14 December 2021 – While feed additive producers are clear and united on the importance of gut health in poultry well-being and performance, their messages become a little more split on the tools that are needed and most effective in establishing a beneficial microbiome status in birds.
For Impextraco this has resulted in a splintered perspective of what constitutes gut health, with the concept often changing from company to company, country to country, and region to region. The Belgian feed ingredients producer believes that the solution here is to see gut health in poultry as an equilibrium between three factors: a stable microflora, the intestinal morphology, and the diet. In this Industry Perspectives, the company’s Global Technical Director, Katrien Deschepper and its Product Manager, Arno Duchateau explain to Feedinfo why organic acids are the key to balancing all three of these factors and the perfect tool to help poultry producers positively impact and establish gut health and integrity in their flocks.
[Feedinfo] Let’s kick off with Impextraco’s definition of gut health. How do microflora, intestinal morphology, and diet work together to result in good gut health in poultry?
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Katrien Deschepper |
[Katrien Deschepper] We define gut health as an equilibrium between these three factors. A stable microflora is a diverse and complex ecosystem of more than 1012 bacteria that increase colonisation resistance against pathogenic intruders and assist in detoxification. The richer and more diverse the microbiome, the healthier the animal. The very first days in life are crucial to shape it. Moreover, it can change rapidly throughout the animal’s life. |
Proper nutrition and the assistance of specialty feed additives plays a key role in shaping the microbiome composition. Any change in feed composition as well as physical structure of the feed influences the gut microbiota. All dietary measures need to limit as much as possible the presence of substrate for the pathogenic community. Increased presence of proteins will lead to more available amino acids to produce more branched chain fatty acids, NH3, H2S, biogenic amines and indoles, but also methanogenic bacteria will produce more methane, increasing the incidence of footpath lesions. Non-starch polysaccharides present in the feed are able to bind large amounts of water and increase viscosity in the gut, decreasing the passage rate of digesta. This leads to decreased absorption of digesta and increased incidence of wet litter. The presence of mycotoxins in the feed harms the intestinal barrier functioning and is one of the predisposing factors for secondary diseases and dysbacteriosis.
Intestinal morphology is the structure and strength of the epithelial barrier. This barrier is crucial to protect from harmful substances and important for proper digestion and absorption of nutrients. With this barrier comes a proper intestinal immunity to defend the animal and avoid a serious inflammation response.
A holistic approach is therefore required, and we have developed multiple ranges of specialty additives that benefit gut health. This allows us to be flexible and advise each customer with a proper solution. Most of our gut health solutions (Acidal®, Butifour® and N-force®) are based on organic and medium chain fatty acids (MCFA) since they have the strongest mode of actions on gut health.
[Feedinfo] Why do you think there is still a need to inform the industry of the usefulness of organic acids in establishing gut health in poultry?
[Katrien Deschepper] Organic acids are well accepted in the industry thanks to their efficacy on gut health. However, there is still a need to inform customers of their specific mode of action, in particular their correct application in combination with MFCAs. Some acids have higher antibacterial activity than others, while others are better in improving intestinal barrier functioning. Some acids act in the stomach, while others target the small intestine. Between organic acids there is a lot of differentiation which has to be understood in order to have a successful gut health management action plan.
[Feedinfo] What about stomach pH? How important is it in establishing a stable and well-functioning gut in poultry and why should producers be keeping this on their radar? How can organic acids & MCFAs help here?
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[Arno Duchateau] The digestive system of a chicken is simple, short, and very efficient. The foregut consists of the beak, oesophagus, crop, proventriculus and gizzard. The crop is slightly acidic (pH 4.5-5.5) and the proventriculus and gizzard is acidic (pH 2.5-3.5). Therefore, the foregut is an endogenous barrier to the passage of bacteria, including pathogenic and zoonotic bacteria, into the intestines and hindgut. |
Poultry digestive system |
The organic acids in Acidal® play an important role in establishing and maintaining this pH barrier from the crop to the proventriculus and gizzard. Next to this protective effect of Acidal®, MCFAs (which can be found in our N-force® solution) have the highest antibacterial effect in the stomach of the bird. By reducing the bacterial load already in the stomach, MCFAs eliminate the risk of pathogen overgrowth further down the digestive tract.
