Understanding the modes of action of various feed ingredients, identifying the gaps, and developing synergistic ingredient combinations provides an innovative approach to improve magnitude and consistency in animal performance benefits. A unique combination of postbiotic Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation product and a proprietary blend of seven different essential oil compounds has complementary benefits based on the different individual modes of action.
Technology Lead Postbiotics-Poultry
Cargill Animal Nutrition & Health
Gut microbiome is a key component for animal health and performance. In addition to the digestion and absorption of nutrients, gut microbiome is related to the proper functioning of various vital organs in the body through the gut-organ axis. In broiler chickens, various research has shown that the gut microbiome progresses to a more resilient microbiome as the birds get older. The rate of maturation of the gut microbiome is critical for the health and performance of the animal. A healthy microbiome shows an abundance of lactic acid producing bacteria (eg: Lactobacillus) at a younger age while it matures to a more short-chain fatty acid producing population (eg: Lachnospiraceae) as the bird gets older. Use of appropriate feed ingredients can influence the gut microbiome and shift it to a healthier population. There are several feed ingredients used in the poultry industry, such as prebiotics, probiotics, essential oils, organic acids, postbiotics, etc. However, the main challenge the industry is facing is the variability in response from use of these feed ingredients. A better understanding of the modes of action of these feed ingredients, based on several published articles, reveal that they have specific effects. For example, essential oils could have a primary effect on digestive functions, probiotics on gut microbiota, and postbiotics on immunity and gut microbiome. Perhaps, one type of feed ingredient might not be effective under all conditions, considering the many challenging conditions out there in the field. Hence, it’s important to identify the gaps in the modes of action of the feed ingredients and evaluate combinations of feed ingredients which could deliver better consistency and magnitude of beneficial effects.
COMBINATION OF POSTBIOTICS AND ESSENTIAL OIL COMPOUNDS
Postbiotics are preparations coming out of a controlled fermentation process containing inanimate microorganisms and/or their components which confers a health advantage to the host. The main modes of action of postbiotics are by modulating the immune responses in animals and by shifting the gut microbiome in the distal part of the GI tract to a favorable population. On the other hand, studies have reported that essential oil compounds could be beneficial in enhancing the secretion of digestive enzymes in the upper part of the GI tract, thereby improving the nutrient digestion and absorption. So, combining postbiotics and other essential oil compound feed ingredients could have complementing modes of action delivering improved benefits in animals.
EVALUATION OF DIA-V™ MBPRO IN BROILERS
Dia-V™ MBPRO was developed with a unique combination of the postbiotic Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation product and a proprietary blend of seven different essential oil compounds. Four independent research trials were conducted in broilers to evaluate the benefits of Dia-V™ MBPRO with respect to performance and gut health. There were two treatments in each study, control (CON) or test (MBP), both receiving the same basal diet, with the latter receiving the on-top inclusion of 0.4kg/MT of Dia-V™ MBPRO (Diamond V Mills, Cedar Rapids, IA). All trials used commercial broiler strains with study designs containing 16 to 28 replicates/treatment with 384 to 1440 birds/treatment. The birds were grown to 35/42d of age. Body weight, feed conversion ratio, and breast meat yield were collected from these birds. In addition to that, gut microbiome samples were collected and analyzed using Galleon™. Data were analyzed across the four trials to determine the overall benefits of this feed ingredient and the potential mode/s of action.
PERFORMANCE BENEFITS OF UNIQUE FEED INGREDIENT COMBINATION IN BROILERS
Body weight and feed conversion ratio of the birds fed basal diet with or without Dia-V™ MBPRO are shown in Figure 1 and 2. Overall, Dia-V™ MBPRO supported improved performance in broilers. Dia-V™ MBPRO fed birds had numerically (P>0.05) better body weight and feed conversion ratio at 35d. By 42d, the birds receiving Dia-V™ MBPRO had higher (P<0.05) magnitude of benefits in performance resulting in a significant improvement in body weight (2.45%) and feed conversion ratio (3.9 points) compared to control birds. In addition to that, there was numerical (P=0.1038) improvement in breast meat yield in Dia-V™ MBPRO (31.43%) birds compared to control (31.10%).
