Are phytase good or bad? 

Phytase is one of the many enzymes in poultry feeds and which carries numerous benefits. Other enzymes include protease, carbohydrase, xylanase and glucanase.  

Whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds contain antioxidants known as phytases. One of the concerns in using these compounds is that they can bind to iron, zinc, and manganese, and to lesser extent calcium dietary minerals thus slowing their absorption.

Plants contain a form of phosphorus that is not available for the animal, and the main role of the phytase enzyme is to break down this phosphorus to release and make available the phosphorus for animal growth.

But the worry for phytases presence in foods and their effects is not as many people belief it to be. For instance, there is no scientific data that suggest that eating whole soy food causes human mineral deficiency.

In poultry diets, phytase was developed to solve diffuse phosphorus pollution that resulted from intensive agriculture. It was introduced in 1980s. 

It is the most widely used feed in poultry -- 90% of poultry diet and 70 percent of pig diets.
Phytase also improves nutrient uptake but modern day phytase diets maximize phytate destruction and producer profitability. These diets are also used to increase digestibility. Other benefits of using phytases include increasing availability of phosphorus, calcium, energy and amino acids to the animal.
For many people buying rumen buffers and phytase, the main motivation is price or cost of the feed or diets. This is important because it helps maximize profits. Reducing costs is very important in this industry, which is very competitive in areas like U.S.

You can read a variety of resources on how to maximize profits with phytase diets. These resources are easily available online.  
However, when buying phytase and rumen buffers, it is necessary to make sure that they are based on well researched species and specific matrix values. For instance, you can buy products that are developed in consideration of the age of the animal, diet variation and substrate levels in calculating the optimum dose of feed phytase that you can feed to the animal to achieve optimal profitability.

Some phytase solutions can also be used easily at 95 degrees C because they have the unique Thermostability Protection Technology (TPT) coating. You also achieve optimum bio-efficacy with these feeds because the TPT will allow for rapid release of the phytase in the upper part of the gut.

Modern phytases carry significant cost benefits over traditional phytases at standard dose and could therefore, be worthy your attention. For these products, productivity and performance is kept maximum thanks to the unique thermostability. 

Phytase and rumen buffers products are easily available from many manufacturers around the world and can be bought from several online shops today. They come in many names in the market: for instance, you can browse for Poultry feed concentrate enzyme phytase, phytase with normal, thermostable phytase poultry feed, animal poultry feed additive enzyme phytase and supplement and poultry feed enzyme supplement phytase.