The positive impacts of microbial phytase on its nutritional applications

Phytic acid is the main reservoir of phosphorous in plants and accounts for more than 80% of the total phosphorous in cereals. It is well known to possess anti-nutritional behavior because it has bound positively charged proteins and multivalent cations or minerals in foods. Therefore, phytic acid and its salts have been considered as a threat in the human diet. However, we should not ignore their potential health benefits, e.g., anticancer and antioxidant agents. The anti-nutritional effects of phytic and its derivatives are known to be reduced through an enzyme namely phytase, which originated to many sources, the microbial origin is one of them. This review narrates the positive nutritional impacts of using the microbial phytases via its food applications. Furthermore, highlighting the role of modern molecular tools and genetic engineering to express phytase genes of microbial origin for phytase production in lieu of directly supplementing microbial phytase. This approach deserves more attention, as it is able to open up new research prospects in the future.