Italian firm exploiting immune boosting yeast extracts for pigs and fish

Nadia Pedretti, marketing and sales director, Prosol, at the German trade show, said the products could support antibiotic free swine production.

“These are problem solving products. In swine focused R&D, we have been exploring the yeast fractions most suitable to modulate an immune system response, trying to determine the optimal combination of glucans and mannans,”​ she told us.

Its sow and piglet targeted yeast product, Swine-Mod, comprises those cell wall components along with other nutrients such as nucleotides, ribonucleic acids fragments, minerals and peptides.

Glucans, according to the literature, are implicated in immune-responses as they reportedly reduce pasteurella multocida, increase lymphocytes, increase haptoglobine and IL-10, and alert the immune system, while nucleotides are said to improve gastric development and early immune function, while reducing digestive disorders in piglets post weaning.

Feed intake

The company said the yeast supplement can help reduce feed intake in piglets post weaning, and can support the sows in the perinatal phase, the period before birth up to the third day after farrowing, when the animals are stressed physiologically and face the restrictions imposed by the farrowing crate system.

“We tried to devise the dosage levels on the basis of cost-effective parameters​,” said Pedretti.

The recommended inclusion levels one to two weeks post weaning are 15kg per ton of feed and 8kg per ton of feed three to four weeks after weaning. In sows, one month before farrowing and during lactation, the dosage level should be 8kg per ton of feed, according to Prosol.

Its aqua feed targeted additive, Aqua-Mod, combines nucleotides as well along with peptides, amino acids, minerals and ribonucleic acids, with Prosol seeing growth performance, disease resistance and immune system benefits in fish.

“It is suitable for use in feed for cold water species such as salmon as well as warm water species such as shrimp, tilapia and sea bass,”​ said Pedretti.

The publication of recent trials on the two products are pending, she said. The company, which is headquartered in Madone, near Milan, has collaborated with several research institutes on trials including Ghent University in Belgium, the University of Milan, and the Institute of Animal Nutrition in Berlin.