Mr. Satti Pandu Raju, a progressive fish farmer in Eluru, Andhra Pradesh, India, has been in the aquaculture business for over 20 years. Andhra Pradesh state is the largest producer of shrimp in India and one of the largest areas of shrimp farming in the world. Raju farms more than 80 hectares of fish culture. He started farming shrimp culture on 10 hectares two years ago after seeing a great opportunity for shrimp in the global market. Unfortunately, he lost all of his investment in shrimp culture on his first try.

This is the story of how he bounced back and turned a profit with his shrimp farm. 

The problem: 100 percent shrimp mortality due to elephant gill disease

Penaeus vannamei, also known as Pacific whiteleg shrimp, is an extensively cultured species along coastal India. Raju started farming Penaeus vannamei on 7 hectares — a single pond — in 2016.

At the beginning of the season last year, Raju lost approximately $60,000 due to elephant gill disease. His shrimp’s gill appearance resembled an elephant ear. Eventually, the shrimp mortality rate was 100 percent.

The shrimp’s gill appearance resembled an elephant ear due to elephant gill disease.

In the second season of the year, Raju restocked his farm with fresh shrimp seed. Within 10 days, he noticed the outbreak of elephant gill disease again. Many other farms in the surrounding areas had the same problem.

Strengthening the immune system to overcome shrimp health challenges

Raju discovered Alltech On-Farm solutions through an aqua dealer in Eluru who introduced him to Tausif Ahmed, an Alltech assistant business development manager. Ahmad recommended using Bioplex® as well as Sel-Plex® to support immune response in shrimp. To resolve other issues related to growth, gastrointestinal health, water quality, ammonia and sludge, he recommended a range of Alltech solutions.

The result

Within 15 days of proper technical guidance and good management practice, 80 percent of the shrimp recovered from the disease. By the end of the season, Raju harvested 30 tons of shrimp. Not only did Raju avoid a massive potential loss — he made $45,000 in profit.

 “The Alltech team gave me step-by-step technical guidance on how to make a profitable business,” said Raju. “Alltech solutions are world-class and amazing in performance. I highly recommend them.”

Currently, Raju is running his third crop of shrimp with Alltech On-Farm solutions and is anticipating another successful harvest.

I would like to learn more about aquaculture nutrition and best practices.

When you hear the word “nutrigenomics,” your first reaction may be “What in the world is that?” Nutrigenomics is an up-and-coming research field that aims to understand how nutrition can influence an animal’s genome and what that means for animal health and production. It isn’t genetic engineering or modification, but rather a way of measuring changes in the activity of genes that result from changes in an animal’s diet. This field of research opens many doors that were previously closed in classic animal nutrition and allows us to better understand how “you are what you eat,” or rather, your chickens are what you feed them.

What is nutrigenomics?

Before we can talk about nutrigenomics, let’s do a quick review of molecular biology. Each animal has what’s called a genome that contains all of the genetic material, or DNA, of an animal and provides the basic blueprint for life. These carefully drawn out plans provide the blueprint for that animal’s life. However, outside influences, such as nutrition, can have a strong impact on the expression of this genetic information, or essentially how that blueprint is read.

Over the last decade, genomes have begun to be sequenced. This means that we know the approximate makeup of an animal’s entire genome. Identifying the genome sequences opened the door for cutting-edge research approaches to understand the molecular mechanisms behind everyday life. Even more importantly, we can now use genomic technologies to understand how each of the genes in that genomic sequence responds to outside influences and how this relates to the health and disease of an animal. The genomic sequence is very stable, so changes in function and activity come from up-regulating (“turning on”) or down-regulating (“turning off”) individual genes to produce (or decrease) products called transcripts in response to a stimulus like nutrition.  These transcripts code for the proteins that make up structures and functions in the cells, so the result is that changes occur in physiological processes like energy production or immune response.

Nutrigenomics is the field of research we use to study these changes in gene activities that occur because of changes in the animal’s diet. This information can help us better understand how nutrition influences animal health and production by giving us insights into what is going on within the cell in response to changes in the diet. We can measure the response in animal tissue using a technology called DNA microarrays. These tools are the basis of nutrigenomics studies and allow researchers to profile the activity of all the genes on a genome at once. The information gathered from nutrigenomics studies can provide us with a better understanding of nutrition by giving us clues to how nutrients work, why different forms of nutrients have different effects and how such nutrients can be optimized for health and production.

How can we use nutrigenomics to further poultry nutrition?

Current research can paint us a picture of how nutrigenomics is being applied to poultry nutrition. For example, recent work at Alltech has helped decipher why different forms of nutrients in the diet, such as Bioplex® organic minerals versus inorganic forms of minerals, can have very different effects on animal health. Before nutrigenomics, analyses like animal growth and tissue nutrient content gave us only part of the picture. But now, we can understand why changes occur.

