The pigs' own enzymes cannot degrade phytate, which in turn increases endogenous losses and further decreases the nutritional value of diet formulations.
Research showed a significant reduction in growth performance (37%) when piglets were fed a synthetic diet based on casein-corn starch containing added phytate, versus a control diet with no phytate (Figure 1) .
Daily feed intake was also reduced by 18% and gain to feed ratio by 25%.
Improved phytate degradation achieved through phytase application in sow diets during the reproductive cycle has been shown to significantly increase the digestibility of vital phosphorus and calcium in pregnant sows against negative controls by 23.5% and 10.5% respectively. It was also shown to be very effective during lactation, which is another critical time in terms of ensuring skeletal integrity not just for the sow, but also for its developing piglets.