With respect to the composition of the carbohydrate fraction, wheat, rye and triticale
all contain arabinoxylans (AX), a soluble fraction of non-starch polysaccharides (NSP).
These substances may create a viscous environment within the intestinal lumen Increased viscosity is associated with lower apparent metabolisable
energy as well as nutrient absorption and incidence of wet and sticky
droppings Supplementation of broiler diets with appropriate
enzymes, capable of degrading the xylan backbone of theAXhas been shown to improve the
nutritive value of wheat- triticale- and
rye-based diets for broilers. The improvement
of performance has been suggested to be due to the lowered viscosity. However, the mode
of the NSPs degrading enzyme action is not completely understood