Stimulatory effect of medium components on phytase production by Aspergillus niger and biotechnological application as a poultry feed additive

The present study was conducted for the phytase production using solid-state fermentation (SSF) by Aspergillus niger. Optimization of various medium components was carried out for better production of phytase. Maximum enzyme activity (265 IU/g) was obtained, when the fungus was grown in the optimized culture medium containing glucose (1%), NH4NO3 (0.5%), FeSO4.7H2O (0.1%), KCl (0.1%), and MgSO4.7H2O (0.1%) at 35 °C after 5 days of incubation time with pH 6.Then phytase was supplemented as a poultry feed additive and given to broiler chickens during a feeding trial of 5 weeks. For this purpose, the birds of the control group (T0) were fed on a basal diet without external phytase, whereas, the birds of the experimental group (T3) were given basal feed + 3000 IU Phytase per Kg diet. The results exhibited that there was an improvement in the body weight gain (BWG) of chicks i.e. 1903 g-2090 g for the control group (T0) and experimental group (T3), respectively. The current study thus indicated the affectivity of phytase as a supplement in the broilers diet for better growth performance and recommended its use as an efficient additive in poultry feed formulation.