With growing concerns over antibiotic resistance, phytogenics—plant-derived compounds—are gaining attention. Plant-based feed additives offer a potential alternative avenue to antibiotic growth promoters (AGPs) as well as offering a number of other health benefits for livestock producers.
Nuevo SA is leveraging the power of plant-derived solutions and in 2023 introduced their phytogenic offering, nuPhoria. They believe nuPhoria is an integral part of their continued commitment to promoting sustainable animal production and as a crucial tool to aid the industry’s efforts to reduce antibiotic use.
Feedinfo spoke with Nuevo SA’s Technical Director, Giannis Karvelis, Research and Development Manager, Savas Dimitriadis, and Managing Director, Nikos Gogorosis. The team shared insight into the benefits of phytogenic additives, how additives like nuPhoria can benefit the end consumers, as well as recent findings from in vivo studies demonstrating how their solution can benefit animal wellbeing and production.
[Feedinfo] Nuevo have long been dedicated to offering a diverse product portfolio focused on natural plant extracts and combining bioactive compounds. How has this expertise led to the development of your phytogenic product nuPhoria? What sets this product apart from others in the market?
[Giannis Karvelis] One of the main strengths of the NUEVO team is identifying the key challenges and opportunities in the market and conceptualising innovative solutions to meet our clients' needs. Phytogenics, according to numerous scientific studies, can be a valuable tool for producers to enhance their productivity and profitability. Through extensive research in collaboration with the academic scientific sector, we have gained a deep understanding of the functions and synergy of plant bioactive compounds that positively affect animal health, resilience, and production.
We explored how these bioactive compounds influence specific biochemical processes that play a critical role in livestock’s production stages, through enhancing cellular activity and improving organ functionality. The interpretation and evaluation of this gathered data guided the development process from inception to the final design of nuPhoria. We believe that the 100% natural origin of nuPhoria ingredients combined with advanced science behind the product’s biological functions is what sets nuPhoria apart from other phytogenic products.
[Feedinfo] Since we last spoke you have continued your R&D to demonstrate nuPhoria’s cytoprotective and anti-inflammatory properties. Could you share more details about these studies?
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[Giannis Karvelis] Livestock production faces multiple challenges that if not promptly and appropriately controlled may be detrimental for productivity, health and animal welfare. Among multiple cellular pathways that can be negatively affected by stressors, the pathways responsible for cellular cytoprotection and inflammatory responses are important for overall animal health. The nuPhoria mode of action has been determined in detailed dose response studies combined with state-of-the-art nutrigenomics, analysing the expression of multiple genes involved in critical cellular pathways regulating cytoprotection and the anti-inflammatory response. |
Technical Director, Giannis Karvelis, Nuevo |
We assessed the effects of nuPhoria supplementation in broilers, layers, and swine, on essential organs including blood, liver, intestines, and ovaries. Tissue samples from these organs were analysed using quantitative polymerase chain reaction kits, employing an advanced set of genes that play pivotal roles in regulating cytoprotective and anti-inflammatory responses. This approach made it possible to quantify nuPhoria’s effects on the expression of multiple critical genes in multiple tissues simultaneously.
In particular, the analytical platform grouped the genes into four indices associated with critical biochemical processes: detoxification (aryl hydrocarbon receptor pathway, Ahr), antioxidant defence (nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 pathway, Nrf2), inflammation (Toll-like receptor signalling pathway, TLR, and mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway, MAPK), and repair (heat shock response pathway, HSP). nuPhoria demonstrated a significant beneficial effect in these indices according to in vivo university and commercial trials.
Additionally, transcriptomic analysis was conducted on heat challenged broilers. Heat-stressed broilers that were supplemented with nuPhoria showed higher gene expression of innate antioxidant enzyme production and lower gene expression involved with inflammation response. The same motif was reported in layers both in university and commercial trials. In layers particularly, a higher improvement in the four indices above was observed in ovaries. Moreover, piglets that were supplemented with nuPhoria showed better antioxidant and anti-inflammatory responses at nutrigenomic level.
The data collected and the thorough statistical analysis showed a significant improvement in the above-mentioned four indexes that generally constitute the cytoprotective and anti-inflammatory response.
[Feedinfo] What were the key performance parameters you focused on through these trials to demonstrate efficacy?
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[Savas Dimitriadis] In these studies we employed different parameters based on species. In broilers, supplementing with nuPhoria resulted in an increase of 7.3-12.9% in the European Production Efficiency Factor (EPEF) and a 5.3-11.1% decrease in Feed Conversion Ratio (FCR). Notably, under challenging conditions such as heat stress, broilers receiving nuPhoria exhibited significant improvements in performance, with body weight gain and EPEF being 21.3% and 23% higher than the control group, respectively, while FCR improved by 15%. These enhancements are attributed to nuPhoria ability to protect the birds from oxidative stress and inflammatory responses triggered by heat stress. |
Research and Development Manager, Savas Dimitriadis, Nuevo |
In layers, nuPhoria improved laying rates by 3.4-4.9% and reduced FCR by 4.6-6.5%, compared to control birds. Additionally, hens fed with nuPhoria produced 10-11 more eggs per year compared to the control group, alongside a 4.2-6% increase in egg mass. Scientific evidence shows that cytoprotective and anti-inflammatory mechanisms contribute to improved organ function. In trials, nuPhoria demonstrated stronger cytoprotective and anti-inflammatory effects in the liver and intestines compared to the control group, with the most significant improvements observed in the ovaries, explaining the enhanced production performance in nuPhoria-supplemented layers.
