Alterations in intestinal development and barrier function in response to dietary β-mannanase in growing broilers.

This study evaluated the effects of dietary β-mannanase supplementation on growth performance, intestinal development, nutrient digestibility, and cecal microbiota in growing broilers. A total of 160 chicks were assigned to one of two dietary treatments (8 replicates of 10 birds each) and were fed a basal corn-soybean meal diet (Ctrl) or a basal diet supplemented with 150 mg/kg β-mannanase until day 21. With similar body weight, β-mannanase supplementation significantly reduced feed intake and improved the feed conversion ratio from day 1 to 21 (p