PH12017050021A1 - An organic formulation of synbiotics for the avian and monogastric digestive systems - Google Patents

Abstract

This invention relates to the production of liquid synbiotics which are microbial-based health-providing supplements that contains probiotics and prebiotics in a synergistic blend for the avian and monogastric digestive systems, which include those of poultry and swine, respectively. The invention is novel in the Philippine setting because there are no synbiotics yet in the market that I have come across to date. The common product sold presently are probiotics that cater to gamefowls and not to a wide coverage, with good testimonials, for the monogastric digestive systems. It has been a common practice for many decades in the livestock industry to use sub-therapeutic doses of antibiotics in food-animal feeds and drinking water not only for the purpose of preventing animals from contracting diseases but also to improve their growth and breeding performances. Several studies however have shown that using antibiotics other than its intended purpose (i.e., to treat illnesses), have detrimental or bad effects in the long run on the health and safety of consumers and the environment. Instead of "preventing" illnesses, antibiotic-resistant bacteria have emerged and there are concerns that they are continuously increasing over time. There are already efforts to develop alternatives to AGPs(i.e, Antimicrobial Growth Promotants) and one of them is to use synbiotics.

Description

Synbiotics enhance the gut microflora of the host animal for improved digestion and maximum absorption of nutrients, the result of which promotes the rapid growth of the host animal measured technically - in animal husbandry - as Feed Conversion Ratio or FCR.

By definition, FCR is the ratio expressing the weight of food required to produce a unit weight gain in the live-weight of an animal. Ideally, the number should be low. For Poultry broilers, for example, ideal FCR should be within the range 1.2 to 1.9, and for pigs, 3.8 to 4.5. The lower

FCR value in the range, the better the grow, economically.

Based on studies, 80 percent of the immune system is located in the digestive system. So if the gut microflora is healthy, so is the immune system of the animal is enhanced against illnesses and diseases.

There are about 600 to 800 strains of digestive bacteria in the gut of which most of them are beneficial and very few are pathogenic. Based on studies, there are ten times more bacterial cells in the intestinal track of animals alone than there are body cells in a normal animal species. Being so, the healthier the gut is, so is the animal.

Everything that is ingested as food goes through the digestive system for digestion through enzymatic action and absorption of nutrients, vitamins and minerals. What are taken as food could make the animal either healthy or unhealthy.

As with humans, animals are also exposed to thousands of toxins and unhealthy chemicals on a daily basis. These are taken in from food and water acquired from the environment and from supplements, which are given to the animals. These toxins and unhealthy chemicals create an imbalance in the digestive microflora, weaken the digestive system and lead to poor digestion and nutrient absorption, low energy, poor weight gain, diarrhea, weak bones, etc.

The formulation contains probiotic microbes common to all types of digestive systems and have so far been used for the avian digestive system (e.g., all types of chickens, turkeys, quails, geese, doves, parrots and ostrich), monogastric digestive system (e.g., pigs, dogs, cats, guinea pigs).

Over time, studies have proven that the unregulated use of antibiotics to prevent illnesses have created more damage than good because the bacteria which should be “prevented” from causing illness have mutated to become resistive. The host animals have become harder to cure at the time they really get ill. The use of a more potent antibiotic therefore will have to be used to kill the resistant strain of bacteria. The unending trend goes on and on, affecting not only the health of host animal but the consumers and the environment as well.

AGPs, based on studies, have shown that they actually diminish and affect the microbial balance in the microbiota of the digestive system.

Such microbial balance is responsible for digestion and absorption of nutrients from food ingested. With inefficient digestion and nutrient absorption, more health-supplements will have to be given to the growing animal to meet its nutritional requirements. The sad part is that the un-digested feed and un-absorbed nutrients are excreted to become food for fly larvae and rich base for ammonia, methane and hydrogen sulfide gases instead of being converted to body mass of the animal.

Another benefit with the use of synbiotics is that with good digestion and nutrient absorption, animal dung does not have too much odor- causing bacteria because excess beneficial microbes from the gut also go with the excreted manure. The beneficial microbes continuously decompose the manure without emitting foul odors.