Mineral matters

We know that Bioplex minerals support increased tissue levels. Through nutrigenomics, we identified changes in important transport proteins in the intestine that lead to increased mineral uptake into tissues when Bioplex zinc is used in poultry diets. In a similar fashion, we used nutrigenomics to understand why Sel-Plex® has a greater effect on reproduction than inorganic selenium. Traditional poultry nutrition studies were only able to reach the conclusion that it was due to selenium’s role in antioxidant defenses. However, nutrigenomics data confirmed this and, more importantly, indicated that selenium in the form of Sel-Plex could alter genes involved in energy production and reproductive signaling in the oviduct. In males, it made a clear impact on genes involved in tissue structure and function.

Early birds

Another area in which nutrigenomics is leading to a new understanding of the importance of nutrition is nutritional programming. This concept is the idea that nutrition, especially early in life, can have lasting imprints on an animal’s entire life. By understanding the gene expression patterns that are targeted by early life nutrition, we can begin to determine how this programming occurs and use it to our advantage in poultry production. For example, nutrigenomics studies have shown that changing the trace mineral content in the post-hatch diet can have long-term effects on genes in the gastrointestinal tract that are important for nutrient transport and for intestinal tissue structure. These genes remain changed in the adult bird weeks after the post-hatch period.

In the future, the information that nutrigenomics provides us could change the way we feed birds and make poultry nutrition a more precise field. Molecular findings can add to our understanding of how nutrition influences animal production and health and how we can use nutrition to get the best out of our animals. Nutrigenomics provides a way to know preciously what nutrients, timing of nutrients or combinations of nutrients are optimal. Through this information, we can not only streamline nutrition, but improve performance, efficiency and health.

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Trace minerals are essential to maintaining health and productivity in livestock animals. Traditionally, trace minerals were fed based on the minimum level required to overcome a deficiency symptom and not necessarily to promote productivity. Feeding adequate amounts and sources of trace minerals is essential to optimize production, health and feed costs and to minimize effects on the environment.

The growing uncertainties associated with trace mineral requirements and supply puts nutritionists in the dilemma of balancing the costs of either underfeeding or overfeeding trace minerals. A deficiency will impair health in dairy cows, leading to problems such as retained placenta and mastitis, and can decrease reproduction and lactation performance. On the other hand, excess supply will inflate feed costs and increase the risk of environmental pollution and toxicity, and it may also result in unwanted antagonistic interactions among minerals, leading to poor absorption.

Dietary trace minerals are supplied from feedstuffs and mineral supplements. The National Research Council (NRC) requirements are based on both sources of trace minerals, accounting for their absorption coefficients. Feed trace minerals usually have lower absorption coefficients compared with supplements. Furthermore, mineral supplements differ in their bioavailability. The NRC (2001) requirements appear to be adequate for most minerals, except for manganese and cobalt, for which new data suggests higher concentrations.

Inorganic minerals generally have lower bioavailability compared with organic minerals. Inorganic minerals become free in the rumen and can interact with other feed components. They can also bind to other minerals and pass through the gastrointestinal tract unabsorbed. Inorganic minerals may also include a source of contaminants, such as the heavy metals cadmium and lead. The presence of inorganic trace minerals in premix feeds can negatively affect the stability of enzymes and vitamins. To circumvent these bioavailability and absorption uncertainties, inorganic minerals are often supplemented at multiples of NRC requirements, which may further reduce their absorption and may reduce animal health and performance.

The Total Replacement Technology™ (TRT) mineral program at Alltech offers trace minerals (Bioplex®, Sel-Plex®) to provide highly available and traceable sources of minerals that support the animal’s requirements.

Most lactation diets will supply adequate to excessive amounts of iron, while other trace minerals will be supplied at amounts below NRC requirements, ranging from 40 percent to 85 percent. The TRT program should accommodate most situations but may need to be adjusted for specific situations in which extreme dietary concentrations are found. Regular assessment of trace mineral levels in forages is critical to building a more efficient mineral nutrition program.

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As much as we try to keep our pets healthy and protect them from illness, they can still get sick. Luckily, much like ours, your pet’s body has a built-in line of defense to fight pathogens that cause illness. Optimal selenium nutrition can help strengthen these defenses and enable your pet to fight its best battle against disease.

What happens when your pet is infected by a virus?

When your pet is exposed to a virus, their body launches a series of defense mechanisms that make up the immune system response. The immune system is responsible for identifying foreign intruders called pathogens that can cause disease and mounting a defense against them before they can make your pet sick. The immune system has two main components: the innate and the adaptive immune systems. The innate immune system is the first line of defense and includes barriers like skin and non-specific immune cells like macrophages, whose sole purpose is to attack at the site of infection. This general, non-specific immune response is a rapid onset, taking only a few hours.

