Effects of different dietary phytase activities on the concentration of antioxidants in the liver of growing broilers.

One-hundred and fifty male chickens were used to evaluate the effects of different activities (0, 250, 500, 12 500 FTU/kg) of phytase on their performance and antioxidant concentration in the liver. The chicks were housed in 30 cages and were allocated to six replicates of five dietary treatments. All diets were formulated to be adequate in energy and protein (12.90 MJ/kg metabolizable energy, 214 g/kg crude protein), however, the negative control (NC) was lower in available P compared with the positive control (PC) (2.5 vs. 4.5 g/kg diet). The other three diets were the NC supplemented with phytase at 250, 500 and 12 500 FTU/kg (NC + 250, NC + 500 and NC + 12 500 FTU respectively). The concentration of antioxidants in the liver of the birds was determined using HPLC at 21 days of age. Low P diets (NC) reduced weight gain, however, supplementation with phytase improved weight gain to the extent that it was better than the PC at the 12 500 FTU treatment (p < 0.05). Feed conversion ratio was also improved by the high level of phytase supplement more than other treatments (p < 0.05). Feed consumption was not affected either by dietary phosphorus concentration or by different phytase supplementation. The antioxidant data showed that the unsupplemented diet with low phosphorus (NC) decreased the concentration of coenzyme Q(10) and retinol-linoleate in the liver compared with that of birds on the adequate phosphorus treatment (PC). Phytase supplementation, especially at the higher doses (500 and 12 500 FTU) increased the level of coenzyme Q(10) to the same level as the PC treatment. In addition, the highest dose (12 500 FTU) of phytase increased retinol concentration in the liver of chickens compared with those on the NC treatment. The highest inclusion level of phytase increased the alpha-tocopherol level in the liver compared with the lower levels of phytase (NC + 250 and NC + 500 FTU).