Both flies and foul odors are major concerns in intensive animal culture systems.

Another feature of the product is that when applied unto animal manures, it is capable of fermenting the same such that the litter turns acidic and gets hotter at more than 40 degrees centigrade, and, thus, un-attractive to flies to lay their eggs on, dries up faster emitting CO2 and disintegrading ammonia gas into its basic component gases which are nitrogen or N2 and oxygen, 02, which are both odor-free.

The production process is basically mixing of ingredients and fermentation to allow anaerobic microbes to proliferate and in the process produce enzymes, vitamins and minerals out of the ingredients.

The formulation is basically a fermented concoction of about 80% by weight of water, 10 % carbohydrates (starches and sugars), 2% salt, 7%

Vermitea or worm casting and balance, 1% for Kefir, fermented products and yogurts.

In summary, the primordial objectives of this invention are: #1. To offer a safer and healthier alternative to AGPs that would, in the long run, be beneficial to both raisers and consumers. #2. To make food-animal farming more economically viable for both small and big-scale farmers because with healthier digestive system,

FCR (Feed Conversion Ratio) is improved, use of costly antibiotics and supplements will be reduced to as needed basis only. #3. To produce healthier and safer food-animals free of antibiotic residues in their meat, and, for chickens, both meat and eggs. #4. To ensure that communities near food-animal houses and farms will not be bothered by odor and flies.

SPECIFICATION

This invention relates to the production of liquid synbiotics for the avian and monogastric digestive systems that includes those of poultry and swine, respectively.

Synbiotics are microbial-based health-providing supplements that contains probiotics and prebiotics. However, during its manufacture, incidental health-providing amino acids, enzymes, vitamins and minerals are also produced in the microbial action process.

Probiotics can be defined as live micro-organisms which, when administered in adequate amounts, confer health benefits on the animal. It is a coined term which means “for life”. It is composed basically of preparations of beneficial microorganisms that have been used for hundreds of years in food production that is why they are generally accepted as safe. Examples of probiotic preparations are yogurts, sauerkrauts, kimchi, natto, miso, tempeh and kefir. The microorganisms in these food preparations reside in the gut that aid in the digestion and absorption of nutrients from food ingested.

Prebiotics, on the other hand, are defined as selectively fermented ingredients that allow specific changes - both in the composition and in the activity of the gastrointestinal microflora - which confer benefits upon the hosts’ well-being and health. Prebiotics are fibrous starches and sugars that serve as microbial food necessary for life and proliferation of indigenous bacteria in the gastro-intestinal track.

With this formulation, therefore, antibiotics may not be abused anymore as AGPs.

Synbiotics enhance gut health for improved digestion and absorption of nutrients from feeds and health supplements that are being provided to the animal. Co

With unhealthy digestive systems, food materials are incompletely digested and nutrients are inefficiently absorbed and these form part of animal excretes that is not only high in nitrogen content but too nutritious for fly larva to feast on.

The problem with animal manure odor that has high in nitrogen content is that it attracts flies known to carry numerous bacteria and viruses that cause illnesses or, worse, mortality not only to animals but to humans as well.

As manure fall and left underneath the animal houses in intensive culture, decomposition gases, namely carbon dioxide, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, methane, etc, remain health hazards to both animal and the livestock raiser.

Preventing odor to reach hazardous levels requires multi-factorial approaches that include, among others, good ventilation, physical collection of manure, litter moisture control (i.e., by preventing water leakages and wet manures through good digestion and efficient nutrient absorption by a healthy gut).

This formulation addresses, therefore, foul odors coming from animal excretes that goes along with raising animals whether in close confinement or otherwise.

PROCEDURE OF PRODUCTION

All of the above mixtire, except Sugar, Vermitea and Kefipare mixed to the water and allowed to sit for 10 days under covered container.

Observe that as the days go by, the mixture becomes cloudy with the formation of froth-like white molds on the top of surface of water.

