With over 120 participants from 29 countries, the ‘Science – the Performance’ webinar by Innovad SA delved into two innovative approaches to improve animal well-being. The webinar was a satellite presentation of Asian Agribiz’s Broiler Feed Quality Conference. Below are some highlights.
Panbonis improves broiler performance
Panbonis, which contains a bioactive form of Vitamin D3, improved broilers’ production performance at reduced dietary mineral contents. Dr Jan Dirk van der Klis, Head of Global R&D and Technical Support at Herbonis/Innovad, presented the results of a study that showed the effect of adding Panbonis to broiler diets that has reduced mineral content. The best body weight gain was achieved when adding 200ppm of Panbonis, while the best FCR resulted from adding 100ppm. Broiler performance was at least similar to a diet with high mineral content. It also potentially allows a mineral matrix for production performance on top of a phytase matrix.
Reducing bacterial lameness in broilers
Panbonis can reduce bacterial lameness, which results in femur head necrosis in heavyweight broilers. “Giving 100ppm of Panbonis during the first half of the production period is adequate as we found the incidence of bacterial lameness in broilers was reduced by 50%. It indicated that Panbonis improved epithelial integrity (intestinal and respiratory), preventing bacterial translocation and/or improved immunocompetence of broilers,” Dr van der Klis explained.
Biomarker analysis effective in assessing true mycotoxin exposure
The mycotoxin content in feed or feed ingredients can vary widely and the many conjugated forms of different mycotoxins mean that feed analysis has many uncertainties. Attila Kovács, Global Intestinal Health Category Manager at Innovad, said a new way to assess mycotoxin exposure is biomarker analysis. With this method, producers can accurately assess how much mycotoxins the animal has come into contact with. “We only need to put the blood in FTA cards to perform the analysis and analyze up to 36 different biomarkers,” Dr Kovács explained.
Good biomarkers to indicate low-grade intestinal inflammation
The lack of good models to induce a chronic low-grade response in broilers prompted Innovad, Texas A&M University, and the USDA to look for possible biomarkers of chronic low-grade inflammation in broilers. They looked at feces and serum of broilers and identified some proteins such as calprotectin, lipocalin, S100A, HIF1α, ovotransferrin, and LPS by Elisa between days 14, 22, 28, and 36. Results demonstrated that calprotectin had a significant change in serum on days 14, 22, and 28. Meanwhile, HIF1α and lipocalin had a significant change in the feces on days 28 and 36. “These are potentially good biomarkers of low-grade intestinal inflammation,” Dr Kovács explained.
