EFFECT OF WATER SOAKING WHEAT-BRAN ON PHYTATE PHOSPHORUS AUTOLYSIS AND ITS FEEDING VALUE TO CHICKS

Soaking wheat-bran in water(w/v, 1:1) for 6 or 18 hr at room temperatu re (23-27 degrees C) did not result in any noticeable change in proxim ate composition but for phytate P which was hydrolyzed into inorganic (available) P to the extent of 7.31 and 19.51%, respectively. Feeding water soaked wheat-bran to chicks was found beneficial in that the bod y weight gains and feed consumption increased significantly (P<0.05), and a little improvement in the feed efficiency was realised. A progre ssively significant (P<0.05) increase in the fat-free tibial bone ash was observed for chicks fed diets containing treated wheat-bran either for 6 or 18 hr. It may be inferred that feeding water-treated wheat-b ran to growing chicks improved their performance through improved phos phorus utilization.