The use of carbohydrases and proteases in poultry production occasionally resultsin inconsistent physiological responses that are difficult to explain. However,it has previously been demonstrated that a substantial portion of the variationin enzyme efficacy is associated with the inherent ileal digestibility ofstarch, protein and lipid, and so an appreciation for the concentration of theundigested fractions of these nutrients in a diet may help to determine themagnitude and consistency of feed enzyme responses. Considering that the expenseof in vivo physiological assays for the assessment of enzymefunctional pattern is high, it is crucial to develop suitable invitro methods to predict the magnitude of enzyme response. The purposeof the current paper is to describe inherent characteristics of poultry dietsand feed ingredients in response to carbohydrases and proteases in order to aidthe development of in vitro assays to predict feed enzymefunctional patterns.
