Research has lately shown the effect of Hostazym® X on modulating gut microflora via a prebiotic route (Table 1).
When Hostazym® X degrades arabinoxylan present in the diet, arabinoxylan oligosaccharides (AXOS) are released as a degradation product. These AXOS fulfil all criteria of a prebiotic: it is non-digestible, resistant to gastric acidity and fermented by colon microbiota stimulating specific gut bacteria in a positive way. When these gut bacteria ferment the AXOS formed by Hostazym® X, lactic acid is produced which acts as fuel for butyric acid-producing bacteria.
Butyric acid, a short-chain fatty acid, is an energy source for the gut cells so the gut integrity, the absorbing capacity of the gut wall and the gut barrier function, are improved.
Thus, it is not surprising that besides improving growth and feed conversion, Hostazym® X shows in practical situations a significant reduction in mortality of birds. Therefore, the three effects of Hostazym® X are:
- the improvement in growth
- the reduction in feed conversion
- the reduction in mortality
Combined, these three factors can improve profits by more than €70 per 1000 broilers.
