As the animal nutrition and protein production industries continue to shift towards more sustainable practices, animal nutrition businesses have an increasingly important role to play in helping producers achieve such changes.
This is a key driver for Evonik Animal Nutrition. It is working on consistently developing innovative solutions for the animal nutrition sector, with its Specialty Nutrition business placing a high priority on health and performance, says Pedro Castelo, Head of Global Strategic Marketing and Development.
In this Industry Perspectives, he discusses the company’s approach to the challenges, as well as its R&D focus, range of global strategic partnerships, and how its products, technology and consulting combine to address both health and performance aspects, with a specific focus on gut health and energy.
His colleagues, Strategic Marketing and Value Creation Managers Lukas Bauer and Martin Smith, talk in-depth about Evonik's probiotics and health monitoring services to support reduced antibiotic use. They also discuss recent launches, including PhytriCare® IM, its anti-inflammatory phytogenic formulation developed with Dr Eckel, and SpeoCare® T60, its innovative butyric acid source which offers a range of gut health benefits.
[Feedinfo] The animal protein industry is continuing to invest in technologies that improve efficiency and profitability, combined with sustainable practices. As a business, what do you see happening and what are your priorities as a result, particularly for your Specialty Nutrition business?
|
[Pedro Castelo] Evonik has, for a long time, focused on providing solutions that help animal protein producers improve the sustainability of their operations, as well as bolstering their efficiency and profitability. This legacy, driven by our products, services and technical consultancies, has paved our way to becoming a global leading animal nutrition company. |
Pedro Castelo, Head of Global Strategic Marketing and Development, Evonik |
The Specialty Nutrition portfolio, including our Health and Performance Concepts, are a clear reflection of this. The portfolio features technologically advanced products and services, designed to precisely match the most critical customer needs that we have identified. Some of the most recent solutions we have brought to the market include Ecobiol® Fizz, SpeoCare™ T60, PhytriCare® IM and ScreenFloX®. Each product is designed to complement the others, working holistically to ensure an optimal balance for animal health is achieved: Ecobiol® supports a balanced gut microbiota, SpeoCare™ T60 strengthens the gut in its barrier function, and PhytriCare® IM modulates inflammatory response. These products are all associated with the effective health monitoring system that ScreenFloX® provides.
Indeed, we know that sustainability is becoming more and more important. With finite global resources, and increasing animal welfare standards, it’s our responsibility to keep developing solutions for our customers to continue producing high quality animal protein at optimal costs – responsibly.
[Feedinfo] You place your both Health & Performance Concept at the centre of your portfolio. Can you tell us more about this?
[Pedro Castelo] As previously mentioned, we understand that efficiency and profitability are key parameters that determine the success and resilience of our customers within the animal production industry. By keeping this in mind, and with our customers at the centre of everything we develop, we continuously shape our portfolio of products and services towards concepts that effectively reflect this objective.
Our Health Concept consists of the previously mentioned gut health products, combining multiple technologies with our unique health monitoring service, ScreenFloX®, helping customers to precisely identify and monitor specific KPIs that affect animal health. As a result, we are able to precisely customers on the best strategy to reach higher health standards.
Our Performance Concept pairs our amino acids portfolio with some of the best technology available on the market to improve the energy metabolism of animals, which we have with GuanAMINO®. Combining such technologically advanced products with our profound knowledge and services, such as AMINONIR® analytical services and the GuanAMINO® recommendation tool, we offer our customers best in class technologies and consulting on how to efficiently apply them.
Additionally, we provide our customers with AMINOSys® high-end dosing system solutions which automates both dosing and handling processes in the feed mill.
Our concepts empower customers to improve animal health, effectively unlocking the genetic potential of modern animals – driving efficiency and profitability in the process.
[Feedinfo] Some new products have been added to your health portfolio. What are these, and what benefits do they offer in practice?
|
[Martin Smith and Lukas Bauer] We believe in the responsible use of antibiotics to tackle the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This includes significantly reducing the use of antibiotics in animal production, unless absolutely necessary. Evonik's probiotics and health monitoring services support reduced antibiotic use. Across our range of products, enhanced intestinal health without the use of antibiotics is a key objective. |
Lukas Bauer, Strategic Marketing and Value Creation Manager, Evonik |
For example, Ecobiol® supports gut health by stabilising the intestinal microbiota, enhancing feed conversion ratio (FCR), and improving overall animal performance. The novel soluble tablet form – Ecobiol® Fizz – is easy-to-administer and used directly in the water supply. This is particularly beneficial in stressful periods or environments where animals may eat less.