But what happens if this isn’t enough and the virus or pathogen continues to infect? This is where the adaptive immune response kicks in. The components of this part of the immune system remain quiet until they are activated and adapt to the presence of the virus. The adaptive immune system is comprised of humoral, mediated by antibodies produced by B cells, and cell-mediated response, mediated by T cells. B cells make special proteins called antibodies that locate the virus and help the body destroy them. T cells, on the other hand, take a less direct route and form helper T cells and killer T cells. Killer T cells find and destroy viral-infected cells, while helper T cells coordinate the effort. The cells are destroyed and viral shedding to other cells is reduced.

To better help your pet during subsequent exposure, components of the adaptive immune system can produce memory cells. These cells “remember” the pathogen so when the same pathogen infects your pet again, the response is faster and stronger. The challenge with some viruses is that they mutate, causing small changes that make it so your pet’s body doesn’t recognize it as the same pathogen.

What role can organic selenium play in your pet’s health?  

Selenium is an essential trace mineral that is required in the diet of animals. Once consumed, selenium is incorporated into a family of proteins called selenoproteins. Selenoproteins are expressed in almost all tissues of the body and have vital biological roles. Selenoproteins function in hormone metabolism, redox regulation and antioxidant defenses. Selenium can be found in the diet in two primary forms: inorganic (a salt form) and organic (selenium yeasts).

You may wonder how your pet’s immune system, viruses and selenium relate. Selenium has two roles: maintaining proper function and strength of the immune system, and counteracting the oxidative damage associated with infection.

In chickens, selenium can reduce viral shedding and increase the expression of important anti-viral genes like interferons. In horses, selenium increases the expression of cytokines in immune cells. This link between selenium status and innate immune system function becomes clearer when you look at studies using selenium-deficient animals. These animals not only have higher pathogen loads, but they have reduced numbers of immune cells. The cells that are present do not function as properly as those of a normal animal. Luckily, these problems can be reversed simply by adding selenium back to the animal’s diet. At the adaptive immunity level, selenium can improve antibody production by B cells and accelerate T cell proliferation and total numbers.

Conclusion

A healthy immune system is your pet’s first line of defense against sickness and disease. If you remember when you were little, your mom might have said you have to “feed a cold.” While it might have sounded silly at the time, she wasn’t far off. Proper nutrition, especially selenium, is essential to make sure your body can fight off viral infections. The same is true for your dog or cat. No one likes when their pet gets sick, so ensuring they are eating a healthy diet containing optimal levels of selenium can help prevent this.

Sel-Plex^® is Alltech’s proprietary organic form of selenium yeast and is manufactured to mimic what is found in nature. Click here to learn more about Sel-Plex.

I want to learn more about pet nutrition.

Eggs have long been regarded as an excellent source of high-quality “complete” protein, as they contain all of the essential amino acids — dubbed “essential” because our bodies cannot synthesize them and we must get them from our diet.

But eggs are not only a great (and inexpensive!) source of protein; they have a high nutrient density, because they provide a number of nutrients in proportion to their calorie count. One egg has 13 essential vitamins and minerals in varying amounts, high-quality protein and antioxidants, all for just 70 calories.¹

Additionally, the enrichment of eggs has made it possible for consumers to get even more nutrition from each egg. Producers have begun increasing key nutrients — like selenium — in layer diets in order to increase the nutrient content of eggs. By increasing the amount of this essential mineral in the layer diet, farmers have the opportunity to naturally increase the nutritional value of the eggs that they produce.

What does this mean for consumers?

Selenium is nutritionally essential for humans — it plays a role in healthy reproduction and metabolism and may help maintain a strong immune system.^2-6 Selenium is also being studied for its potential role in reducing both the risk of cardiovascular disease and age-related decline in brain function. ^8-10  

Selenium-enriched eggs can help to fill the “nutritional gap” in our diets, delivering this essential nutrient through a food that’s delicious, inexpensive, readily accessible and easy to prepare. 

Sel-Plex® is Alltech's proprietary organic form of selenium yeast and is the first European Union-approved and only U.S. Food and Drug Administration-reviewed form of organic selenium. Sel-Plex is supported by more than 19 years of research and is now being used to enrich layer diets.

References:

