates and calcium retention have been reported in poultry fed diets containing more than 20% rice bran (Warren and Farrell, 1990,1991). Rice bran contains significant quantities of phytate (approx 57.7g/kg) which binds to bivalent elements and may contribute to the adverse effects on growth performance in birds fed diets containing rice bran. Enzymatic degradation of phytate in rice bran may reduce the antinutitional effect of phytate and improve the availability of phosphorus and other bivalent elements. A study was conducted to examine the effects of phytase supplementation of rice bran based diets on broiler growth performance and bone mineralisation.