Chickens for Fattening Tolerate Nonanoic Acid Added to Diet at Levels up to 1000 mg/kg Feed Feed Additive Conference Frankfurt, Germany 29 September 2017 Loretta Hunter Global Compliance Director, Anitox Corp.
Overview Need for Technical Additives Chemical Flavourings-Potential Source for New Uses Nonanoic Acid-Preservative Potential Tolerance Study in Chickens for Fattening Conclusions
Search for New Uses for Existing Additives Need to expand toolkit for feed producers as global demand for food and feed increases Ingredient Efficacy (preservatives, feed hygiene enhancers, antioxidants, etc.) Feed Matrices Differences Species Differences Storage Condition Differences Cost Sensitive Ingredients Supply Chain Issues Sustainability Regulatory Restrictions
Flavourings-Potential for Expanded Uses Large number of compounds grouped by chemical structures History of use in animal feed (800+ substances submitted for EFSA evaluation) EFSA Opinions based on categories of chemical groups E.g.: Chemical Group 1 (86 substances including nonanoic acid) Data often extrapolated between species Literature supports additional technical uses for many of these compounds: antimicrobial preservatives, antioxidants, feed hygiene enhancers
Taste perception in different species Cattle 25,000 Taste buds Swine 19,000 Taste buds Poultry taste perception is less developed than in mammals Humans 9,000 Taste buds Dogs 1,700 Taste buds Chickens 240-360 Taste buds
Much Unknown about Flavour Thresholds for Poultry Lower perception than mammals Fewer total taste receptor genes Sweet taste receptor missing Fewer bitter taste receptors Majority of taste buds on palate and base of oral cavity rather than tongue Recommended usage levels for flavourings based on data from other species
Structure and properties of Nonanoic Acid Nonanoic Acid Chemical Group 1 Flavourings Appearance: Colourless to pale yellow clear oily liquid Organoleptic Properties: Waxy, cheesy odour. Fatty, waxy, cheesy taste Molecular Formula: C 9 H 18 O 2 CAS No. 112-05-0
Nonanoic Acid & Preservative Effects in Literature Antimicrobial & antifungal effects reported Naturally occurring presence in numerous plants Putative mechanism of action via disruption of cell membranes Literature Examples The Inhibitory Action of Fatty Acids on the Growth of Escherichia coli. Journal of General Microbiology (1975), 91, 233-240. J. P. Fay and R. N. Farias. Nonanoic Acid, a Fungal Self-Inhibitor, Prevents Germination of Rhizopus oligiosporus Sporangiospores by Dissipation of the ph Gradient. American Society of Microbiology (1997), 63, 178-185. Breeuwer et al. Trichoderma harzianum produces nonanoic acid, an inhibitor of spore germination and mycelial growth of two cacao pathogens. Physiological and Molecular Plant Pathology (2005), 67, 304 307. Aneja et al.
EFSA Opinion on Chemical Group 1 For All Animal Species Applying a safety factor of 100 (for interspecies and intraspecies variability) to this value, following the EFSA Guidance for sensory additives (EFSA, 2012a), and an additional factor of two due to the extrapolation of the study to different compounds for which no study was provided, the maximum safe feed intake and thus the maximum safe feed concentration for the different target species was derived.
Safety Assessments Expanding uses of additives requires safety assessments for the intended use Differences in dosages & intake expected for different uses Species specific tolerance trials with safety parameters needed Growth parameters (ADG, FCR, EPEF, Mortality) Blood Biochemistry Hematology Histopathology
Target Dosages Nonanoic Acid as Preservative Literature reviews and laboratory screenings indicated a target dose in feed of 100 mg/kg for preservative effects This is 10x recommended maximum for all species flavouring use of 10 mg/kg Limited published data on safety in poultry at this level Study designed to assess tolerance of chickens for fattening (broilers) at increased levels
Experimental Parameters Day-old male and female Ross 308 chicks fed 2-phase mash diet for 42 days Corn-soybean meal based diet free of any antibiotics, probiotics, performance enhancers, enzymes or acidifiers Observations of growth, body weight, feed intake, feed efficiency on days 1, 7, 21, and 42 Necropsy and Histopathology on day 42 (1 bird per replicate) Blood Hematology and biochemistry on day 42 (1 bird per replicate) Daily health and well being evaluations
Pen Feeding Trial Nonanoic Acid (NA) x22 Ross 308 chicks per pen Control (0 mg/kg NA) 100 mg/kg NA 300 mg/kg NA 500 mg/kg NA 1000 mg/kg NA x10 replicates x10 replicates x10 replicates x10 replicates x10 replicates A total of 50 pens (10 replicates of each treatments). 1,100 chicks.
Effect of treatment on average daily gain (ADG, g/d), average daily feed intake (ADFI, g/d), feed conversion ratio (FCR, g/g), European Production Efficiency Factor (EPEF) and mortality (%) for the whole trial (0-42 days) 1 SEM: Standard error of the mean (n: number of observations). 2 Different superscript letters in the same column show statistical differences (a-b, P 0.05; x-y, 0.05 < P 0.10). Trend for improved ADG, ADFI, FCR, and EPEF over trial period with NA
Effect of treatment on haematology (red series) parameters at the end of the trial Haematology, red series RBC: red blood cells; HBG: haemoglobin; HCT: haematocrit; MCV: mean corpuscular volume; MCH: mean corpuscular haemoglobin; MCHC: mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration. 1 SEM: standard error of the mean (n: number of observations). 2 Different superscript letters in the same column show statistical differences (x-y, 0.05 < P 0.10).
Effect of treatment on haematology (white series) at the end of the trial WBC Differential, White series WBC: white blood cells. 1 SEM: standard error of the mean (n: number of observations).
Effect of treatment on blood biochemistry (metabolites) at the end of the trial 1 SEM: standard error of the mean (n: number of observations).
Effect of treatment on histopathology of duodenum 1 Grade 1: mild; grade 2: moderate; grade 3: severe.
Effect of treatment on histopathology of liver 1 Grade 0: none; grade 1: mild; grade 2: moderate; grade 3: severe.
Conclusions At dosages up to 1000 mg/kg,nonanoic acid was welltolerated by broilers over study period No significant adverse changes in any parameters tested over global fattening period, but trend for improved growth, FCR, and EPEF Additional studies in other species on-going Additional studies on preservative effects in feed on-going
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