1.  Egg Nutrition Center of the American Egg Board 2017
2. Sunde RA. Selenium. In: Ross AC, Caballero B, Cousins RJ, Tucker KL, Ziegler TR, eds. Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease. 11th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins; 2012:225-37
3. Sunde RA. Selenium. In: Bowman B, Russell R, eds. Present Knowledge in Nutrition. 9th ed. Washington, DC: International Life Sciences Institute; 2006:480-97
4. Rayman MP. Selenium and human health. Lancet 2012;379:1256-68.
5. Allen NE, Appleby PN, Roddam AW, Tjonneland A, Johnsen NF, Overvad K, et al. Plasma selenium concentration and prostate cancer risk: results from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). Am J Clin Nutr 2008;88:1567-75.
6. Combs GF, Jr and Gray WP. Chemopreventive agents: Selenium. Pharmacol Ther 1998; 79:179-92.
7. Dennert G, Zwahlen M, Brinkman M, Vinceti M, Zeegers MP, Horneber M. Selenium for preventing cancer. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2011:CD005195.
8. Rayman MP. Selenium and human health. Lancet 2012;379:1256-68.
9. Akbaraly TN, Hininger-Favier I, Carriere I, Arnaud J, Gourlet V, Roussel AM, et al. Plasma selenium over time and cognitive decline in the elderly. Epidemiology 2007;18:52-8.
10. Shahar A, Patel KV, Semba RD, Bandinelli S, Shahar DR, Ferrucci L, et al. Plasma selenium is positively related to performance in neurological tasks assessing coordination and motor speed. Mov Disord 2010;25:1909-15.

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A 20th century vision that was ahead of its time remains so today, some 30 years after its conception: The Alltech ACE principle is a corporate “North Star,” serving as a guide to a more sustainable, healthier world.

The “A” in ACE is all about the animal and innovating ways to balance highly efficient and profitable livestock production with the seemingly conflicting imperatives of environmental stewardship and consumer demand.

A focus on precision nutrition

Alltech’s animal health and nutrition business revolves around the science of nutrigenomics — how diet impacts genetics — and a quest for a better understanding of how to feed an animal to its specific genetic potential.

An Alltech researcher reviews markers of gene expression, which provide a better understanding of how changes in the diet affect animals at the genetic level.

“The more efficient that we can make these animals, the better off we are because we can get more meat, milk or eggs per pound of feed,” noted Dr. Kristen Brennan, a research project manager at the Alltech Center for Animal Nutrigenomics and Applied Animal Nutrition. “The focus of the nutrigenomics that we do is to understand how nutrition influences animals on a molecular level and how that can lead to changes that we see in production, health and well-being.”

Good for the animal, producer, environment and us

Intensive livestock operations produce large quantities of animal waste, which can include high levels of ammonia, nitrogen, phosphate and trace minerals. However, proper animal nutrition can minimize the levels and impacts of these pollutants.

Alltech scientists are working to develop products that reduce methane emissions while improving the efficiency of the animal.

“These products must reduce methane emissions from the rumen without negatively impacting rumen fermentation and negatively impacting either the milk production or growth of beef animals,” said Dr. Amanda Gehman, Alltech research project director.

Finding that balance is also a focus at Alltech-owned KEENAN, the Ireland-based manufacturer of advanced diet feeders and software products.

“What we’re all trying to do is to increase feed conversion efficiency (FCE) on the farm,” said Conan Condon, director of KEENAN's InTouch live review and support service. “We want to increase production while decreasing the intake of the animals. By doing that, you will increase your FCE and reduce your carbon footprint.”

For Alltech Chief Scientific Officer Dr. Karl Dawson, a significant and all-encompassing ACE milestone was reached when the company introduced Optigen®, a non-protein nitrogen source for ruminants.

“That had a tremendous impact in terms of what it would do for animal feeds,” said Dawson. “It not only improved animal performance, it changed the way nitrogen is utilized in cattle. It made nitrogen efficiency much greater, and you have less nitrogen in waste.

“Nitrogen in waste is the precursor to one of the major greenhouse gases, nitrous oxide, which is a stronger greenhouse gas than methane,” he continued. “You can reduce greenhouses gases using that technology.”

Healthy animals, healthy humans

Dawson is equally focused on addressing today’s widely held consumer concerns about the use of antibiotics in livestock production as a growth promotant. Alternative solutions are being found in enzyme technologies that are becoming the backbone of Alltech nutritional programs and technologies.

“We have systems that can induce the same types of changes that antimicrobials have induced using these enzymes and manipulating what’s going on in the digestion process,” he said. “As time goes on, that is going to be a real game-changer.”

The potential for using low levels of these enzymes as additions to feed can be as powerful as any of today’s antimicrobials, according to Alltech researchers.

“We’re producing alternatives to antibiotics in the diet that satisfy both the needs of the farmer and the production needs of the animal and also make the consumer happy because those compounds are omitted from the diet,” noted Brennan.

Environment and economics — must they be at odds?

Environmental sustainability has appeared to be at cross purposes with economic growth and development. Achieving high efficiency has been thought to come at the expense of the food-producing animal and the environment.

“In general business, those two things can be at odds, but in cattle — and in animal agriculture, in general — efficiency really is the name of the game as far as producing less waste, less environmental pollutants per unit of milk, beef or eggs,” said Gehman. “But it’s also the same efficiency that can be applied to profitability.

“In cattle, methane is an indicator of waste, not just to the animal but also to profitability, so if that animal is burning off energy as a waste product and we can make the animal more efficient so that she retains more of that energy, that can be environmentally sustainable as well as profitable for the farm,” she continued.

