Nutritional Enhancers

Sensient has a line of yeast cell-wall products that have nutritional applications in animal foods. Our products have been used for decades in these applications by large global users in the areas of aquaculture, swine, poultry, cattle and pet foods.

Depending on the desired level of the various cell-wall functional components, Sensient offers both standard and purified cell-wall extractives. Customized formulations to meet your specific requirements are also available.

In addition to yeast products, we also have the ability to use proprietary encapsulation processes to deliver custom nutritional solutions that have the desired bioavailability and shelf life.

Please contact us for more information on our products and custom solutions.

Benefits of yeast in nutritional enhancement

The animal feed industry has been criticized for the use of antibiotics in livestock feeds. Antibiotics have been used in feeds to stimulate growth, to prevent microbial diseases and to improve the efficiency of digestion of carbohydrates and fats. As of January 2006, the European Union has completely banned the use of Antibiotic Growth Promoters. Such bans are being considered in other countries, and antibiotic alternatives are being introduced in animal feeds to eliminate pathogens, improve growth performance and to stimulate the immune system.

Carbohydrates from yeast cell walls, specifically beta-1,3/1,6-glucans and mannans, have been shown to provide significant disease prevention benefits for mammals, birds, fish and crustaceans (shrimp). These products are generally recognized as safe (GRAS) and offer alternatives to antibiotic use.

Yeast beta-1,3/1,6-glucans have been used commercially to stimulate the innate (non-specific) immune systems of farmed mammals, birds, fish and shrimp. By activating macrophages, neutrophils and other white blood cells, yeast beta-glucans have been shown to be effective against a broad spectrum of disease causing microorganisms, especially under the stressful conditions encountered in commercial farming. Such innate immunostimulation is also achieved in pets and humans.

Yeast mannans can also play an important role in disease prevention; however, their mechanism of action differs from that of beta-glucans. Proteins or glycoproteins, called lectins, on the surface of some bacteria recognize and attach to specific sugars present on a host cell in the small intestine. This is how some pathogenic bacteria, examples Salmonella, Escherichia coli and Vibrio cholera, colonize the small intestine. Mannans prevent this colonization by preferentially attaching to the bacterial lectins. The “blocked” pathogens are then expelled naturally through the gut with other waste.

In addition to providing immune-stimulation benefits, yeast beta-glucans also have a high adsorption capacity for mycotoxins that occur naturally in most grain-based animal feeds. Mycotoxins are toxic metabolites produced by fungi belonging to Fusarium, Aspergillus, Penicillium and Claviceps species that grow on forages and grains in the field and during storage. These toxins can cause liver damage, decrease reproductive performance, cause tumors and suppress immune functions. Specialty feed additives, known as mycotoxin adsorbents, are the most common approach to prevent and treat mycotoxicosis in animals.

Adsorbents can be inorganic or organic. Inorganic mycotoxins binders are often inexpensive but require a high inclusion rate in feeds. In addition, they are non-biodegradable and can create disposal problems when fed at high levels. Yeast beta-glucans, on the other hand, are organic mycotoxin adsorbents and are biodegradable.

They have been shown to be very effective in binding mycotoxins and preventing toxin absorption from the gastro-intestinal tract. The amount of beta-glucan required depends on the level of mycotoxins present in feed.

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