Effect of corn replacement with enzose (corn dextrose) on growth performance and nutrient digestibility in broilers

Enzose (corn dextrose), a by-product of wet milling of corn, is a light-amber colored liquid derived from enzymatic conversion of cornstarch to dextrose. The present study was planned to investigate the effect of corn replacement with enzose on growth performance and nutrient digestibility in broilers from one to 42 d of age. A total of 300 one-day-old straight run Hubbard broiler chickens was randomly divided into 30 experimental units of 10 chicks each. A starter control diet was formulated having 21% CP, 2,900 kcal/kg metabolizable energy (ME), and 0% enzose (ENZ0: maize 50%, enzose 0%). The other iso-caloric and iso-nitrogenous dietary treatments were obtained by replacing the maize on a wt:wt ratio, with 2.5, 5, 7.5, and 10% enzose in the control diet (ENZ2.5: maize 47.5%, enzose 2.5%; ENZ5: maize 45%, enzose 5%; ENZ7.5: maize 42.5%, enzose 7.5%, and ENZ10: maize 40%, enzose 10%). Likewise, a finisher control diet (19% CP, 3,000 kcal/kg ME, and 0% enzose) and other dietary treatments (iso-caloric and iso-nitrogenous) were formulated having the same level of maize and enzose as in the starter diets. Each dietary treatment was randomly allotted to 6 replicate pens. Starter and finisher diets were offered ad libitum from one to 21 and 22 to 42 d of age, respectively. Corn replacement with enzose resulted in linear improvement (P < 0.001) in feed intake, weight gain, and feed conversion ratio during all growth periods. Mortality was non-significant among dietary treatments (P > 0.05). Although there were variable results, some enzose supplementation concentrations showed increased digestibility of dry matter, CP, crude fiber, and ether extract (P < 0.001) as compared to the ENZ0 group in general. Higher dietary enzose concentrations resulted in considerable economic returns as compared to the ENZ0 diet. In conclusion, the corn replacement with enzose in broiler diets resulted in improved growth performance and nutrient digestibility with increased economic returns without any harmful effect on survival of birds.