Phytate and Phytase in Poultry Nutrition

There is a distinct possibility that phytate negatively influences protein and energy utilisation in poultry and, as these influences would be ameliorated by phytase, there are substantial, practical implications. Despite several thousand scientific papers and a rapidly growing market the use of phytase and the importance of phytate in practical poultry nutrition remains an area of some confusion. Initially phytases were offered as a means to improve the digestible phosphorus concentration of monogastric rations by the stepwise removal of orthophosphate from the myo-inositol ring of phytate. However, it was gradually understood that the digestibility of other minerals (notably calcium), carbohydrates and amino acids were also variably influenced by the ingestion of phytase (and phytate). The mechanisms at work are not entirely clear but recent evidence suggests that phytate is an antinutrient, beyond its effect on digestible phosphorus and influences secretory and absorptive processes in the gut