Effects of NSP Degrading Enzyme on In vitro Digestion of Barley*

A digestion trial in vitro was conducted to study effects of supplementation of NSP (non-starch polysaccharides) degrading enzyme (feed grade) on cell wall degradation and digestibility of nutrients in barley. The slices of barley were soaked in distilled water with or without 0.15% non-starch polysaccharides degrading enzyme. Microscopic examination of the slices showed that the endosperm cell wall of barley was completely degraded by the non-starch polysaccharides degrading enzyme. The residues and supernatant of digesta in vitro were separated by filtration with 0.1 mm nylon fabric. The residues were used for measurement of crude protein, crude fat, crude fiber, and moisture. The supernatant was used for determination of viscosity, as well as amino-nitrogen and glucose content. The results showed that compared with the control, the amino-nitrogen and glucose content of the supernatant increased by 17.58% (p<0.05) and 10.26% (p<0.05), respectively, while viscosity did not change. Enzyme supplementation increased the digestibilities of dry matter, crude protein, nitrogen-free extract, crude fat and crude fiber of barley by 18.1% (p<0.05), 20.3% (p<0.05), 16.4% (p<0.05), 26.9% (p<0.05) and 30.0% (p<0.05), respectively. The present study suggests that cell wall hydrolysis may contribute to improved nutrient digestion in vivo when non-starch polysaccharides degrading enzymes are fed to swine. (Asian-Aust. J. Anim. Sci. 2004. Vol 17, No. 1 : 122-126)