Effects of Low-Protein Diets and Exogenous Protease on Growth Performance Carcass Traits Intestinal Morphology Cecal Volatile Fatty Acids and Serum Parameters in Broilers

摘要

Simple SummaryTo maintain sustainability, the poultry production industry uses low-protein diets to minimize the potential for environmental pollution from nitrogen waste. However, reducing dietary crude protein may compromise the performance and health of the chickens. Thus, strategies using crystalline amino acids or exogenous protease added to the low-protein diets, the latter being the more recent trend, have been common practice in the industry, in order to meet the ever-increasing demand for poultry meat in the most sustainable way possible. In the present study, we evaluated a novel protease, produced by the bacterial species Bacillus clausii isolated from the body fluid of a polychaete (Periserrula leucophryna) found only in Korean waters, as an additive in broiler chickens fed the low-protein diets. We found that dietary protease improved growth performance in these broiler chickens.