Newly developed defined CE product PoultryStar® soon to be launched

Undefined CE preparations to increase the colonization resistance of chicks against Salmonella or other pathogens are already available in non European markets.
calendar icon 20 March 2009
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They are usually preparations originating from cecal content and pose the risk, due to their unknown bacterial composition, that they can contain pathogenic bacteria or viruses for poultry and or humans. In a defined CE preparation the inclusion of any potential avian or human pathogens can be avoided. Biomin has put a lot of effort into the development of a defined CE product for poultry consisting of a blend of beneficial bacteria isolated from healthy chicken.

What is Competitive Exclusion?


Figure 1: Competitive Exclusion

Competitive exclusion (CE) is a term to describe the process by which beneficial bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract exclude pathogenic microorganism. CE mechanisms are still not fully understood but following modes of action are proposed in literature. A physical competition for attachment sites occurs on the gut wall, where normal gut bacteria adhere to the mucosa to occupy receptors, which can also be used by pathogenic bacteria, blocking the establishment of transient pathogenic bacteria (figure 1). Furthermore the pH is reduced in the intestine through increased production of volatile fatty acids (VFA) and lactate. Antibacterial substances like bacteroicins are produced and a competition for nutrients takes place.

What are Probiotics?
Probiotics are defined as „Live microbial feed supplements” which beneficially affect the host animal by improving its intestinal microbial balance. Probiotic bacteria are selected for their potential to provide specific health or nutritional effects to the animal. Strategies are aimed towards stimulation of the growth of beneficial bacteria and suppression of potentially harmful microorganisms. Probiotics are health-promoting microorganisms that are useful for protection against infection.

Scientific background of PoultryStar®
For the development of PoultryStar® intensive research work in our own laboratories and in collaboration with several universities and partners from industry was carried out. The research work was supported by the Commission of the European Union.

Isolation and characterization of suitable strains
The product development process started with the isolation of intestinal bacteria out of the gut of several healthy chickens, thus providing a rationale for their safe use as a feed additive for poultry. To obtain the most efficient strains, it was decided to use intestinal contents of different origin, selecting chicken of different ages and genotype. A pool of diverse aerobic, facultative anaerobic and obligate anaerobic gut bacteria was isolated out of four main intestinal compartments – the crop, jejunum, ileum and the cecum – using a wide variety of conventional microbiological cultivation techniques (figure 2). Pure cultures of isolates were stored for further investigations and thoroughly characterized with regard to their metabolic properties, growth and fermentation performance, adaptability to industrial processes, stability in the end product and inhibitory activities.

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