| This content was originally published in Feedinfo Review's Autumn 2022 edition: New Thinking on Big Questions. Read the whole issue here. |
It’s been more than 15 years since Spain’s Bioiberica introduced its range of nucleotides, Nucleoforce, to the animal nutrition and health sectors. Over the years the range has found great acceptance in aquaculture, and the company is now looking to repeat that success in livestock animals, particularly in piglets and broilers.
“As the basic building blocks of DNA and RNA, nucleotides are crucial for a variety of biochemical and cellular processes”, Bioiberica’s R&D and Quality Director Javier Velasco explained to Feedinfo. “In particular those processes where there is a high rate of multiplication of genetic material, protein synthesis, cell replication and tissue maturation, like in the intestinal and immune systems.”
This, according to Mr. Velasco, means that nucleotides can play a vital role in establishing robust immunity and digestion early on in young animals, making them more resistant to common health and intestinal challenges right from the start. This also means that these biomolecules could potentially be a valuable tool to employ as swine and poultry producers look to reduce the use of antibiotics and zinc oxide in production.
[Feedinfo] Mr. Velasco, considering that feed already provides dietary sources of nucleotides, why should nutritionists consider their supplementation?
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[Javier Velasco] Feeds mainly contain both vegetable and animal-origin raw materials, with these containing varying amounts of RNA or DNA molecules, although the concentration can be very low (especially in vegetable sources). DNA and RNA are huge macromolecules built out of many nucleotides attached to one another. However, they are not a great source of dietary nucleotides as they are not very digestible because of their size, complexity, and stability. This makes them very difficult for the animal to break up and extract. This is of particular concern in younger animals, as they lack the enzymes to do this. |
Javier Velasco |
At Bioiberica we have always promoted the supplementation of free available nucleotides. It is the only way animals can really get and absorb the right number of nucleotides through the diet to meet their nutritional requirements. Again, this is especially important for young animals, as nucleotides can be a limiting nutrient and their absence can curb the growth potential of animals and affect development.
[Feedinfo] You have been actively focussing on nucleotides for use in aquaculture the last few years. Why have they become such a standard ingredient in aquaculture production?
[Javier Velasco] Nucleotide products have grown in popularity in the aquaculture feed market over the last few years, especially in feed for key species like salmon and shrimp. This makes a lot of sense because fish and shrimp grow much faster than land animals. This means that DNA multiplication, cell replication and tissue development is happening at a much higher rate, requiring nucleotides in much larger volumes.
Furthermore, our research has shown that nucleotides can also be used to help make aquaculture nutrition more efficient, sustainable, and cheaper. We found that in both fish and shrimp the use of low concentrations of Nucleoforce allowed for the replacement of fish meal, partially or completely, by other vegetable sources, reducing feed costs without impacting the performance of the animals.
Fish and shrimp can also suffer from dangerous infections that can negatively affect the productivity of aquaculture farms. Products that can specifically support the development of the immune system, like Nucleoforce, can help bring down the high mortality rate in aquaculture and lessen the impact of diseases by improving health and immunity.
[Feedinfo] Let’s now look at how nucleotides can impact the health and performance of livestock species, which you are now exploring for piglets and broilers. What has your research revealed?
[Javier Velasco] Livestock species, especially piglets and broilers, can benefit a lot from nucleotides. Despite these markets still being unfamiliar with these products, we have carried out a number of research studies over the years and have gathered valuable scientific knowledge regarding the application of nucleotides in swine and poultry.
What we have found is that these ingredients can promote the early and rapid maturation of the immune and intestinal system. Looking ahead, this attribute is going to make them more valuable as animal production continues to be faced with a number of challenges, like eliminating antibiotics and zinc oxide, considering sustainable and circular raw materials, fending off new infections and diseases, adapting to rising energy costs, and reducing its carbon footprint. Nucleotide products, like Nucleoforce, can help the industry reach production that meets these objectives by supporting better immunity and intestinal development in the early stages. This should go a long way towards improving feed efficiency, reducing emissions, improving animal welfare and health, and preventing diseases.
Looking specifically at swine, our Nucleoforce research showed improvements in intestinal health just after weaning, with better and more rapidly developed intestinal structures, a higher area of absorption and reduced incidence of diarrhoea. Nucleoforce was also shown to support immunity by reducing stress in the post-weaning period (reduction in cortisol) and increasing the lymphocyte population. Overall, this resulted in better feed efficiency and improved performance in normal conditions, but also in a better response in challenging or stressful situations.
In broilers, our research showed promising effects when using Nucleoforce in Clostridium perfingens infection models, with its use restoring the performance and health of the birds to the same levels as the non-infected control birds.
[Feedinfo] So, how is Bioiberica working to boost the use of nucleotides in livestock? What is the business strategy here for this sector?
[Javier Velasco] Throughout the years we have been able to create a solid market position and be a reliable partner for the aquafeed sector. Now we are seeking to extend this to include other species, such as swine and poultry. We are doing this by building on our knowledge on the benefits of nucleotides in livestock nutrition and sharing this with customers to convince them about the advantages and the formula returns they can expect.
Also, considering the current industry challenges, there are great opportunities for new ingredients that can bring value to feed manufacturers and livestock farmers in terms of efficiency and productivity. These are significant concerns, and we have proved that nucleotides are an excellent tool to support animal performance at early ages and when exposed to common stress scenarios. Delivering in these two key areas make up our strategy to succeed in livestock nutrition.
[Feedinfo] Because of their positive influence on intestinal health, you are also putting forward nucleotides as a good candidate for supporting animals raised without zinc oxide and antibiotics. How effective can they really be in these instances? What can you share with us that supports this?
[Javier Velasco] There are no replacements for antibiotics or zinc oxide as of yet. But nucleotide products, like Nucleoforce, have a unique mechanism of action that can make them of value here, which is that they promote the animal’s health and development by giving them the necessary building blocks and allowing them to reach their genetic potential naturally.
I believe that if we can help them have a better start, with the strongest immune system, the best intestinal health, and a natural ability to adapt and overcome challenging situations, we will not miss antibiotics and zinc oxide that much.
[Feedinfo] What’s next for nucleotides at Bioiberica? Are there any exciting developments or anything in the R&D pipeline that we should keep an eye out for?
[Javier Velasco] Our company is committed to innovating, so we have many projects in the pipeline at several levels to extend the use of nucleotides in all production animals. We are continuously improving our knowledge of early animal development to learn about the best nucleotide composition for each species, with the aim of launching a second, highly specialised generation of Nucleoforce. We are also investing in creating new product formats to ensure they can meet customers’ requirements.
And, further building on one of the basic pillars of Bioiberica, we are constantly seeking strategic collaborations with other companies or institutions that share our same philosophy in order to develop new opportunities and products to expand and strengthen our market approaches.
Published in association with Bioiberica