In swine trials, piglets showed an FCR reduction of 4.3-7.8% when fed nuPhoria. A commercial farm trial, in collaboration with the Laboratory of Nutritional Physiology and Feeding at the Agricultural University of Athens, demonstrated a 22.58% reduction in ammonia levels in swine faeces. This finding supports analyses showing that nuPhoria enhances protein metabolism and absorption, reducing ammonia production.
For ewes, nuPhoria trials resulted in a 4.3-18% increase in milk yield. By lowering oxidative stress, nuPhoria helps ruminants direct more energy toward production, particularly milk synthesis, rather than combating inflammation.
[Feedinfo] The nuPhoria range offers solutions for laying hens, broilers, monogastrics and ruminants. From a producer’s perspective, which traits does this phytogenic enhance in different animals?
[Savas Dimitriadis] nuPhoria effectiveness rests on four pillars regarding animal production: performance improvement, cytoprotective activity, anti-inflammatory response and quality enhancement. This makes nuPhoria a feed valorizer.
It also demonstrates its effectiveness beyond this as it helps to improve protein utilisation and energy balance. Protein utilisation refers to how efficiently animals absorb, metabolise, and use dietary protein. Trials on broilers and piglets supplemented with nuPhoria showed improved protein utilisation, which ultimately presents new opportunities to consider with regards to formulated dietary crude protein levels. Additionally, this improvement resulted in lower ammonia levels in faeces, contributing significantly to environmental sustainability.
Energy balance in livestock refers to the equilibrium between the energy consumed through diet and the energy expended for maintenance, growth, reproduction, and production activities. Achieving a positive energy balance, where intake surpasses expenditure, is key to optimal animal performance. Animals supplemented with nuPhoria showed improved energy efficiency compared to the control group, which is attributed to reduced inflammation and enhanced organ function, particularly in the intestines, liver, and ovaries.
From a producer's perspective, a product that enhances performance by improving protein and energy efficiency, along with better product quality, whilst ensuring active cytoprotective, and anti-inflammatory functions, represents a valuable tool. It significantly increases income by lowering production costs, as evidenced by the return on investment in poultry, which ranges from 3.4 to 7.5:1
[Feedinfo] How can nuPhoria influence the end product buyers and consumers are seeing?
[Giannis Karvelis] Alongside performance parameters enhancement, nuPhoria influences the quality and shelf-life of the product. This is primarily achieved by inhibiting the formation of metabolites generated through oxidation and optimising nutrient utilisation and energy balance by reducing inflammatory response.
Trials conducted on broilers revealed that nuPhoria supplementation led to increased yields of breast and leg fillets. Additionally, two key indicators of egg quality in layers—albumen height and Haugh units were significantly improved with nuPhoria supplementation. Eggs with higher albumen height and Haugh units are fresher and have longer shelf-life due to thicker albumen, which is associated with higher protein content and improved nutrient density.
Lipid peroxidation is a primary cause of quality deterioration in fat-containing products and is often used as an estimation of a product’s shelf-life and consumer acceptability. Lipid peroxidation can lead to off-flavours, odours, discoloration in meat products and reduction of nutritional value of eggs and milk. Malondialdehyde (MDA) is the end product of lipid peroxidation and is used as a biomarker indicating the rate of this process. nuPhoria supplementation demonstrated significant reductions of MDA concentration in eggs, milk and meat and animals fed with nuPhoria had better total antioxidant capacity in their blood. These findings reinforce the claim that nuPhoria facilitates the improvement of the quality of meat, eggs, and milk, while also prolonging their shelf-life.
Somatic cell count (SCC) is an important indicator of milk quality and is widely used to assess the health of dairy animals and the hygienic quality of milk. High numbers of SCC negatively affect the nutritional and sensory qualities of milk, impacting its marketability and reducing the production yield of cheese and yogurt. nuPhoria-supplemented ewes showed a significant reduction of SCC by 72.4%. Moreover, analyses conducted on sheep meat showed that nuPhoria supplementation increased its tenderness.
[Feedinfo] Naturally many in the agricultural sector have been paying attention to the European Green Deal that aims to deliver a climate-neutral Europe by 2050. How can nuPhoria aid producers in reaching these goals and maintaining sustainable animal production?
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[Nikos Gogorosis] nuPhoria is a 100% natural and scientifically balanced preparation that supports intestinal function, optimising digestion and metabolism, thereby improving dietary protein and energy efficiency whilst minimising emissions like ammonia, which is in line with Green Deal initiatives. The nuPhoria phytogenic solution is designed to achieve specific goals, focusing on boosting resilience in livestock. It aims to improve disease resistance and welfare by enhancing cytoprotection and reducing inflammation, which minimises antibiotics use. Our formulation is designed to meet the needs of the livestock industry and consumer expectations for healthy animals, contributing to a healthier environment. |
Managing Director, Nikos Gogorosis, Nuevo |
Moreover, our phytogenic enhances overall product quality and extends shelf life, resulting in reduced waste and enhanced circularity within the production cycle. By boosting nutritional efficiency, nuPhoria offers higher returns on investment for producers, aligning economic viability with environmental responsibility.
In summary, nuPhoria could play the role of resilience enhancer, representing a pivotal advancement in sustainable animal production, integrating health, environmental stewardship, and economic efficiency into a single, potent solution. Through continuous innovation and commitment to sustainability, we aim to redefine standards in animal agriculture, fostering a resilient and thriving industry for future generations.