Dr. Amanda Gehman, Alltech research project director, evaluates a total mixed ration using the Alltech® In Vitro Fermentation Model, or IFM. Improving digestibility of the diet can have a significant effect on producer profitability and environmental sustainability.

Gehman is now investigating in vitro testing (using the Alltech® In Vitro Fermentation Model, or IFM) as a means of evaluating the digestibility of various forages.

“We’re making that a regular test in order to fine-tune the rations, to address problems as they come and also address any opportunities to use an undervalued feed,” she said.

Minerally minded

While Gehman and her colleagues study ways to optimize ruminant digestion, other Alltech researchers have been focusing on how producers can feed substantially fewer organic trace minerals than inorganic trace minerals and get similar, if not better, performance.

Dr. Karl Dawson, vice president and chief scientific officer at Alltech, works with ICP-MS, instrumentation used to measure the proportion of minerals in feed or food samples and their distribution in biological matrices, animal tissues or human biological fluids. Methods such as ICP-MS are routinely used by Alltech researchers as they seek to define the true mineral requirements of animals.

The company’s mineral management program, Total Replacement Technology™ (TRT), has been at the forefront of a transition from inorganic trace minerals that are not efficiently digested — and even banned in some countries — to feeding reduced levels of organic minerals that animals can better utilize, reducing environmental pollution.

Steve Elliott, global director of the Alltech® Mineral Management team, said the company’s scientists are also looking at the interaction of trace minerals with other components in the diet, such as enzymes, vitamins and antioxidants.

“We’ve found that trace minerals can have a very negative impact on those other diet components,” said Elliott. “Research has now shown that, by using organic trace minerals, we avoid some of that conflict or interaction, thus allowing those other components to do what they’re put into the diet to do.”

Ending the reliance on fish oil and fish meal

Some methods of aquaculture have a very high environmental impact. A common sustainability problem in animal and aquaculture diets is the nutritional requirement of fish oil or fish meal, which is typically from wild fish.

The problem with fish oil — and this really goes to sustainability and the ACE principle — is that fish oil and fish meal demand have been increasing. Fisheries around the world are at capacity, and fishing more out of them risks collapsing them. The alternative is aquaculture, but in that case, there is not enough algae in the spaces that the fish occupy. You’re feeding the fish, and at this point, the ratio of conversion is that you have to 'squeeze' one fish to get enough fish oil to feed one fish. With demand increasing, that’s not sustainable, long-term.

Dr. Jorge Arias, Alltech’s global director for aquaculture, is optimistic about algae as an answer.

“We believe we have a real solution in our algae that will reduce reliance on fish oil while increasing the amount of DHA available to farmed fish and, ultimately, to consumers,” he said.

Sustainable seafood

To further address issues of fish farming, the Alltech Coppens Aqua Centre recently opened in Valkenswaard, the Netherlands.

“This is a brand-new knowledge hub for the development of innovative fish nutrition solutions to tackle both the present and future challenges facing the aquaculture industry,” said John Sweetman, Alltech's European technical manager for aquaculture.

Those methods include products derived from microalgae that are fully safe, sustainable and traceable, while providing the nutritious DHA previously supplied by fish oils.

ACE-ing animal health and nutrition

Alltech takes a holistic approach to animal health and nutrition, mindful of what is best not only for the producer, but also the ruminant, fowl or fish that feed a growing population and the planet they all call home. This article has touched on but a few of the many products, programs and concepts provided by the global Alltech research and development community to live out its ACE principle commitment

Next in our series will be the “C” in ACE: the consumer. We’ll look at the many ways Alltech strives to respond to the expectations of the information-seeking “prosumer” of the 21st century.

Read ACE-ing sustainability: Part I, the environment.

Mineral needs in modern dairy diets

Most dairy research tends to focus on protein and energy needs, and minerals are often overlooked. Yet, when we fail to consider the role of minerals, problems can arise, including interferences or interactions with minerals in feed and water.

Mineral types

• Zinc:
  • Essential to more than 200 enzyme systems at work in the animal, such as carbohydrate and energy metabolism, protein synthesis, nucleic acid metabolism, epithelial integrity, cell repair and division and utilization of vitamins A and E
  • Needed for development/function of the immune system and critical to the cellular function of cells, including heterophils, basophils, macrophages and T-lymphocytes
  • Essential in wound healing
  • Critical to reproduction because of its involvement in sexual maturity, reproductive capacity and semen quality
• Copper
  • Component of immune system enzymes
  • Necessary to increase structural health and elasticity of connective tissue and blood vessels as well as increase strength of bone
  • Needed for metabolism of iron and maturation of red blood cells
• Manganese
  • Cofactor for enzymes in the metabolism of carbohydrates, fats, proteins and nucleic acids
  • Essential for normal brain function
  • Involved in the formation of collagen, bone growth, urea formation, fatty acid synthesis, cholesterol synthesis and protein digestion
  • Important for proper immune function and wound healing
• Selenium
  • Critical to proper enzyme function and cellular antioxidant systems
  • Involved in muscle contraction and immune functions
  • Important for reproduction

Form defines function

Understanding the difference between organic and inorganic minerals is important. When we look closely at organic minerals, or minerals with a carbon structure such as Bioplex®, they are in the same form that we would find in corn, grain or forages. In other words, they are similar to the minerals stored in plants.

