Interpretive Summary: Meta-analysis of the effects of the dietary application of exogenous alpha-amylase preparations on performance, nutrient digestibility, and rumen fermentation of lactating dairy cows

By: Andres A Pech-Cervantes, Luiz F Ferrarretto, Ibukun M Ogunade

For more than a decade, starch-degrading enzymes (amylolytic enzymes) have been used as a strategy to increase total-tract starch degradation to increase milk yield of dairy cows. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the effectiveness of starch-degrading enzymes on starch digestion and milk yield in dairy cows. Collectively, results across the literature suggest that feeding starch-degrading enzymes increased the degradation of starch in the rumen of dairy cows and tended to increase milk yield. Our results suggest that starch-degrading enzymes could increase milk yield in high-producing early lactation dairy cows.