01 June 2021- Oxidative stress is a major issue in animal production caused by highly stressful conditions such as antibiotic treatments, heat stress, weaning and periods of peak technical performance. As a result, excess free radicals (mainly reactive oxygen species) are formed which attack and damage body cells. This impaired functioning of cells creates important energy losses to the animal, consequently undermining its full genetic potential. It is also well-established that excess free radicals result in sub-optimal weight gain, lower meat quality and even reduced prolificacy.
Driven by the desire to mitigate the significant economic losses to both farmers and integrators, Impextraco developed Elife®, a natural antioxidant. Today, Steven Beckers, Global Product Manager for Antioxidants at Impextraco, addresses what the company sees as a highly underestimated problem and shares how Elife® can improve the situation.
[Feedinfo] What are the main ingredients in Impextraco’s Elife® and where do they come from? Why is the sourcing of these ingredients important?
[Steven Beckers] The product has been developed by Impextraco’s R&D department, located at its headquarters in Belgium. Our team has evaluated hundreds of samples of purified botanical extracts of European origin. A final selection of specific ingredients was made based on a clear relationship between the chemical structure of polyphenolic compounds and their antioxidant mode of action by using both ex vivo and in vitro techniques.
We evaluated the intrinsic absorption of these diverse polyphenols throughout the intestinal tract. This was crucial to ensure a proper distribution and functionality in the bloodstream, organs and muscle tissues. The active molecules need to reach the target tissues in an effective concentration and in their relevant bio-active form. The results of numerous cross-species trials confirmed the proper antioxidant functionalities of Elife® within the animal and have proven that it effectively protects body tissues against both extra- and intracellular free radicals.
Overall, this meticulous empirical process has yielded Elife®, a synergistic and concentrated combination of potent polyphenols aimed at strongly reducing oxidative stress in the animal.
[Feedinfo] How does the product work to improve meat quality? Can you explain the mode of action for this? What are the implications for the final product?
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[Steven Beckers] First of all, Elife® is a powerful free radical scavenger. The unique ingredient combination enables it to cover a broad range of oxidising free radical types within the animal’s body. It strongly reduces the oxidative stress level and thus prevents important damage to cells such as highly porous or leaking cell membranes. Secondly, Elife®’s polyphenolic profile is characterised by extremely low redox potentials (in other words, a tendency to easily donate an electron to stabilise an oxidised molecule), which allows the re-generation of those antioxidants that are already consumed in vivo, typically oxidised vitamin E. Last but not least, Elife® also stimulates (via upregulation) the endogenous antioxidant system such as SOD, GPx and the Glutathione reduced:oxidized ratio. Therefore, it not only reduces the oxidative status, but also improves the antioxidant capacity of the animal itself. |
Steven Beckers |
As demonstrated in various trials both in swine and poultry, these three pathways contribute to reduced oxidative losses and result in better meat preservation. We observed less fat oxidation leading to extended shelf life, a higher water holding capacity meaning less drip loss or risk of bacterial growth, and a lower degradation of pigments.
[Feedinfo] Beyond the meat quality implications, what other effects have you observed after supplementing Elife® in fattening diets?
[Steven Beckers] Oxidative damage to cells raises the body maintenance requirement of the animal. Our trials have shown that supplementation of Elife® beyond that of conventional antioxidants, such as vitamin E, in the diet of fattening pigs efficiently minimizes these induced energy losses. In our animal experiments with Elife®, this metabolic balancing (or state of homeostasis) has translated into better zootechnical as well as slaughterhouse performances. First of all, Elife® in fattener trials has demonstrated the ability to deliver heavier animals at slaughter. Additionally, these experiments also revealed an improved FCR thanks to greater protein and lower fat deposition, a direct consequence of less metabolic energy losses from cellular oxidation. These zootechnical benefits of Elife® were consistently confirmed in multiple pig trials on commercial farms across the globe, proving Elife®’s efficiency under varying conditions of farm management systems, diets, genetics and stress levels.
Beyond delivering heavier live pigs at market age, Elife® has also demonstrated the ability to optimize the slaughter yield. In several field trials with large numbers of pigs, accurate measurements inside commercial slaughterhouses revealed that Elife® in pig diets yields a higher hot carcass weight and better uniformity.
It was concluded that, by strongly reducing oxidative stress in pigs, Elife® creates benefits for each step within the pork meat production chain. In the meantime, similar effects have also been identified in multiple broiler trials.
[Feedinfo] What is the use-case for Elife®? Is it mainly targeted at producers whose animals are experiencing a particular stressor?
[Steven Beckers] In vivo oxidation is a universal issue and thus applicable to all animal species. Cell mitochondria, for instance, continuously produce free radicals intrinsic to the natural process of aerobic respiration. For any farm animal, challenging periods of high antibiotic treatment, elevated and prolonged heat stress, peak zootechnical performance, handling interventions, etc. are all known to induce an imbalance between formed free radicals and the endogenous antioxidants present. In particular, fast growing animals generally face an excess of oxidising free radicals. Therefore, oxidative stress continuously impacts the profitability of farmers and integrators. Impextraco’s natural in vivo antioxidant Elife® has empirically shown to provide the right solution for all oxidative stress inducing factors.
[Feedinfo] How long ago did Elife® launch, and where has it seen the most use since that time? What are your ambitions for Elife® in the future, particularly in terms of launches in other markets?
[Steven Beckers] Over the last couple of years, Elife® has been registered and introduced in a large number of major international markets. Since our launch, we have experienced solid growth in its sales.
The use of Elife® supports our sustainable production strategy of producing more meat with the scarce available resources and limiting the losses in the use chain. Recent outbreaks of African Swine Fever (ASF), which resulted in a huge shortage in the pork protein supply chain, underline the importance of producing as much meat as possible with the limited available number of pigs. For this reason and because of consistent effects on zootechnical, carcass and meat quality parameters, our trials with Elife® have initially focused on fattening pigs.
Impextraco is now gradually exploring other swine categories and other animal species such as aquaculture. In this way, Impextraco is determined to bring safe and innovative solutions against oxidative stress in different fields of the animal husbandry industry.
[Feedinfo] Tell me about the history of Elife®. What led to your interest in this particular concept?
[Steven Beckers] Several years ago, Impextraco’s strategic plan identified oxidative stress as one of the major future challenges to be overcome by the animal husbandry industry, and it became a pivotal corporate pilar where significant R&D and innovation efforts were focused. Clearly, this strategy did not come out of the blue; Impextraco has decades of experience within the feed antioxidant business, so it was a logical step for the company to move to natural solutions that displayed antioxidant effects in vivo. With Elife® in hand, Impextraco is now perfectly positioned to provide a holistic range of solutions to the different oxidative challenges of our industry, both in the animal (Elife®) and in the feed (Feedox® range).
[Feedinfo] What can the market expect from Impextraco in this space going forward? Have you put many resources into botanicals research, and might we see other product launches in this category? Will Elife® be adapted to other species, perhaps with different formulations?
[Steven Beckers] Impextraco has the ambition to be a global expert in offering molecularly-optimized natural solutions to tackle oxidative stress in different animal species and categories. For this purpose, Impextraco will continue investing resources, time and talent to ensure that this ambition is fulfilled. The recent opening of a new state-of-the-art lab facility at its Belgian headquarters with, among other assets, the newest oxidation analytical tools, is already a clear step in that intended direction. This is just one of many more exciting things yet to come.
Published in association with Impextraco
