What are the important roles of xylanase in feed?

Feed usually contains more non-starch polysaccharides, mainly including arabinoxylan, β-glucan, galactoside, pectin, cellulose, etc. Among them, arabinoxylan and β-glucan account for 30% of non-starch polysaccharides. Because monogastric animals cannot decompose non-starch polysaccharides, non-starch polysaccharides become an anti-nutritional factor. Non-starch polysaccharides can bind a large amount of water, which increases the volume of the chyme in the digestive tract of the feeding animals, increases the viscosity, and forms a gel. As a result, the function of the digestive enzymes cannot be carried out normally, which affects the absorption of the gastrointestinal tract and causes the chyme to accumulate in the small intestine. It will cause abnormal reproduction of microorganisms, resulting in stunted animal growth and reduced feed conversion rate. Studies have shown that adding xylanase to feed can significantly reduce the molecular size of arabinoxylan and decompose it into xylo-oligosaccharides with a smaller degree of polymerization, thereby improving feed performance and eliminating or reducing resistance caused by increased viscosity. nutrition. Usually this enzyme is combined with α-amylase, protease and other enzymes to form a compound enzyme, which is especially suitable for addition to poultry diets based on wheat and barley.