Bioplex minerals are produced by replicating plant material in a patented manufacturing process, which chelates the minerals onto amino acids and peptides. Bioplex and Sel-Plex® trace minerals provide mineral nutrition in the forms most similar to those present naturally in food and feed ingredients.

Why not just supplement with more inorganics?

There are various issues that can arise when using inorganic minerals due to their lower biological activity, including associated environmental concerns. Various research studies have demonstrated that over-fortification of trace minerals can elevate antibiotic resistance in swine operations as bacteria like Salmonella develop tolerance to high levels of copper and zinc.

Inorganic minerals can have various mineral interactions, and they can serve as antagonists that can interfere with normal biological processes. Examples include:

• High levels of calcium and phosphorus can reduce manganese utilization by up to 65 percent (Wedekind and Baker, 1990; Baker and Oduho, 1994).
• Excess manganese itself impairs utilization of iron (Baker and Halpin, 1991).
• Excess zinc has an antagonistic effect on copper and manganese (Vohra and Heil, 1969).

Total replacement in dairy heifers: The research support behind Bioplex

When comparing supplementing Bioplex minerals to sulfate forms of minerals in a study done by Pino and Heinrichs, published in the 2016 Journal of Dairy Science, Bioplex diets included fewer trace minerals yet showed an increase in total volatile fatty acid and butyrate concentrations, due to an acceleration of rumen organism replication. The dairy heifers also spent less time eating, indicating that Bioplex minerals had improved palatability.

There are other examples of Bioplex’s effect:

• In 1993, a study done in Missouri determined that Bioplex Zn® supplemented at 800 milligrams per day led to a reduction in the number of new mastitis infections.

• In 2007, a study done by Kinal showed that Bioplex trace minerals reduced somatic cell counts, and the same study showed that there was more milk produced in the first 60 days of lactation when using Bioplex.
• A study done by Scaletti and Harmon in 2012 showed a reduction in E. coli levels in milk as well as an increase in milk production.

The research support behind Sel-Plex

In a study done by Silvestre and Thatcher in 2006, cows supplemented with Sel-Plex showed improvements in immune function, adaptive immunity, cervical discharge scores and pregnancy rates.

The adage that “form defines function,” especially when it comes to minerals, is both important and true. Alltech continues to carry out research across the world to prove the impact of organic minerals on herd health and performance.

For more information on Bioplex and Sel-Plex, click here.

To listen to the full webinar with Roger Scaletti, Ph.D. click on the button below.

Click here to watch the webinar

Tom:                            Steve Elliott is the global director of the mineral management team at Alltech. He has 25 years of experience in the feed industry, 20 of them with Alltech. He joins us to talk about advances in the nutrition of farm animals that figure into our food chain. Thank you for being with us.

Steve:                          Absolutely.

Tom:                            Your present focus is on how organic trace minerals can improve the health and performance of livestock. What have you found?

Steve:                          Trace minerals are essential nutrients. In other words, animals must receive them every day in their diet. We found that by providing them in an organic form, we can meet the requirements and do so with much lower fortification levels in the diet. We can have a lower mineral concentration, less mineral excretion into the environment and less interaction with other components in the diet. There are a lot of advantages to looking at the natural way of providing trace elements.

Tom:                            Which trace minerals are key to improve livestock performance?

Steve:                          Most people will be familiar with zinc, copper and manganese, but there has been a lot of work on selenium over the last 15 years. Many parts of the United States are selenium deficient. By utilizing an organic form of selenium, we can raise the selenium status in the animals, thus improving their immunity, reproductive efficiency, etc.

                                    We can also fortify consumer diets with selenium by fortifying meat, milk and eggs, transferring selenium from the animal’s diet into the protein.

Tom:                            And just out of curiosity, where do you find selenium?

Steve:                          Selenium is one of those essential trace elements. It’s mined out of the earth. But at Alltech, we found a natural way of producing selenium: We take yeast and add selenium to the fermentation, and we can get the yeast to take it up and store it in an organic form. It’s much safer for the animal, safer for the people mixing the feeds and safer for the environment.

Tom:                            And which, in your opinion, is best: inorganic or organic minerals? Does it matter?

Steve:                          Yes, I believe it does matter. In nature, animals get all their minerals organically. We’ve supplemented with inorganic trace minerals for 50 or 60 years because they were an inexpensive alternative. Obviously, organic is a safer way of improving trace mineral status in the animals. We can do it in a form with fewer contaminants such as heavy metals, dioxins and PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) — things we’re concerned about passing into the food chain. We can avoid that by using organic trace minerals.

