International Poultry Production — Volume 23 Number 3 7

by Luca Vandi, Poultry TechnicalManager, Carina Schieder,Product Manager Phytogenics,Biomin Holding GmbH,Herzogenburg, Austria.

In 2050, nine billion people needto be nourished worldwide.Planet Earth is a limited system in

terms of natural resources, forexample arable land. So the chal-lenge is to get more food from thesame limited system.The answer: greater efficiency.Efficiency must consider all thestages in the food production chain.

Laying hens

Take laying hens, for instance.Genetic companies are focused oncontinuously improving the layingefficiency. In 1998, a layer was able to lay 310eggs in 72 weeks. Today it is 320eggs in the same period.Feed is another key factor for lay-ers’ efficiency. Since feed representsbetween 60-70% of the total cost ofegg production, a lot of attention ispaid to improving feed efficiency.As an example, the use of non-starch polysaccharide enzymes aswell as exogenous phytase in layerdiets helps to reduce problemsrelated to anti-nutritional factors

present in some raw materials, thuscontributing to improving the feedefficiency.

Get the most out of feed

The battle against anti-nutritionalfactors is just part of the strategy toimprove feed efficiency in layers.Another strategy is to increase thedigestibility of feed in the gut andincrease the gut’s absorption ofnutrients, while reducing gut inflam-mation. Selected phytogenic feed additives

are capable of supporting gut per-formance in these ways. Phytogenics have traditionally beenused as flavours and spices in humannutrition and medicine or even forfood preservation. The incredible biodiversity of theplant kingdom provides a large vari-ety of different herbs and spices withan enormous number of active sub-stances exerting different effects inthe organism – ranging from stimu-lating endogenous enzyme secretionover influencing gut microbiota toenhancing gut protection.Their mechanism of action

depends on the chemical structureof the active substances or con-stituents. Spices, herbs, essential oilsor extracts exert different effects.For example, phenols such as thy-mol, carvacrol and eugenol (oftenderived from thyme, oregano andclove) and their methyl ethers havea very strong antiseptic effect. Species of the families of Apiaceaesuch as caraway and fennel andLamiaceae (for example rosemaryand peppermint) have strong anti-oxidative properties. Other plant compounds supportbetter digestibility by boosting diges-tive secretions such as bile, mucusand saliva as well as enhancingenzyme activity.Constant and reliable results inanimals, however, can only beachieved with a well defined formu-lation of a phytogenic blend, includ-ing standardised raw material withcontinuous quality control.

Gut performance

A study conducted at a researchfacility in France confirmed thepositive effects of a preciselyformulated phytogenic feed additive(Digestarom, Biomin HoldingGmbH, Austria) on intestinalenzyme activity.

Fig. 1. Anti-inflammatory effect of Digestarom (*significant differencevs. positive control; p<0.05).

Continued on page 9

Phytogenics boost layerproduction to feed future generations

1.2

1.0

0.8

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0IL-8 ICAM-1 MCP-1

Relative mRNA level

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0CYP1A1 HO-1 UGT1A1

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Fig. 2. Antioxidative effect of Digestarom (*significant difference vs.positive control; p<0.05).

n Negative control n Positive control (+TNFa) n Digestarom (+TNFa) n Control n Control + Digestarom

Under the microscope: a close up of intestinal villi shows how phyto-genics affect gut morphology.

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International Poultry Production — Volume 23 Number 3 9

In the study enzymes involved insucrose, disaccharide maltose andamino acid breakdown (maltase,sucrase and aminopeptidase, respec-tively) showed increased activity(+26.2 to 27.5%) in broilers. Higherenzyme activity correlates with agreater digestibility of nutrients. Furthermore, the phytogenic feedadditive (Digestarom) has alsoproven its positive effects on theintestinal morphology in a studyconducted at Purdue University.Villi length was increased by 11.9%in challenged birds receiving the phy-togenic feed additive compared tochallenged control birds. Increasedvilli length is positively reflected inmore differentiated cells and anincreased capacity for nutrientabsorption.Moreover, inflammatory processesand decreased gut protection,respectively, in the intestinal tractresulting from infections or feed-dependent changes negatively affectanimal health and animal perfor-mance. Inflammation is a costlyprocess since it often involvesanorexia.Moreover more energy, derivedfrom the feed, needs to be utilisedfor defeating inflammatoryprocesses. Hence inflammatory processestogether with a decreased antioxi-dant status are inversely related to

performance (growth rates, layingperformance, etc) and associatedwith higher morbidity and mortality.The anti-inflammatory effects ofphytogenic compounds were eluci-dated in a number of studies. The direct anti-inflammatory activ-ity of the phytogenic feed additive(Digestarom) was shown in a testmodel with inflammation-inducedintestinal cells (Fig. 1). The experiment revealedinhibitory effects on indicators(target genes) of inflammatoryresponse, hence leading to downregulation of the NF-κB pathway.Moreover, the phytogenic feedadditive showed an up-regulation ofgenes involved in the Nrf-2 pathway,which is one of the major cellular

defence mechanisms. These testsdemonstrate that the phytogenicadditive supports the protection ofintestinal tissue (see Fig. 2).

Intestinal health

Digestibility, gut morphology andprotection are closely connected toeach other in the layer’s body. All ofthem have the same target: optimis-ing the feed consumption, minimis-ing losses due to poor digestion orintestinal disorders and maximisingthe performance.If this approach is interesting instandard performing conditions, thepractical application becomes a mustin low performing flocks.

In a recent field trial with a flock ofH&N white layers, low performingdue to an NDV outbreak at thebeginning of the laying cycle, theaddition of a phytogenic product inthe feed increased laying rate by1.8%, egg weight by 1.1% andimproved feed conversion by 4.6%(Table 1).The positive trial results producedan economic benefit with a netreturn on investment of 6:1.

Conclusion

Future population growth and lim-ited resources will be key drivers forlooking at solutions to improve effi-ciency in animal production. In the animal, impaired feed con-version, resulting from poor diges-tion and intestinal imbalances, leadsto a cascade of problems resulting indecreased performance.The significant influence of precisely formulated phytogenic feed additives on gut performancevia increased enzyme secretion,improved gut protection and positively influenced gut morphologycontributes to improvement indigestibility and feed efficiency forpoultry. n

References are available from the author on request

Continued from page 7Control Digestarom

Trial period (d) 70 70

Laying rate (%) 85.96 87.50

Egg weight (g) 65.9 66.6

Egg numbers (n/hen housed) 60.2 61.3

Egg mass (kg/hen housed) 3.97 4.08

Mortality (%) 2.84 2.75

Feed intake (g/d/hen housed) 109.7 107.6

Feed conversion ratio 1.94 1.85

Table 1. Effect of Digestarom on performance parameters.

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