[Feedinfo] You are putting forward a stable microflora as one of your three factors impacting gut integrity in poultry. How can organic acids be employed here and how do they compare to probiotics in helping to establish beneficial bacteria in the gut?
[Arno Duchateau] Nutrition plays a fundamental role in shaping the microbiome composition. To ensure the microbial flora develops to a healthy and diverse population, it is of utmost importance to control pathogens with organic and medium chain fatty acids as soon as from the crop to let the beneficial bacteria flourish.
Next, in the intestines, butyric acid, a short chain fatty acid, (which can be found in our Butifour® and N-force® solutions) is very effective to keep the microflora balanced and to prevent colonisation of pathogens like Clostridium or Salmonella.
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Arno Duchateau |
Therefore, organic and medium chain fatty acids have a direct effect on a stable microflora by inhibiting the pathogens and reducing the load that enters the intestinal tract. Probiotic solutions apply live microorganisms to shape the gut microbiota, therefore the effect on pathogen control and gut health is indirect as these microorganisms still have to produce antimicrobial substances or gut health promoting agents. Their mode of action is also targeting the intestines, whereas organic acids protect the entire digestive tract. |
[Feedinfo] You’ve just put forward both your N-force® and Butifour® solutions as means of maintaining microflora balance in the intestines. How do these products differ and what should producers be considering when choosing between the two?
[Arno Duchateau] The difference is that Butifour® is a range based on coated calcium butyrate, whereas N-force® combines the strength of Butifour® on gut health with the antibacterial effect of MCFA. In other words, N-force® is a synergistic mixture of coated calcium butyrate and MCFA, which makes it a broader concept. Thanks to this synergy, N-force® protects the entire intestinal tract and Butifour® acts mainly in the intestines. This means that customers have to consider their objectives when choosing between the two. If they want to replace antibiotic growth promotors without losing performance, N-force® is their best option here. If the main target is strengthening the intestinal barrier, gut functioning and digestion, Butifour® should be considered.
[Feedinfo] Necrotic enteritis (NE) is often considered one the poultry industry’s most economically significant challenges and incidences are increasing as the industry moves to antibiotic-free production. How can your organic acid solutions be employed to help here? Are they best used as a preventative measure, or can they be effective in combating already established NE infections?
[Arno Duchateau] NE is induced by the gram-positive bacterium Clostridium perfringens and is not too common. On the other hand, bacterial enteritis (BE) or dysbacteriosis is an inflammatory response in the gut induced by a general bacterial challenge and omnipresent in poultry production.
The misunderstanding arises from research that is focused on models with NE. This is because NE is a more severe infection than BE and products that show efficacy against NE are also efficient against BE. In one of our findings, Butifour® and N-force® were able to have a similar performance as an AGP during a NE model in broilers. Moreover Butifour® and N-force® showed an increased gut health status by improving the villi/crypt ratio and intestinal health index. This means that by controlling gut health, pathogens can be kept in check and technical performance maintained.
The application of Butifour® or N-force® is preventative so both products were applied throughout the entire production from starter to finisher feed. The dosage of N-force® or Butifour® should be highest in the starter feed to shape the microbiota, promote intestinal development and prevent enteritis. In this setup, we started from clean conditions and implemented a NE challenge model along the trial. From the results it was clear, that when biosecurity is strictly controlled, applying Butifour® is sufficient to ensure gut health protection and prevent NE. However, when pathogen pressure is higher by a lack of biosecurity, the antibacterial effect of N-force® is recommended to prevent NE.
[Feedinfo] How is Impextraco pushing the envelope when it comes to organic acid solutions in animal nutrition? Where are you seeing growth opportunities for their application?
[Katrien Deschepper] The use of organic acids is widely spread, however the correct use of the right combination in function of the local infection and other challenges requires a more tailor-made approach. Specific biomarkers in body fluids are under development at Impextraco because they will be a very good tool to evaluate the intestinal health status. They will help us to identify intestinal problems in a very early stage and allow us to recover gut health thanks to the addition of the right combination of Acidal®, N-Force ®, Butifour ® and other innovative feed additives.
Published in association with Impextraco