Study assigns nutrient matrix to AviPlus P in broilers

A newly published study in Frontiers in Veterinary Science makes a more ambitious claim than the usual feed-additive performance paper: that a gut health additive can be assigned a practical nutritional value for feed formulation. The authors analyzed 35 broiler trials involving AviPlus®P, a microencapsulated blend of botanicals and organic acids, and then tested the resulting nutrient matrix in a controlled in vivo validation study. Their conclusion was that the additive can partially offset reduced-energy, reduced-protein diet formulations while helping maintain feed efficiency. (frontiersin.org)

The work comes at a time when poultry producers are looking for more precise ways to protect margins in non-medicated production systems. According to the study and related company materials, the 35-trial database covered 13 years, 11 countries, multiple broiler genetics, and a range of cereal-soy formulations, giving the authors a broad performance dataset rather than a single-site result. Earlier EFSA-reviewed evidence, published in 2012, had already found AviPlus® potentially efficacious in chickens for fattening at 200 to 500 mg/kg complete feed and safe up to 500 mg/kg, providing some regulatory background for the additive’s use in poultry. (vetagro.com)

In the meta-analysis, birds receiving the additive at 200 to 500 mg/kg had a 38-gram increase in final body weight and a 0.04-point improvement in standardized feed conversion ratio compared with controls. The authors then converted those performance gains into nutrient equivalencies, estimating that inclusion at 300 mg/kg corresponded to 60.58 kcal/kg of metabolizable energy and 3.88 g/kg of crude protein. That matrix was tested in 810 Ross 308 male broilers assigned to one of three groups: a standard diet, a reformulated diet with 80 fewer kcal ME/kg and 2% less crude protein and digestible amino acids, or the same reformulated diet plus AviPlus®P. Over 41 days, the reformulated diet alone worsened feed conversion versus the standard diet, while the supplemented group landed in between and numerically closer to the standard control. (frontiersin.org)

The validation data also pointed to digestibility effects that help explain the performance response. The supplemented group improved crude protein digestibility versus the standard diet and improved crude fat digestibility versus the reformulated diet, while partially restoring nitrogen-corrected apparent metabolizable energy. Those findings support the authors’ argument that at least part of the additive’s value may come through better nutrient use, not just a general gut health effect. Vetagro, which is affiliated with the product and authors, framed the work as support for “greater formulation flexibility” and potential gains in cost control and sustainability. (frontiersin.org)

Independent outside commentary on this specific paper appears limited so far, which is worth noting. Most of the public reaction currently available comes from company-linked summaries rather than third-party analysts or academic commentators. That means the study may be best viewed, for now, as an interesting formulation concept with promising validation data, but one that still needs broader real-world scrutiny across commercial conditions, ingredient markets, and nutrition programs. (vetagro.com)

Why it matters: For veterinary professionals working in poultry health, nutrition, and production, the bigger story is the attempt to turn a gut health additive into a matrixable input in least-cost formulation. If that approach proves repeatable, it could change how nutritionists evaluate certain non-antibiotic additives, especially in programs trying to preserve feed efficiency while lowering nutrient density or ingredient cost. It also speaks to a wider industry shift: additives increasingly need to show measurable economic and nutritional returns, not just biological plausibility. At the same time, because the study authors are affiliated with Vetagro, independent replication will matter before this kind of matrix value is widely trusted in formulation software or veterinary advisory practice. (frontiersin.org)

What to watch: The next step is whether independent groups validate similar nutrient-credit approaches in commercial broiler systems, and whether feed formulators begin treating gut health additives more like enzymes or other matrix-assigned tools in practical ration design. (frontiersin.org)