INTERVIEW FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE February 2024 51 be completely isolated and identified. Products were often made up of synthetic chemicals; for example, instead of using the essential oil of cinnamon, companies would use synthetic cinnamaldehyde. “This approach required knowing exactly which chemical was responsible for the effect produced, and it trivialised the power of traditional medicine,” says Dr. Emma Wall. “What we’re producing at Nutreco Exploration is always complex, never a single ingredient. Our PhytoComplexes use the whole plant or complete plant extract, fully utilising the amazing power of nature to help animals overcome the complex challenges they face today.” This approach required Wall and some of the other experts on the team to shift their mindset. “We had to train ourselves to really respect nature,” says Dr. Wall. “These compounds are put together in plants for a reason – when you start taking them apart, you lose bioefficacy. So, we’re trying to not only respect the observation of what we see in these plants, these PhytoComplexes but also respect that they’re meant to be together.” Nutreco, one of the leading global animal nutrition companies, has announced in September 2023 that it has started construction on its new center for medicinal plant solutions, called Nutreco's Garden of the Future. This groundbreaking facility will be the hub for Nutreco's phytotechnology team and gather its activities under one roof, from discovery work and experimental cultivation plots to plant development and plant production. The company states that Nutreco’s Garden of the Future will be a very unique asset for Nutreco, unlike anything in the industry today. Located in the heart of the “Phyto Valley” in Thurgau, Switzerland, where phyto-pharmaceutical companies, startups, and laboratories have created a network of excellence over the past decades, Nutreco's Garden of the Future will play a key role in the discovery and development of proprietary phytotechnology solutions for the Nutreco Exploration team. It will be led by Dr. Bernd Büter, Director of the Phytotechnology Program and Nutreco's Garden of the Future. Dr. Karin Berger, Phytotechnology Discovery Director, will serve as an ethnobotanist, responsible for screening the plants and confirming their efficacy. Nutreco's Garden of the Future will officially open in the spring of 2024. Its infrastructure and facilities will include offices, laboratories for testing biological activities in bioassays and analytical work, a greenhouse for plant breeding and propagation, experimental fields for the development of growing protocols, and a “Future Garden” to display plants. The work being done at the discovery facility will focus on creating phyto-complexes: plants or plant metabolites that, when added to feed, have physiological impacts that consistently support the resilience, performance, and welfare of aquatic species and farm animals. The phyto-complexes are developed in direct response to an aquaculture or livestock market issue brought to the Nutreco Exploration team’s attention by its business partners across Nutreco. Each phase of discovery and development involves that business partner to ensure the company stays closely connected to the business and meets the very specific needs of its customers. The fact that phyto-complexes are intentionally created by and developed for the business sets them apart from the products already available on the market. Nutreco’s phyto-complexes are novel and standardised; they target a specific physiological issue and are proprietary, sustainable, and effective, according to the company. Read more>> Nutreco builds Garden of the Future
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