Tom:                            You’ve noted that research from around the world is influencing regional regulatory decision-making with the goal of improving the agrifood sector. Can you elaborate on that, and is this goal being achieved?

Steve:                          Yes, particularly on the mineral side. For example, the European Union reduced the acceptable amount of minerals fed to animals because of water pollution concerns. Japan has recently moved legislation on lowered levels of zinc and copper to address pollution concerns as well. Korea has done the same. One of the main initiatives in China is lowering levels of trace minerals in the feed. There is almost no potable water left in China due to pollution, particularly from pig farms.

                                    I think there are a lot of initiatives driving producers to look at alternatives to trace mineral fortification. That’s where Alltech is ahead of the game. We’ve been looking at organic alternatives for over 20 years. I think we have a very good understanding of the mineral requirements of animals and the optimum levels at which we can meet them. 

Tom:                            Let’s talk about the Brazilian Food Guide, which appears to be quite disruptive. What is it, and why is it noteworthy?

Steve:                         Brazil reestablished levels in what they call their Table 4. Table 4 was a system set up by the government to ensure that farmers put adequate fortification in their livestock’s diets. The government does not want feed companies to cheat producers by not providing enough nutrition in the diet. The initial acceptable mineral levels put into that guideline were exceedingly high. We can achieve lower levels by feeding organic trace minerals.

                                    So Alltech, in coordination with major universities in Brazil and professors on the regulatory board, conducted research over the last several years showing that, when you feed the organic form of trace minerals, you can feed or fortify the diets at a much lower mineral level.

                                    The Brazilian government has incorporated these levels in the new guidelines, which now say that if you’re going to use organic forms, you can go well below the old Table 4 levels, thus allowing producers to improve the performance of their animals while lessening environmental contamination.

Tom:                            The guide blatantly warns people about food advertisements, noting that the purpose of these ads is to increase sales, not to improve public health. How is that advice being received in the industry?

Steve:                          There’s a lot of misinformation that goes out in some of these ads. From a food quality standpoint or fortification standpoint, we’ve done a lot of work with the Brazilian government on fortification or enrichment of milk, for example, particularly with selenium. You feed selenium to the animal, it passes into the milk, and you then raise the selenium status of the people consuming that milk. We’ve done that with Brazilian school children, and we found that as we improve their selenium status, their cognitive ability, or their ability to pay attention in school, was improved as well as their immune status.

                                    There are a lot of good things we can do with fortifying foods, but there’s a lot of misinformation out there as well. I think the public should be careful and really look at the science behind some of these claims.

Tom:                            And how can the Brazilian guide serve as a model in the agrifood industry?

Steve:                          I think in the United States and globally, many people rely on the NRC, which is the National Research Council. The NRC reviews research every five or six years and then establishes guidelines on nutrient fortification levels for production species. Most guidelines were established using old ingredients. For example, inorganic trace minerals.

                                    Brazil and other countries are starting to accept that there is a better way of doing things by using organic minerals. By doing so, it’s going to help the environment and we can fortify diets at a significantly lower mineral level. I think because of the revised Brazilian tables that were recently published, Canada is now talking about revising their tables as well.  

                                    We’re hopeful that the next time the NRC reviews production species in the United States, they will take a closer look at organic forms of nutrients, particularly those that Alltech makes.

Tom:                            So, to bring this all the way down to the food chain, how does the adoption of the Brazilian guide affect the average consumer’s dinner table?

Steve:                          I don’t know that there is much effect on a consumer’s dinner table. Consumers should rest assured that the Brazilian government is taking a step forward by looking at natural alternatives — not just using the old standards that were used for many years — and not be concerned because the mineral levels have decreased. There’s good science for decreasing those levels: We can clean up the environment, and animals perform better at lower mineral levels in the right form. The consumer can rest assured that Brazil is taking a leading-edge approach by looking at natural feed additives.

Tom:                            Steve, what do you enjoy most about your work?

Steve:                          I’ve had the opportunity to travel the world; I’ve been to over 100 countries. I get to deal with the best food producers, the best producers of animal protein in the world. And I get to learn something new every day.

Tom:                            Steve Elliott, the global director of the mineral management team at Alltech. We thank you for your time.

Steve:                          Thank you.

I would like more information on organic trace minerals. 

Every producer knows that when a beef cow is healthy, her calf has a much better chance of being healthy, too. Trace mineral nutrition is key for maintaining healthy cattle at all life stages. Colostrum quality, calf weight and immune function are among the many benefits from supplementing organic trace minerals in cattle. A study done in 2017 at the University of Florida and published in The Professional Animal Scientist evaluated the response of 160 Angus (AN) and Brangus (BN) cows and their calves to inorganic (ING) or organic (ORG) trace mineral sources.

