Alternative to antibiotic use in swine, results revealed
Avivagen has recently announced preliminary results of independently conducted studies of the livestock utility of OxC-beta, a new natural alternative to the use of antibiotics in swine feed. Results showed an improvement in average daily gain and a better feed conversion ratio.
The discovery that the product formed by full, spontaneous oxidation of beta-carotene, termed OxC-beta, has protective health benefits comes at a time when stakeholders across the globe, are looking to avoid usage of antibiotics in livestock . In-feed trials of OxC-beta appear to be gaining attention due to emerging evidence that this natural product may be a safe, effective and affordable alternative to the antibiotics now in use.
Avivagen has sponsored studies of the use of OxC-beta in swine and poultry, those studies have been independently conducted by researchers at the National Institute of Animal Sciences for Vietnam and Chonbuk National University of Korea, respectively. Avivagen has now provided a summary of the preliminary results from those studies, which are ultimately intended for publication in peer-reviewed scientific journals.
In swine, Avivagen believes the results of the 500-pig study are indicative of strong commercial utility. The inclusion of OxC-beta in feeds at just 2 to 4 parts-per-million (less than one teaspoon per metric ton of feed) outperformed both the negative control group and those animals fed with 150-250 parts-per-million of commonly-used antibiotics (chlortetracycline and colistin sulfate). Observed results in swine include, but were not limited to, the following:
• Improvement in “Average Daily Gain” of over 20% when used in Starter feed.
• Bettering “Feed Conversion Ratio” by over 7%, in Starter, Grower & Finisher feeds.
• Reduction in the rate of diarrhoea of up to 50%, at each stage of feeding tested.
Avivagen believes these positive results reconfirm the outcomes of earlier Canadian research under livestock production conditions that are directly relevant to farmers across Asia. The company will continue to provide an update once the final results are in.
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