Feed & Additive Magazine Issue 3 April 2021

ISSUE FOCUS FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE April 2021 49 In contrast to Caproic, Butyric acid (C4) is one of the most widely used and well-known additives within current livestock farming. It is a main ener- gy source for the enterocytes lining the intestinal tract, resulting in an improvement of tight junc- tion formation, villus/crypt ratio, and exerting an- ti-inflammatory effects. Butyric acid has boosted the efficiency at numerous farms for many years {Bedford, 2018}. COMBINING EFFECTS OF INDIVIDUAL ACIDS AND ADDING SYNERGIES BY USING BLENDS Now that the strength of these two fatty acids on their own terms of boosting gut health and anti- microbial defense in livestock are clear, it is also clear why to combine them. Using a blend of these acids will boost both gut health and antimicrobial support. In addition to this straight-forward sum of effects, these fatty acids appear to combat pathogens ‘coop- eratively’. This synergism is thought to result from the fact that fatty acids of longer chain length (e.g. Caproic) damage the bacterial cell walls, after which shorter fatty acids (e.g. Butyric) can penetrate and disrupt the inner cell {Peh, 2020; Kim, 2013}. SODIUM SALTS ENSURE BUFFERING, EASE OF HANDLING AND HIGH WATER SOLUBILITY Fatty acids can be incorporated in the diet of an- imals in various forms (acid form, fat coated form, glyceride form and salt form) and via two main routes (feed or drinking water). Making use of sodium salts ensures the acids are buffered and thereby do not dis- sociate prior to reaching the animals intestinal tract. Furthermore, the salt forms are less corrosive, have less odor and ensure easier handling. In addition, the water solubility of sodium salts of these acids is very high. This makes the sodium salt form an attractive option for drinking water applications. DEMONSTRATED PRODUCTIVITY IMPROVEMENT BY ADDITION OF A SODIUM SALT BLEND OF FATTY ACIDS A blend of the sodium salts of Caproic acid and Butyric acid has been tested for health and pro- ductivity improvement of monogastrics. The tests conducted at Schothorst Feed Research proved the value of adding this blend to the diet of young broil- ers. Although the animals were kept under optimal conditions, and not challenged, the Caproic and Butyric sodium salts blend still provided additional body weight gain (BWG) of up to 3.7% and up