Yeast cell wall extract's role in combating mycotoxin risks
Dr. Alexandra Weaver, Global Technical Support for the Technology Group at Alltech
Yeast cell wall extract (YCWE) has been shown to effectively mitigate the impacts of mycotoxins on animal health and performance. Recent meta-analyses highlight its role in improving productivity, sustainability and profitability across both poultry and pig production systems.
Despite significant efforts by the agricultural industry to reduce mycotoxins in the feed supply chain, these toxic compounds remain pervasive globally. Produced by fungi under specific environmental conditions, mycotoxins can contaminate feed during pre-harvest, post-harvest or storage stages. This contamination poses risks to animal health, performance, farm productivity, and profitability.
While strategies such as testing and rejecting contaminated feed ingredients can help, a proactive approach is more effective in preventing issues. This often involves using mycotoxin adsorbents, such as yeast cell wall extract (YCWE), to mitigate potential damage before it manifests.
Impact of mycotoxins on poultry and pigs
Mycotoxins affect both poultry and pigs in ways that compromise their health and productivity, although the specific impacts can vary by species due to physiological differences.
In poultry, mycotoxins primarily affect growth performance, feed efficiency and egg production, even at low contamination levels. Layers exposed to mycotoxins often show reduced egg weight, lower egg production rates, and compromised overall performance, which can significantly affect profitability.
In pigs, mycotoxins can impair growth, feed intake and reproduction. Younger pigs and breeding animals are particularly vulnerable, with toxins such as zearalenone disrupting hormonal balance and reproductive function, while toxins like DON reduce nutrient absorption and appetite. Across both species, exposure to mycotoxins suppresses immune function, making animals more susceptible to diseases and secondary infections.
Insights from meta-analyses
Meta-analyses offer valuable insights by consolidating data from multiple studies, providing a comprehensive understanding of mycotoxin risks and the efficacy of YCWE. Three recent meta-analyses focused on broilers, laying hens and growing pigs reveal the broad impacts of mycotoxins and the benefits of YCWE inclusion across species. These analyses encompassed 56 trials, 79 mycotoxin treatments, 99 YCWE treatments, and data from 15,246 animals.
The studies highlight that even low levels of mycotoxin exposure can negatively impact animal performance. Common effects include reduced growth rates, poorer feed conversion ratios, compromised health and, in poultry, decreased egg production and egg weight. However, supplementation with YCWE during mycotoxin challenges led to significant performance improvements, enhancing animal welfare and productivity.
Poultry findings
In laying hens, exposure to mycotoxins resulted in reduced body weight, egg production and egg weight. Birds supplemented with YCWE during these challenges showed significant recovery, with higher egg production and egg weights, ultimately increasing total output per hen and profitability (Figure 1). Notably, the inclusion of YCWE yielded an impressive return on investment (ROI) of 4.65:1, emphasizing its economic and operational value in poultry production.
Another theme that was highlighted in the broiler meta-analysis was sustainability. To understand whether mycotoxins and YCWE play a role in the sustainability of production, the CO2 equivalent (CO2-eq) was calculated for broilers using results from the meta-analysis. This showed that while a mycotoxin-contaminated diet increased carbon footprint over control-fed animals by an estimated 47 metric tons CO2-eq, the use of YCWE lowered this by an estimated 25 metric tons compared to feeding mycotoxins alone. This is equivalent to a savings of 30 round-trip transatlantic flights (New York to London), or the annual usage of 17 cars in the United Kingdom (Figure 2).
Figure 2: Carbon footprint impact of mycotoxin-contaminated diets and YCWE supplementation in roiler production.
Additionally, in this meta-analysis, research indicated that the inclusion of YCWE supported improved bird resilience and overall welfare for birds exposed to mycotoxins.
Pig findings
Pigs, recognized as particularly sensitive to mycotoxins, also experienced reduced performance when exposed. The type and concentration of mycotoxins, alongside the pig's age and production stage, influenced the severity of effects. For instance, aflatoxins harmed liver function and immunity, DON impaired gastrointestinal health, and zearalenone disrupted reproduction.
The meta-analysis demonstrated that even at mycotoxin levels below regulatory thresholds, average daily gain (ADG) decreased by 79 grams in growing pigs, with further reductions at higher challenge levels. However, YCWE supplementation significantly improved ADG and showed trends for improved feed intake, even under severe mycotoxin exposure. These findings underscore YCWE's potential to protect pig health and performance under mycotoxin challenges.
Implications for producers
For both poultry and pig producers, these findings highlight the importance of proactive mycotoxin management to protect animal health, improve performance and sustain profitability. Key steps in managing mycotoxin risk include testing, assessing risk levels, mitigating challenges with solutions like YCWE, and monitoring continuously to adapt strategies as needed.
In summary
Mycotoxin contamination remains a critical issue for livestock producers, negatively impacting health, productivity and profitability. Recent meta-analyses on broilers, laying hens and growing pigs reaffirm the significant risks posed by mycotoxins and the value of YCWE as an effective mitigation strategy.
YCWE has shown clear benefits for both poultry and pigs, enhancing growth, feed efficiency and sustainability while delivering economic advantages. In poultry, YCWE boosts egg production and weight, while in pigs, it mitigates performance losses even under challenging conditions. These insights emphasize the need for innovative, science-backed solutions like YCWE to address mycotoxin risks, ensuring better animal welfare and productivity across the livestock industry.
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