March 30, 2023

 

Perstorp's Antonia Tacconi: Customised solutions for the multiple realities of gut health management

 

Headquartered in Malmö, Sweden, Perstorp has a footprint in many industrial segments including plastic materials, resins and coatings, and animal nutrition.

 

At this year's VIV Asia show in Bangkok, Thailand, the organisation's animal nutrition team promotes its main animal gut health products, Gastrivix™ Avi and the ProPhorce™ SR range.

 

Antonia Tacconi, global product manager (gut health) of Perstorp, shares more on these solutions and a perspective on dealing with animal gut health challenges.

 

 
Antonia Tacconi, global product manager (gut health) of Perstorp

 

Please tell us about Perstorp's gut health products that will be presented at this year's VIV Asia.

 

Antonia Tacconi: Perstorp's animal nutrition products are mainly based on organic acids (in their most esterified form).

 

Our key gut health products showcased at this year's VIV Asia are Gastrivix™ Avi and ProPhorce™ SR range (launched in 2012). ProPhorce™ SR is based on butyric acid esters and the range has applications for all animal species.

 

Gastrivix™ Avi is based on a new molecule, valeric acid, in its esterified form and its mode of action is comparable to other types of organic acids. However, Gastrivix™ Avi goes deeper than just common organic acids; in fact, we see a lot of benefits in combining this product with butyric acid esters. With Gastrivix™ Avi, we achieve the protection of the animal gut in terms of gut functionality. We also achieve the support of the mucosal immune system. These two support mechanisms synergistically work very well together and support animals' performance.

 

(Valeric and butyric acids) are innate to the animals themselves as they are produced by the gut microbiota. However, under certain production conditions, even the microbiota is stressed to the point of not being able to produce these acids in the small intestine so it's good to have a product that can aid the process. 

 

With these products, we are not focusing on nutritional aspects, but rather the beneficial effects on gut health. We are seeking to help our customers (achieve results) without too many changes made to the animal diet.

 

As another benefit, there is also the reduction in the costs of diets (when using Perstorp solutions) as, once the gut works well, energy can be saved and better balanced for the animal's growth. Feed optimisation can be achieved as we can think of lowering the amount of proteins and calories in the diet.

 

Does Perstorp utilise tools and applications to ensure an optimal dose of its products into the animal diet? If so, please describe.

 

We don't use tools to optimise the dosage as we have a long track record of trials in which we tested our products under different conditions. We have thus established an optimised, standard dosage that can ensure maximum return on investment (ROI).

 

From customer to customer, we can discuss whether to use more or less, but we still need to look back at ROI; this is where we use a calculator.

 

Based on the needs of the customers, Perstorp has developed a calculator that utilises data generated from trials and real-life data from customers to predict ROIs. This tool allows our customers to determine what they can get in terms of benefits when using the product.   

 

Butyric acid is the centerpiece of Perstorp's gut health product range. What are the key advantages of butyric acid concerning the aspects of dietary formulation and animal health?

 

Butyric  acids have multiple benefits in terms of gut health. One of the most visible and consistent impacts is the effect on gut morphology.

 

From years of trials involving butyric acids in esterified form, the results seen are a higher villus height and a better villus height to crypt depth ratio in the small intestine where most of the nutrient absorption takes place. This means the animal gut is healthier and there is more space to absorb nutrients from the diet. As such, feed performance is improved.

 

Additionally, butyric acids have effects on the barrier function of the gut. Looking at the gene expression of tight junction proteins, we observe that they are usually expressed at a higher level than in control diets.

 

Those are the results witnessed with the use of Perstorp gut health products.

 

Butyric acid is usually produced in the lower gut where it is produced by the microbiota that utilises non-digestible feed material. However, butyric acid is also needed in the upper part. This is where we can deliver butyric acid with our technology (specifically, esterification). Perstorp has a long history of working with such a technology.

 

Now we are planning to introduce other short-chain fatty acids and medium-chain fatty acids — that may be important for gut health — through our esterification technology.

 

Looking at Southeast Asia, what do you see as the long-term factors contributing to the poor gut health of livestock in the region?

 

Even in Southeast Asia, the factors can be different from country to country. Heat, for example, can contribute to poor gut health. There is also a rise in antibiotic resistance as many countries are still using them, not only in AGP (antibiotic growth promoter) forms, but within a prophylactic approach. In the future, to have good antibiotics, one needs to have something to support their effectiveness.

 

Additionally, livestock diseases, like African swine fever and avian influenza, can overall have a negative impact on gut health. But, of course, there is much more that can negatively impact gut health.

 

As long as an animal suffers any of these stress factors, the gut would have to expend excessive energy (to operate) and not function as it should.

 

We try to understand what would be the future impact in terms of gut health issues and will target our product development, specifically, for the different regions. Rather than attempting to develop a ‘global' product for the entire world, we look at the specific issues within a certain country and examine the differences between Southeast Asian and other productions (before developing a customised solution). Some countries, like Thailand, need to comply with regulations when exporting food to other countries. Hence, the strategies (for gut health management) may vary.

 

We, therefore, need to understand the reality of each customer, and the combination of solutions for them needs to be viable and improve profits.

 

Given recent concerns over the rise of antibiotic use in livestock, we would like to know how is Perstorp helping livestock producers to deal with this challenge. Please elaborate on the kind of impact Perstorp gut health solutions bring in terms of significantly reducing antibiotic use to protect animal health.

 

(As highlighted earlier), we have products that can be used as tools (to reduce antibiotic use) alongside biosecurity measures.

 

In some countries in Europe, we are also working to prevent the use of antibiotics in animals, thus helping to lower veterinary costs. This is where we see the potential for this kind of feed additives (like Gastrivix™ Avi and ProPhorce™ SR). They can help restore the animal gut (to a better condition) so that the use of antibiotics can be reduced. Once the gut has better functionality, it is more resilient to infections. When the gut develops properly — the barrier of the gut is good and nutrition absorption is high enough — the animal can be stronger.

 

Of course, we have to consider the specific factors and realities of each country. With one product, you cannot solve everything.

 

- Terry Tan, eFeedLink