Endoxylanase enzyme is used as poultry feed additive to degrade anti-nutritional factors like non-starch polysaccharides. Moreover, iron is one of the most important trace elements, and its deficiency can lead to various pathological conditions and stunted growth. In the current study, a combination of xylanase and iron nanoparticles is used to assess the overall effect on poultry growth. Endoxylanase enzyme was obtained from Aspergillus awamori SAIB-17 (identified on the basis of internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequence analysis). The characterization of purified endoxylanase revealed that the Km and Vmax were 0.25 g/ml and 833.33 nkat/ml/s, respectively. Effect of pH and temperature showed that pH 4.5 and temperature 45 °C was best for enzyme activity. Iron nanoparticles were synthesized by co-precipitation of ferric chloride and ferrous chloride. Characterization of nanoparticles using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and SEM revealed that the mean diameter of synthesized iron nanoparticles was around 50 nm. These nanoparticles have no inhibitory effect on endoxylanase up to concentration of 20 ppm. Iron oxide nanoparticles along with endoxylanase were used as additives in different concentrations and were fed to the groups of broiler chicks. It was observed that the group fed with 40 nkat of endoxylanase and 15 ppm of iron nanoparticles showed 54.5% (2010 ± 103.58) more weight gain by the fifth week as compared with the control group. The iron analysis in the muscles showed no increase in iron concentration while histopathology slides showed no morphological changes in liver cells. The combination of iron oxide nanoparticles and xylanase proved to have great potential to be used in poultry feed for large-scale meat production without any toxicological effects.
Keywords: Endoxylanase; Feed; Iron; Nanoparticles; Poultry.