This week, DuPont Industrial Biosciences announced the launch of Axtra XBPHY, a new three-in-one enzyme product that promises to improve layer performance in hens whose diets are high in phytate and non-starch polysaccharides (NSPs).
The enzyme combination was developed specifically with the fast-growing Indian layer market in mind, but DuPont told FeedNavigator it could have application in other markets.
“While it is still early, we are already experiencing great feedback from customers. Because of this initial encouragement, we will now look to other local markets to better understand diet composition nuances and the specific challenges customers face in achieving optimum layer performance. The outcome of that work will help us develop the best solution to meet customer needs in those markets,” said Dr Ajay Awati, poultry segment manager at Dupont Industrial Biosciences.
Low fiber, low cost diets
Indian layer diets usually consist of ingredients with lower digestibility caused by high levels of NSPs like bajra (millet), cotton seed meal, rice distillers dried grains with solubles, de-oiled rice bran, rapeseed and sunflower meal.
Internal ingredient profiling work conducted by DuPont found that this diet is high in the anti-nutrients phytate and NSPase.
“The phytate in the diet not only makes valuable phosphorus unavailable but also has anti-nutritional effects that bind nutrients and make them unavailable for digestion. Similarly, NSPs, especially present in the cell wall structure of the feed ingredients, can hinder access to nutrients inside the cell and reduce digestibility of those nutrients, affecting the overall performance of the birds,” explained Dr Awati.
Layer hen trials designed to examine the effectiveness of its enzymes to target specific anti-nutrients led DuPont to the development of Axtra XBPHY - a combination of phytase, xylanase and beta-glucanase.
Explaining how this trio of enzymes works to increase nutrient availability, Dr Awati said: “By increasing the degradation of phytate with a fast acting phytase, you release much needed phosphorus, along with bound nutrients. Combining that with xylanase and beta-glucanases to degrade fibers and NSPs from the cell wall makes the nutrients that were trapped inside the cell wall accessible to the bird’s own enzymes. This increases the overall nutrient availability from low cost, high fiber diets and is reflected in the performance improvement of laying hens.”
Egg production
He said that DuPont had observed egg production and feed conversion ratio improvements of up to 2% and 3% in its own research, and had observed a significant increase in egg weights when adding the NSPase portion of the enzyme on top of a diet.
“Depending on whether a customer’s objective is feed cost reduction or laying hen performance improvement, the enzyme can be applied either with nutrients and energy matrices or over the top of current diets,” he said.
The enzyme combo is formulated in free-flowing granular form for adding directly or via a premix at a rate of 0.2kg/ton (0.02% of complete feed).
To date, the benefits of Axtra XBPHY have only been tested in internal trials, but DuPont confirmed that it is running trials with customers to demonstrate its effectiveness in commercial settings.
In addition, a number of DuPont’s layer customers are testing the product within their facilities.
“We are positive that the outcome will confirm the value provided by Axtra XBPHY to Indian layer customers,” said Dr Awati.