About the study

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the difference in performance and benefits provided by feeding organic trace minerals versus inorganic trace minerals to cattle on pasture. Beef cows supplemented with organic trace minerals received cobalt, copper, manganese and zinc in the form of Bioplex^® and selenium in the form of Sel-Plex^®. Beef cows supplemented with inorganic trace mineral products received them as sulfates and sodium selenite, respectively.

The level of mineral supplementation also varied between treatment groups:

• In the pelleted feed, the organic trace mineral treatment included 25% less copper, 13% less manganese and 29% less zinc compared to the inorganic trace mineral treatment.
• In the free-choice mineral, the organic trace mineral treatment included 45% less copper, 32% less manganese and 46% less zinc than the inorganic trace mineral treatment.

The best mineral strategy for cattle is one that fits within the producer’s operation, based on their animal requirements and budget and the benefits provided from that mineral product. Organic trace minerals, such as Bioplex and Sel-Plex, are more bioavailable and, as a result, can be added at much lower inclusion rates than the traditional inorganic sources, which not only benefits the environment but, ultimately, the health, well-being, reproductive performance and growth of the animals as well.

Effects of trace mineral source on colostrum

The University of Florida trial revealed that colostrum from lactating cows supplemented with organic trace mineral supplement sources contained 29% more immunoglobulin M (IgM mg/dL) antibodies compared to cows supplemented with inorganic trace minerals (P= 0.07). Cows supplemented with the organic trace mineral sources Bioplex and Sel-Plex also demonstrated significantly higher levels of selenium measured in colostrum —and Angus cows specifically had twice as much selenium compared to their inorganic counterparts (P ≤ 0.001).

The study results also showed that the somatic cell counts (SCC) of the colostrum from Angus cows fed organic trace minerals were 67% lower than the SCC of the colostrum from cows fed inorganic trace minerals. Additionally, Brangus cows fed organic trace minerals had 14.6% lower SCC compared to cows fed inorganic trace minerals.

Effects of maternal mineral nutrition on calf weight and antibody levels

As the study progressed, the researchers at the University of Florida observed that calves from cows fed the organic trace mineral sources (Bioplex and Sel-Plex) showed a statistically significant increase in their average daily gains, weaning weights and 205-day adjusted body weights compared to calves fed inorganic trace mineral sources (P ≤ 0.01).

Calves from cows who were supplemented with Bioplex- and Sel-Plex- had 205-day adjusted body weights that were, on average, 22 pounds heavier compared to the weights of calves from cows that were provided with inorganic sources (P ≤ 0.01). Specifically, Angus calves supplemented with Bioplex and Sel-Plex minerals were 33 pounds heavier (205-day adjusted weaning weights) compared to calves from Angus cows supplemented with inorganic trace mineral sources.

The researchers also measured immunoglobulin levels and found that the immunoglobulin A (IgA mg/dL) antibody measurements for calves from cows supplemented with organic trace minerals Bioplex and Sel-Plex demonstrated a statistically significant (40.5%) increase in calf serum 24 hours after colostrum consumption compared to calves from cows provided with inorganic trace mineral sources (P = 0.04).

Bioplex^® offers a range of trace minerals that provide mineral nutrition in a form as close to nature as possible. Bioplex minerals are trace minerals that are bound to amino acids and a range of peptides. They are easily absorbed and readily metabolized, optimizing animal performance. Bioplex trace minerals (including zinc, manganese, copper, iron and cobalt*) are co-factors in the enzymes that are critical for the animal’s defense system, growth and reproduction. Learn more about Bioplex here.

Sel-Plex^® is Alltech’s proprietary organic form of selenium yeast. It is an excellent dietary source of selenium and is manufactured to mimic the selenium found in nature. The selenium in Sel-Plex is safer and better able to meet the higher requirements of livestock raised for rapid growth, reproductive performance and health. Learn more about Sel-Plex here.

I want to learn more about nutrition for my beef cattle.

Your livestock depend on you. Performance depends on the right mineral.

Do it right with the Alltech^® Mineral Management program for better absorption, less waste and optimum health.

Mineral management is more than just preventing deficiencies. 

Incorrect mineral supplementation can have major consequences on animal health and productivity. Traditional methods of supplementation have used inorganic minerals. However, inorganic minerals are poorly absorbed by the animal. This has caused a shift to organic mineral supplementation in many markets.

Break with tradition and feed your animals the modern way.

Alltech has proven that organic trace minerals in the form of Bioplex^® and Sel-Plex^® can be included at significantly lower levels while improving animal performance. This optimizes animal mineral requirements and reduces negative environmental impacts. We call this innovation Alltech’s Total Replacement Technology™ (TRT).

The Alltech Mineral Management program guarantees organic minerals that are better absorbed, stored and utilized by the animal. This meets the higher nutrient needs of modern livestock for growth, reproductive performance and animal health.

Contact us for more information