SpeoCare® T60, a tributyrin product tailored for livestock needs, aims to maintain gut integrity and improve resistance to enteric challenges from pathogens that cause intestinal cell damage and inflammation. As we will consider later, it has multiple functions to support and enhance intestinal integrity.
PhytriCare®, meanwhile, is a natural solution based on plant extracts that supports health and productivity, reflecting our commitment to reducing antibiotic use and promoting sustainable practices.
[Feedinfo] You have an interesting partnership with Dr Eckel, having launched a plant-based formulation together last year. Can you tell us more about the product, how it was developed and what it does?
|
[Martin Smith] Certainly, the partnership combines Evonik's animal nutrition expertise and practical applications with Dr Eckel's experience in phytogenics. This is an exciting area for Evonik to venture into, with huge potential. PhytriCare® IM is a phytogenic product containing 10% flavonoids, that targets inflammatory pathways without suppressing the immune response. Chronic inflammation, a low-level inflammation state over a prolonged period, diverts key nutrients from the animal’s productive function, leading to reduced performance and a greater environmental impact. It can therefore contribute significantly to both poor animal health and welfare and reduced profitability in the livestock production sector. |
Martin Smith, Strategic Marketing and Value Creation Manager, Evonik |
PhytriCare® IM has been confirmed in trials using serum biomarkers to help modulate rather than suppress the inflammatory response, reducing the risk of chronic inflammation. For example, in hyper-prolific sows, trials have shown the positive effects of re-directing nutrients back to productive purposes, with better piglet growth and viability, leading to return on investment (ROI) in the order of 8:1.
[Feedinfo] This year, you launched SpeoCare™ T60 to bolster gut health. It is an innovative product – how is it produced and how does it work? What performance benefits can producers expect to see with its use?
[Lukas Bauer] Designed to enhance gut health, SpeoCare™ T60 is a highly concentrated tributyrin feed material produced from butyric acid and glycerol. Butyric acid is an energy source for the cells lining the gut, generating adenosine triphosphate (ATP) via the β-oxidation pathway.
Because the butyric acid in SpeoCare™ T60 comes in the form of a triglyceride, it is protected from degradation in the upper gut, releasing the butyric acid when it reaches the target site of action – the intestine. The release characteristics have been verified through studies using Evonik’s DAISy – Dynamic Avian Intestine in-vitro System. Results demonstrated that tributyrin was not cleaved in the first compartment of DAISy simulating the upper gut, whereas, in duodenum and jejunum, tributyrin was gradually cleaved into dibutyrin, monobutyrin, butyric acid and glycerol. With advancing time, dibutyrin and monobutyrin content decreased, whereas glycerol and butyric acid content further increased.
It’s a solid product with more than 60% tributyrin content due to modern and precise esterification technology – which also helps to ensure it is a solution with no unpleasant odours. The silica carrier used in the product is selected for excellent flowability, minimal dustiness and high adsorption capacity.
[Feedinfo] Looking ahead, can you talk us through your plans in terms of your investment in R&D and what we can expect to see in future from Evonik?
[Pedro Castelo] As touched upon, we are constantly developing new solutions to drive the industry forward. Last year, we restructured our business model to provide more focus on commodity products and specialty products. Our specialties business is a key growth area, which we remain committed to in the future.
Customers tell us how they appreciate and value our world-class services, such as AMINONIR®, AMINOSys® and ScreenFloX®, so we have factored an expansion of these existing services into our development plans – as well as the introduction of completely new product solutions into our Health and Performance Concepts.
Our R&D investment will continue, working as we do with a global research network which counts on our internal core competencies as well as with strategic partnerships in an open innovation strategy. As an example of our continued commitment to the livestock industry, we have also invested heavily in our own research facility in León, Spain, expanding its capacity to run trials. Research into improving production processes and fermentation technology for our products has always been a foundation of our success and will continue. Both R&D areas continue to contribute to improving our sustainability profile, with reduced environmental footprint and enhanced handprint.
Finally, it should be said that we consider a profitable future lies ahead in exciting collaborations. Strategic partnerships – such as the Veramaris joint venture with DSM and the EVBS joint venture with Vland in China – allow us to collaborate with other value chain partners and invest in promising technologies.
