Phosphorus Bioavailability: A Key Aspect for Conserving this Critical Animal Feed Resource with Reference to Broiler Nutrition

• Main Authors: Xiuhua Li, Dagong Zhang, Tsung Y. Yang, Wayne L. Bryden
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2016-05-01
• Series: Agriculture
• Subjects: phosphorus; requirements; available P; bioavailability; poultry; animal nutrition; rock phosphate; global feed supply
• Online Access: http://www.mdpi.com/2077-0472/6/2/25

Phosphorus (P) is an essential element, and the majority of animal feed phosphate is derived from phosphate rock that is a non-renewable resource. Current global P reserves may be depleted in 50–100 years. This poses the challenge of securing future P supply for the global animal feed industries. Currently, nutritionists formulate diets with substantial safety margins to guarantee that animals do not become P deficient. Excessive dietary P concentrations increase, not only the cost of diets, but also P excretion and pollution of the environment. We contend that understanding P bioavailability is central to the sustainable use of this mineral in animal agriculture. Poultry accounts for approximately 50% of animal feed phosphate consumption worldwide and for this reason we use the meat chicken or broiler as a case study to explore the nuances of P bioavailability. We conclude that, to tackle the challenge of dietary P bioavailability, cooperative research on a global scale is needed to standardise measurement procedures in order to produce a robust and reliable database which can be used by nutritionists to formulate diets to meet the bird’s P requirements precisely. Achievement of this goal will assist endeavours to sustain the global supply of phosphorus.