Evaluating the anti-nutritive effect of non-starch polysaccharides (NSP) correlated with the nutritional, digestive and productive performance indices in broilers

The aim of this experiment was to assess the antinutritive effect of non-starch polysaccharides (NSP) from wheat grains on productive and digestive indices in broilers. The proportion of wheat into the feeding mixture was between 0 and 40%. Also the correlation coefficients between different digestive indices (e.g. intestinal viscosity) and NSPs, NSPi and NSPt as a result from participation in various proportions in the structure of wheat feed (0-40%) were closely analysed. The increase in the NSP content of broiler feed resulted in feed consumption decreases by up to 4.94% in LE2 group who consumed feed containing 30% wheat. Body weight decreases (with 4.1%) following an increase in the NSPi and NSPs content of broiler feed, but the data is not statistically significant. The feed conversion increased at the experimental groups that have consumed feed containing at a level of 2.91%. At 3 weeks of age the intestinal viscosity increased (by 53.07%) at the experimental group, fed with 40% wheat, and at 6 weeks of age the duodenal viscosity increased by 49.04% and the jejuna viscosity increased by 33.15%. At the age of 3 weeks the correlation coefficients between the NSP content and viscosity in the duodenum are positive, the highest correlation coefficient was detected for NSPs (0.995), which shows that the viscosity of the intestinal tract is influenced by the feed content in NSPs. At 6 weeks of age the correlation coefficients between the NSP content and duodenal and jejunal viscosity are positive, the highest correlation coefficient being recorded for NSPs (0.942). Following these experiments we have concluded that wheat incorporation into broilers feed can change the main nutritional, productive and digestive indices especially until the age of 3 weeks, which recommends the need for enzymes incorporation on order to combat the non-nutritive effect of NSP.