Figure 2. Feed conversion ratio (g:g) at 35d and 42d of age
GUT MICROBIOME MODULATION BY DIA-V™ MBPRO
Cloacal samples were collected from these birds at 35 and 42d of age. The samples were analyzed with an advanced microbiome profiling tool called Galleon™. It uses a microarray assay to process samples, compare the results with a database, and using machine learning algorithms predict biomarkers related to key performance parameters. One of the advantages of using Galleon™ is that the sample collection is non-invasive (cloacal swabs) as there is no need to sacrifice birds. So, multiple samples can be collected for different time points from the same bird. In the case of the four Dia-V™ MBPRO studies, a meta-analysis was conducted across the microbiome data from the studies. The results revealed that the birds fed Dia-V™ MBPRO had significantly (P<0.05) higher abundance of butyrate producing bacteria (Lachnospiraceae) across all ages sampled (cloaca swabs, day 21 and 35) as shown in Figure 3. This is indicative of an accelerated maturation of gut microbiome to form a more resilient microbial population at an early age of these broilers. Butyric acid has several beneficial effects such as strengthening of the gut epithelial barrier and reducing inflammation. So, a high abundance of butyric acid producing bacteria in the gut in case of the Dia-V™ MBPRO birds indicates that it supports a healthy gut. In addition to the increased abundance of butyrate producing bacteria, it was observed in this study that there was a trend (P>0.05) in reduction of some of the undesirable bacteria such as Clostridium perfringens and Listeria (Figure 4).
Footnote: In the above graph, positive values on x-axis indicate higher abundance of that bacteria in MBP group and negative values on x-axis indicate lower abundance in MBP group compared to CON group. When the corresponding y-axis values get above the red dotted line, the MBP-CON difference is statistically significant (significance cut-off or threshold).
CONCLUSIONS
Understanding the modes of action of various feed ingredients, identifying the gaps, and developing synergistic ingredient combinations provides an innovative approach to improve magnitude and consistency in animal performance benefits. A unique combination of postbiotic Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation product and a proprietary blend of seven different essential oil compounds has complementary benefits based on the different individual modes of action. In the research reported here, the combination product, Dia-V™ MBPRO, showed benefits in early maturation of gut microbiome by supporting increased abundance of butyrate producing bacterial population and helping to reduce the certain undesirable bacterial population. The more developed and balanced microbiome in Dia-V™ MBPRO birds were also associated with improved body weight (2.45%) and feed conversion ratio (3.9 points) in broilers. In fact, the performance benefits of Dia-V™ MBPRO have been repeated beyond these four trials mentioned in this article. Through a meta-analysis with more than 15 independent trials conducted under controlled research and field conditions, showed the benefits of Dia-V™ MBPRO to support improvement (P<0.05) in body weight (↑2.9%), adjusted feed conversion ratio (↓3.9 points), and breast meat yield (↑0.48%) in 42d old broiler birds.
References can be provided as needed.
About Vivek Kuttappan
Vivek Kuttappan, Ph.D., is a Poultry Technology Lead at Cargill, Inc. that supports the animal agriculture industry through unparalleled research capabilities, innovative feed and premix products and services, and digital modeling and formulation solutions. Throughout his career, Dr. Kuttappan has provided valuable contributions to the poultry industry in two specific areas:1) broiler meat quality, reducing poultry carcass quality defects such as myopathies, and 2) poultry gut health, improving gut health in broilers, thereby reducing economic losses to poultry producers. Dr. Kuttappan holds a patent for a novel molecule to improve gut health in broilers and has participated in approximately 100 scientific publications, including 40 peer-reviewed journal articles cited by researchers worldwide. He has received several awards for his research, including the prestigious PSA Early Achievement Award for Industry.
