Enzymatic degradation of non–starchpolysaccharides in vegetable proteins in poultry diets

Vegetable proteins such as soybean meal, canola meal and lupins are widely used as the main protein source in poultry diets. However, there is only limited information on the nutritive or anti–nutritive effects of indigestible non–starch polysaccharides in vegetable proteins. This review discusses a number of experiments which investigated the effects of feed enzymes on the utilisation of non–starch polysaccharide (NSP) in lupins, soybean meal, canola meal and sunflower meal included at a minimum of 350 g/kg in semi–purified broiler diets. It was shown that enzymes with a high level of polygalacturonase activity were able to depolymerise part of the soluble and insoluble pectic polysaccharides in vegetable proteins. However, significant effects on broiler performance and nutrient digestibility were only evident when enzymes were included at very high levels in the diet.