Q&A with Global AO Fermentation Experts at BioZyme®, makers of AO-Biotics, in Atlanta for IPPE

AO-Biotics is a line of fermentation products derived from BioZyme’s innovative fermentation of Aspergillus oryzae (AO) that promote resilience. The brand includes prebiotics and postbiotics.

BioZyme’s flagship feed additive, AO-Biotics^® Amaferm^®, is also part of the brand. Amaferm is a research-proven
prebiotic to enhance digestibility. After decades of researching the impact and mode of action of AO prebiotics in animals, BioZyme began focusing on what else AO could do, eventually leading to the discovery of interesting postbiotics.

Built on 70 years of Aspergillus oryzae (AO) fermentation expertise, BioZyme’s postbiotics are made by a unique process that breaks down nonliving components of AO into metabolites to target specific problems affecting animal health, welfare and/or productivity.

This innovative approach uses AO as a biofactory to create biotics that leverage animal resilience to face a specific challenge, like improving egg production.

After proving the effects of EQE on egg production in a university setting, BioZyme international business and innovation managers Dr. César Ocasio-Vega and Dr. Fernando Bargo worked with producers to validate the impact of dietary supplementation with AO-Biotics EQE on productive performance of laying hens under commercial conditions.

These validation studies have been ongoing for over one year, and as data continues to accumulate, are making a significant case for the use of EQE in layer diets. Discover what they shared abouttheir findings during IPPE below.

Q: Dr. Bargo and Dr. Ocasio-Vega, great to see you here in Atlanta! Would you please tell us more about the background and the objective of the studies you are presenting here?

Ocasio-Vega: Currently, consumers' expectations for eggs have changed a lot, and the expectations for healthier and more high-quality eggs being produced in compliance with animal welfare and sustainability practices are increasing. Previous research by De Juan et al. (2021 and 2022) reported the use of an Aspergillus oryzae-derived postbiotic improved the productivity and eggshell quality in laying hens.

Therefore, with the validation studies we have conducted and are presenting here, we intended to assess the influence of supplementing laying hens’ diets with AO-Biotics EQE on hen performance, egg quality and productive lifespan under commercial conditions. We know that when layers are under commercial conditions, the stressors and environment in general can be quite different than what we might see in a university study.

• At BioZyme, one of our core values is research. Therefore, we have put a lot of resources into the research behind EQE. Our goal is to ensure, through rigorous research efforts, that we can have an impact on the animal and that this impact is undeniable.

Q: Dr. Bargo, you have been instrumental in the execution of the trials alongside Dr. Ocasio-Vega and the BioZyme Research and Development team. Can you please summarize for our readers how AO-Biotics EQE effects the performance of laying hens?

Bargo: We have data from more than 500,000 laying hens confirming the inclusion of EQE in the nutritional program of different operations improved hen performance, egg quality and the productive life span of the flocks. The validation trials have been conducted across the globe under varying conditions and environments.

This has included trials in Mexico, Colombia, Italy, France, Germany and Greece. When we summarize all of that data, we see that dietary supplementation with EQE resulted in 2% more egg mass, in 3% improvement in egg production throughout the laying cycle and 3% more sellable eggs per hen. In addition, feeding EQE reduced the mortality of the flock across the life span by 34%.

Q: What dosage have you tested and what is your recommendation?

Bargo: During the research trials, EQE groups were fed the same commercial basal diets as the control groups but were supplemented with 50 grams of EQE per metric ton of feed. Feeding this 50 grams has shown positive effects on the productive life span of the hens, the egg mass, the eggshell quality and the number of sellable eggs. BioZyme’s unique drying technology at our state-of-the-art fermentation facility in St. Joseph, Missouri, allows us to create a very concentrated and accurate product. As a result, you see that the inclusion rate is very small, but yields consistent results.

Q: Dr. Ocasio-Vega, would you mind reiterating for our readers how you define a postbiotic and what makes AO-Biotics EQE so special?

Ocasio-Vega: BioZyme is a member of the International Scientific Association for Probiotics and Prebiotics (ISAPP), and we uphold ourselves to their standard definitions.

For a postbiotics, ISAPP defines this as a “preparation of inanimate microorganisms and/or their components that confer a health benefit on the host.” This differs slightly from a prebiotic, which is defined as “a substrate that is selectively utilized by host microorganisms conferring a health benefit”. Therefore, you can see that a postbiotic is different from a prebiotic because it is not necessarily utilized by the host microorganisms.

AO-Biotics EQE, the first postbiotic of its kind, was developed using BioZyme’s proprietary strain of Aspergillus oryzae; a unique, multicellular fungus used to specially ferment biotics tailored to address specific challenges. Produced using patent-pending technology, EQE was developed to target the challenges in the laying industry to help producers achieve more sellable eggs, an improved egg mass, and an increased productive lifespan of the laying
hens.

AO-Biotics is a line of fermentation products derived from BioZyme's innovative fermentation of Aspergillus oryzae (AO) to promote resilience. Learn more at AOBiotics.com.

Contact Volker Altenbokum at [email protected] or Alan Lee at [email protected] for more information.