Animal feed accounts for 60-70% of livestock and poultry production costs. Supplementing feed with enzymes can help producers save costs by enabling animals to produce more meat faster and cheaper. There are several types of enzymes that play important roles in animal feed digestion. Proteases break down proteins, carbohydrases improve carbohydrate digestibility, and phytases allow animals to access phosphorus stored in plant feeds. Using enzymes can boost feed efficiency, lower feed costs, and reduce environmental impacts.

1. Different Enzymes in
Animal Nutrition

2. Introduction
 Animal feed is the largest cost item in livestock and
poultry production, accounting for 60-70% of total
expenses. To save on costs, many producers
supplement feed with enzyme additives, which enable
them to produce more meat per animal or to produce
the same amount of meat cheaper and faster.
 Found in all living cells, enzymes catalyze chemical
processes that convert nutrients into energy and new
tissue.

3.  Enzymes can be classified by the types of substrates
they work on :-
 Proteases break down proteins into amino acids.
 Carbohydrases split carbohydrates into simple
sugars.
 Lipases take apart lipids into fatty acids and glycerol.
 Commercially-available enzymes can be derived
from plants and animals
 (e.g. actinidin from kiwi and rennet from calf
stomachs)

4.  As well as microorganisms (e.g., amylase
from Bacillus and lactase from Aspergillus).
 Aside from agriculture, other industries that utilize
enzymes include the brewing, dairy, paper, biofuel,
and rubber industries.
 There are various types of enzymes that are
essential to Animal feed.
 Each one has a specific role and function and
result’s numerous benefits.

6. Following are the enzymes which play an
important role in the Animal feed

7. NSP (Non-Starch Polysaccharides)
 Many plant based animal feeds contain long, complex
carbohydrate or fibrous molecules known as non-starch
polysaccharides (NSPs).
 NSPs increase the digestion viscosity, which means that
the animals own enzymes have a harder time locking
and absorbing these nutrients
 The inclusion of Natuzyme, which has NSP enzymes,
allows the breakdown of ANFs in feed and leads to
improved digestion, resulting in greater feed efficiency.

8. Phytase Enzymes
 Phytase break down phytate, a substrate that contains
phosphorus.
 Phosphorus is essential for animal metabolism
 Therefore plays a key role in livestock growth and
reproduction.
 Phytic acid is the principal storage form of phosphorus
in cereals and oilseed meals.
 The most common feed stocks.
 In this form it is mostly inaccessible to swine and
poultry.

9.  As a result, inorganic phosphates must be added to
animal feed to meet phosphorus requirements,
leading to increased costs.
 Adding phytase enzymes to feed enables poultry
and swine to access and digest the phytate bound
phosphorus already present in the plants.
 This leads both to a reduction in feed costs and in
levels of phosphorous excreted, which in turn
lessens the environmental impact of livestock
production.

10.  There is also an environmental advantage to
maximizing the amount of phosphorus that an animal
can absorb.
 Once excreted, undigested phosphorus seeps into the
ground and ultimately makes its way to rivers, lakes,
and the ocean.

11. Carbohydrases Enzyme
 Carbohydrases improve the digestibility of
carbohydrates in feed.
 Thus increasing the amount of energy an animal can
use to develop muscle and grow.
 Types of carbohydrases include :-
 Amylase, which breaks down starch into fructose,
maltose, glucose, and other simple sugars.
 Xylanase, which digests complex carbohydrates found
in dietary fiber.

12.  Although chickens naturally produce enzymes that
aid in the digestion of carbohydrates, they do not
produce all the enzymes needed to break down fiber
completely.

13. Proteases Enzyme
 Proteases break down complex proteins into shorter
proteins, called peptides.
 Amino acids are the building blocks of protein.
 Amino acids, the constituent elements of protein, are
essential for muscle growth in animals.
 After energy – protein is the most costly part of
animal feed.

14.  They also help reduce levels of nitrogen excreted.
 Reducing the impact of livestock production on the
environment.
 By enhancing the digestibility and utilization of
amino acids from all protein sources, proteases from
Novozymes help to reduce the total protein content
required in feed, thereby reducing feedstock costs.

15.  http://www.novozymes.com/en/solutions/agriculture
/animal-nutrition
 http://briworldwide.com/enzymes-and-their-use-in-
animal-feed/
 http://www.dsm.com/markets/anh/en_US/products/
products-feedenzymes/products-feed-
carbohydrases.html