Aerobic indigenous bacteria are collected and allowed to proliferate in the mixture. ty patch

On the 11% day, @ll remaining ingredientéare added and the mixture is allowed to anaerobically ferment further for two more weeks; afterwhich, mixture is ready for sampling and/or bottling.

Samples are submitted for Lactic Acid Bacteria count at the University of the Philippines, Natural Sciences Research Institute. Please see (EXHIBIT B for the micro analysis result.)

Probiotics are basically Lactic Acid Bacteria of the subgenera

Lactobacillus, Streptococcus, Enterococcus and Pediococcus that is also present in yogurts and other fermented products.

The presence of probiotics or alive microbes are measured in colony- forming units per milliliters of volume, expressed in cfu/ml.

To prolong the life of bottled synbiotics, they should be kept away from direct sunlight and/or heat and should not be shaken because warm conditions and frequent shaking activate the microbes that have been sleeping in harmony. While awake, the microbes will eat up the amount of food (i.e., prebiotics) provided in the bottle not only for them but also for the gut microbes indigenous to the host animal once the liquid product is administered through food or drinking water.

As the microbes eat, they release carbon dioxide in the process, thus the bloating of the bottle container.

Another important measure after bottling is to always keep bottle tightly closed to avoid contamination of unwanted microbes. Air contains airborne spores of microbes that could infiltrate the probiotics solution because of the presence of microbial food (i.e., prebiotics).

HOW TO ADMINISTER THE

SYNBIOTICS

For Avian Digestive Systems:

The symbiotic product is mixed with water at a ratio of 30 ml to a gallon and given to the animal upon hatch or at day zero (0) to immediately proliferate their almost sterile digestive system with the right bacteria.

Incubator-hatched chicks do not have access to the right gut bacteria that is accessible to their naturally-hatched cousins which are nurtured from egg brooding to hatching up to the time that the chicks could live separately on their own.

The maternal microbes coming from mother hen make the chicks highly immune to bacterial illnesses because of the antibodies which they develop at the very young age. The right gut bacteria is also passed on to the chicks when they ingest fecal remains from mother hen.

As the chicks grow, they are subjected to several stressors to include noise, extreme heat, humidity and cold, deprivation of food or drinking water, vaccination, foul odor and change of feed formula. These stressors somewhat disturb their intestinal microflora and if not addressed immediately could lead to loss in daily weight gain because of poor appetite and in-efficient digestion and nutrient absorption of ingested animal feed.

It is highly recommended that a daily dose of 15 ml per gallon of water given at least 4 hours will ensure a well-functioning digestive system, a healthy chicken life free from illness through their productive laying and breeding till harvest or maturity.

For Monogastric Digestive System:

The most critical period in a pig’s life is during weaning and that is from birth till about 2 to 3 weeks of age and continues to be so until 2 months old. During this time, although the piglets are being nursed by their mother sow, the intensive system of growing them in confinement is stressful for the piglet. It is also during the first 3 weeks of life that their digestive system is undergoing rapid development as they learn to eat solid food slowly away from suckling milk.

Some feed ingredient may be indigestible to the piglets because they still lack the capability of producing digestive enzymes yet. It is during this period that mortality of piglets is high because if piglets are many and mother sow could not sustain the milk requirements of her piglets some die due to starvation.

At stressful situations, the piglets’ gut microflora gets out of balance and it is during this period that pathogenic bacteria thrive to cause enteric illnesses, which includes diarrhea (scouring) and the dreaded

Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea (PED) in commercial swine operations. In severe cases, pigs die due to dehydration.

Studies show that on a commercial farrow-to-finish pig farms, sows that have been supplemented with probiotic from two weeks before “expected farrowing to weaning showed statistically significant 42% reduction in piglet pre-weaning mortality. The piglets acquire their first intestinal microorganisms from their mother sow’s fecal matter and such microorganisms colonize their gut for better feed digestion and healthier immune system.

Other studies also show that after weaning, or transfer to the nursery for finishing, piglets that were supplemented with probiotics have higher average daily weight gain than their no-probiotic supplement counterparts.

For sows and post-weaning pigs, the synbiotics is also provided via drinking water at 30 ml per gallon.