The animal nutrition market is driven by a number of trends. These include the reduction in the use of antimicrobial substances, which are at the root of antibiotic resistance among humans, the reduction in carbon footprint, and animal welfare. All three will have a major influence on the future of animal nutrition. A sector that is generally moving towards greater naturalness, sustainability, performance and practicality.
Livestock farming is one of the areas where we can act to reduce our carbon footprint. This is a priority objective for the European Union, which is setting out a strategy to make food systems fair, healthy and environmentally friendly via:
- The Green Deal, which represents a set of measures aimed at steering the European Union towards ecological transition
- The European Union’s ‘Farm to Fork’ strategy, launched in 2020, which aims to make agriculture safer and more responsible.
In our view, postbiotics represent one of the key solutions for the future of animal nutrition, with a wide range of proven benefits for maintaining animal health and performance. This is particularly the case with our LBiotix™ postbiotic ingredient.
LBiotix™ as a performance driver for the future of animal nutrition
LBiotix™ is composed of Lactobacillus LB, a patented combination of two strains, and their fermented culture medium. Lactobacillus LB has been extensively studied for its properties and impact on the performance of production animals.
In particular, LBiotix™ has been shown to support animal growth, by increasing feed conversion. It is the efficiency with which animals convert their feed into body weight. LBiotix™ also improves daily weight gain.
A study on the impact of Lactobacillus LB on post-weaning[1] piglets also highlighted various health benefits:
- Modulation of the microbiome: improvement in the diversity and activity of the microbiota associated with the jejunal mucosa,
- Increase in the abundance of beneficial bacteria such as Lactobacilli,
- Reduction in the quantity of pathogenic bacteria such as Helicobacter.
A reduction in the intensity and duration of diarrhea linked to E.Coli in post-weaning piglets was observed. These changes were positively correlated with markers of intestinal health, leading to greater feed efficiency and better growth rates.
In this context, LBiotix™ is becoming a major factor in performance and feed efficiency.
A positive environmental impact for the future of animal nutrition with the use of LBiotix™
The use of the ingredient is also associated with three major environmental impacts.
Resource requirements are reduced, as the animal requires less feed for the same growth. So, for the same growth, inputs are reduced. The intake of plant or animal proteins from unsustainable resources can be reduced.
With LBiotix™, we are also working on nitrogen discharge. As dietary protein is better valorized, nitrogen discharges are reduced.
Finally, LBiotix™ is an alternative to zinc oxide. Zinc oxide can be used as a feed additive to promote growth in farm animals and prevent infections. However, it can be toxic to aquatic organisms if released into water in large quantities. Accumulated in soils, it will also affect soil quality and the absorption of nutrients by plants. Using LBiotix™ as an alternative is therefore a solution to reduce this environmentally harmful discharge.
Naturalness at the heart of the future of animal nutrition
A major issue for the future of animal nutrition is naturalness, which begins with the choice of feed for farm animals.
It also involves controlling the use of antibiotics. In Europe in particular, their use as growth promoters has already been banned. In the USA, where this ban is not in force, over 1/3 of consumers say they regularly buy meat labelled ‘antibiotic free’.[2] This change is already being implemented in the poultry production sector.
LBiotix™ is once again an ingredient at the heart of trends: derived from a unique fermentation process, it meets the constraints and challenges of natural markets.
Practicality is a major asset for the future of animal nutrition
When it comes to the future of animal nutrition, the notion of practicality is essential: the product must be easy to use and simple to incorporate. Furthermore, in order to limit cold chain and shelf-life constraints, a suitable ingredient is a stable ingredient.
Adare Biome offers an ingredient in powder form that is easy to use and incorporate into animal feed, whether liquid or solid. A solution that withstands the formulation constraints of animal feed. LBiotix™, by virtue of its postbiotic condition, also resists the acidic pH of the stomach, for assured action.
Stability over time and in the face of temperature variations is ensured by the very nature of the ingredient: inanimate and therefore insensitive to environmental variations.
Research into ingredients to support animal health and welfare
Farmers are looking to offer consumers quality proteins, to support the health of their animals (through immune efficiency in particular), but above all to ensure the well-being of their livestock. This is in line with consumer demand. In the US, 78% of consumers say they are concerned about the welfare of farm animals. [3] Awareness is also growing in Europe. In 2017, the European Union launched a platform focusing on the subject. This EU platform brings together key players to exchange ideas and contribute to improving animal welfare. It includes seventy-five stakeholder representatives (NGOs, the scientific community, Member States, EFSA, etc.).[4]
Today, the choice of solutions is not only defined by productivity criteria but also by animal welfare.
LBiotix™ supports immunity naturally. In fact, Lactobacillus LB binds to intestinal epithelial cells and inhibits their invasion by strains of enteropathogenic bacteria. Lactobacillus LB also prevents damage to the structures of the digestive epithelium caused by pathogenic bacteria such as E.coli.[5]
The action of postbiotics attenuates the inflammatory response, strengthens the intestinal barrier, inhibits the growth of pathogenic bacteria and promotes the growth of beneficial bacteria in the intestine.
At Adare Biome, we believe that postbiotics are an integral part of the future of animal nutrition: a stable, natural, effective ingredient that keeps farm animals healthy. LBiotix™ seeks to play a crucial role in addressing future global challenges by offering an ingredient that satisfies market expectations: naturalness, combating excessive or inappropriate use of antibiotics, animal welfare and health.
[1] Xu et al 2022; [2] What ‘No Antibiotics’ Claims Really Mean, September 10, 2020, https://www.consumerreports.org/overuse-of-antibiotics/what-no-antibiotic-claims-really-mean/; [3] Spain, et al., 2018. Are they buying it? United states consumers’ changing attitudes toward more humanely raised meat, eggs, and dairy. Animals 8 (8): 1–14. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani8080128.; [4] Commission Européenne, Lancement de la plateforme de l’UE sur le bien-être animal 2017, Disponible sur : https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/fr/MEMO_17_1426; [5] V Liévin-Le-Moal et al., Lactobacillus acidophilus (strain LB) from the resident adult human gastrointestinal microflora exerts activity against brush border damage promoted by a diarrhoeagenic Escherichia coli in human enterocyte-like cells, 2002, Disponible sur : https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12010882/
Adobe Stock // Sergio