THE APPLICATION OF ENZYMES TO ANIMAL FEEDS

Abstract

Humans have made use of enzymes, often unknowingly throughout history. Cheese making and the use of malted barley in brewing are examples of the harnessing of the power of enzymes. Modern enzyme technology really started in 1874 following the first documented production of a refined enzyme that was prepared from the
contents of calves’ stomachs. Today, enzymes are widely used in many industries,
continuing and extending many processes which have been used since the drawn of
history. The first commercial use of feed enzymes in farm animal nutrition dates back to 1984 in Finland, where opportunities existed to improve significantly the nutritional quality of barley-based rations by inclusion of enzymes derived from the brewing industry. The years since then have seen an exponential increase in the usage of many enzyme types in ration for poultry and, to a lesser extent pigs. Significant recent interest has also been shown by the ruminant sector. Enzymes are added to animal feed to increase its digestibility, to remove anti-nutritional factors, to improve the availability of components and for environmental reasons. Associated benefits are reduction in variability of animal response, decrease or elimination of wet, sticky droppings, use of cheap feedstuffs, enabling reformulation of feeds, for example, to decrease the amount of energy or phosphorus added to a ration.