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Miya-Gold®
Upcoming changes in today's swine sector, such as the mandatory reduced use of zinc oxide, have led to a renewed interest in alternative feed additives to support optimal swine production. Probiotics offer a good tool to do so, as part of a larger toolbox to manage gut health.
The what and why of probiotics
Probiotics are viable microorganisms which confer health benefits to the host on the condition they are supplemented in adequate amounts (FAO, 2016). These benefits are achieved via a multi-factorial mode of action, often including:
- outcompeting pathogens for nutrients or physical space
- producing beneficial compounds such as short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs)
- increasing the digestibility and/or absorption of nutrients
- improving the gut barrier function
- reducing gut inflammation
- interacting with the immune system
- a combination of the above
While silver bullets do not exist, probiotics play an important function in gut health, and it is essential to pick the right probiotic for the challenge at hand. Due to the abundance of option in today's probiotic market, it has become more difficult than ever to make this choice.
The probiotic choice
Considering the following three questions can help to simplify the process of probiotic choice:
1. What is the intended benefit of the probiotic?
When looking at probiotics as a product category, it is imperative to understand that probiotic bacteria differ. Some target improved feed digestion, while others are more effective at eliminating pathogens (as shown in the illustration above). When choosing a probiotic, it is essential to keep the intended benefit in mind.
2. How unique is the microbial strain being used in the probiotic formulation?
Strains differ and thus matter. Strains are identified with a number (i.e., Clostridium butyricum FERM BP-2789), indicating which strain is included in the product. As strains differ, they do not necessarily have the same (level of) benefits, even though they carry the same general name. In practical terms, this means that the technical information of each product should always be assessed on a strain-level.
3. Is the probiotic stable and can it be used in standard feed mill processing?
There are great differences in stability among probiotic products, most noticeably between spore formers and non-spore formers.
A spore is a metabolically inactive form of the vegetative bacterial cell, formed when the environmental conditions are unfavourable to the survival of the bacteria (as shown in the illustration to the right). As a result, the spore is extremely durable and stable. This brings a distinct advantage in terms of stability, both during feed processing and within the animal itself.
For example, in its spore form, the probiotic can pass through the more hostile environment in the initial stages of the gastrointestinal tract without loss of viability. Once the spore reaches the correct location in the gut, the spore yields active vegetative cells, ready to exert their beneficial effects.
Miya-Gold®
Based on these three questions, it is clear that a unique, well-documented and spore-forming probiotic is the product of choice. Huvepharma's Miya-Gold® (Clostridium butyricum) fits this description because:
- Miya-Gold® contains a unique strain of probiotic C. butyricum which is highlighted in its regulatory status: it is currently the only C. butyricum strain registered as a probihootic in the EU.
- Miya-Gold® has a clear and well-documented mode of action: as the name suggests, C. butyricum is capable of producing significant amounts of butyrate. The benefits of butyrate are well-known and, combined with the advantages of a probiotic, make Miya-Gold® stand out.
- The C. butyricum strain in Miya-Gold® is a spore-former and therefore has documented stability during storage, feed processing and within the animal itself.
Supporting food safety with Miya-Gold®
As an obligate anaerobe and spore-forming bacterium, Miya-Gold® reaches and becomes active in the hindgut of the animal. This location is important for two major reasons:
- Butyrate has the most beneficial effect in the hindgut as it is here where butyrate will exert the majority of its benefits, partly by acting as one of the major metabolites for the colonic epithelial cells. Traditional butyrate feed additives generally do not reach this location, as they are utilised rapidly during passage through the gut.
- The presence of butyrate in the hindgut has the potential to mitigate food safety-related pathogens via an oxygen-related cascade system.
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