Phytase Km value the key to good product choice

Knowing the Km value of commercial phytase enzymes could be the key to enabling pig and poultry producers to make much more effective buying decisions, claims Dr Mike Bedford, research director, AB Vista.

“Km is the concentration of phytate required for the enzyme to operate at 50 percent of its maximum capacity,” he explains. “So a lower Km phytase will act sooner when phytate becomes available in the stomach following a meal, and act for longer as phytate is broken down and concentrations begin to drop.”

Increasing demand for up to 85 percent phytate breakdown – to release additional phosphorus for lower feed costs or to eliminate phytate anti-nutrient effects through superdosing – requires phytases with ever lower Km values, such as the current third generation E. coli-derived product, Quantum Blue. High Km phytases simply cease to act before phytate concentrations get this low.

“Without access to Km values, end users simply cannot differentiate between a phytase capable only of standard phosphorous release levels at 50-60 percent phytate destruction, and one capable of delivering the full benefits of phytate destruction and superdosing,” Dr Bedford adds.
More information about Quantum Blue...

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