How to reduce HPM – EHP a shrimp disease using Rehpairo

Shrimp aquaculture has been developing considerably and expanding rapidly with long term potential. It is the most promising food production sector that provides excellent sources of protein for human consumption. However increase in demand, results in large scale expansion and intensive farming practices to fulfill the ever-growing needs that lead to ecological and physiological stress. That hampers the production capacity of the farms and causes huge economical losses to the farmers. For instance, the growth of infected Litopenaeus vannamei, is reported to be arrested at around 12 g, capping production at approximately 9 tonnes/ha as opposed to the nominal target of 12 tonnes/ha.

Hepatopancreatic Microsporidiosis (HMP) is caused by the Enterocytozoon hepatopanaei (EHP). EHP is a spore-forming, a unicellular parasite that, when enters the ponds is highly difficult to eradicate. Certain spores of EHP in fecal pellets or dried cadavers have shown to be viable up to six months and retain infectivity for over a year under aqueous conditions.

As per the etiology of HMP, once the spores enter the gut of the shrimp they start infecting the hepatic cells via extending a highly specialized polar tube. As the infection progresses there is an increase in the number of spores since they replicate within the host cells. The new spores thus formed then infect other healthy cells. It, ultimately results into deterioration in the health of the shrimp that leads to retarded growth and development.                  

Rehpairo is an amino acid optimizer for healthy hepatopancreas, which helps the cell for better uptake of nutrients supplied in the feed and promotes healthy recovery, faster growth and development. Rehpairo also contains, phytoactive compounds that keep in check the infection caused by EHP within the gut lumen of the shrimp. The phytoactive compounds exhibit their inhibitory action on EHP by interrupting the polar tube extension to the host cell and hence preventing the infection. Use of Rehpairo in aqua feeds has shown to reduce the severity of infection of EHP from 50% to 10% thereby demonstrating very good recovery. Use of Rehpairo was found to be effective in reversing the growth retardation and was apparent from the increase in weekly average body weight gain.

Comprehensively,
Rehpairo exhibits a dual mode of action on the deadly disease, firstly by neutralizing
the infection and further preventing the disease HPM caused by EHP.

Antibiotics as Growth promoters –is a bane or a boon?

 

To answer this question it is important to develop an understanding about, what is the function of an antibiotic and how it does exactly promote growth in the animals. Also, how natural alternatives can effectively prove to be a better substitute.

Antibiotics are antimicrobial drugs that are used to inhibit the growth of pathogenic microorganisms that often cause a variety of diseases in animals; hence they are used as therapeutic drugs.

However, there has been the use of antibiotics in the poultry industry, in order to improve meat production through increased feed conversion, growth rate promotion, and disease prevention. The postulated mechanisms for growth promotion using antibiotics are as follows-

  1. Antibiotic Growth Promoters (AGP) inhibit endemic subclinical infection
  2. Reduce growth depressing metabolites like ammonia or bile degrading products produced by microbes
  3. Reduce microbial use of nutrients
  4. Enhance uptake and use of nutrients because the intestinal wall of AGP fed animal is thinner

However, prolonged use of antibiotics results in resistant microbial strains that pose a greater threat not only to the animals but also humans at large when these strains enter the food chain. Hence the use of antibiotics should be highly restricted.

An effective solution to the addressed issue would be the use of natural derivatives that can exhibit similar growth-promoting effects in the animal without posing a threat to the food chain.

Herbofloxin is a Natural Growth Promoter, composed of several natural origin derivatives which work in conjunction to produce effects similar to AGP.    

These plant-derived compounds mainly exert their beneficial effects as follows:

  1. Disrupt cell membrane of microbes
  2. Interfere with virulence properties of the microbes by increasing the hydrophobicity, which influences surface characteristics of microbial cells and makes them susceptible to the immune system
  3. Stimulates growth and proliferation of beneficial bacteria (e.g., lactobacilli and bifidobacteria) in the gut
  4. Act as immunostimulants
  5. Protects intestine from microbial attack
  6. Enhances the production and/or activity of the digestive enzymes
  7. Stimulate the proliferation and growth of absorptive cells (villus and crypt) in the gastrointestinal tract and increases nutrient absorption

Thus the cumulative result of these actions shows growth-promoting effects on the gut of the animal that mimics the effect of AGP. Hence Natural Growth Promoters like Herbofloxin prove to be effective AGP replacers.

Essentiality of good management practices in livestock production

The livestock industry is an important component of the agricultural sector of any country producing meat, eggs, beef, pork, eggs, and other quality products of animal origin. This industry plays a vital role in market development and the use of technology. Food safety is universally recognized as a public health priority. It requires a holistic approach, from production to consumption. Various aspects of animal production are at risk from biological, chemical and physical agents. These agents can enter food-producing animals and animal products through a wide variety of exposure points in the production, with high potential risks for the consumers. Therefore it is essential that Good Management Practices are followed in meat production to address these hazards. Following are the recommended Good Practices that should be followed on the farm;

Sanitation and hygiene
All movable equipment like feeders, waterers, and hovers should be removed from the house, cleaned, and disinfected. The interior as well as the exterior of the house should be cleaned under pressure. The house should be disinfected with any commercial disinfectant solution at the recommended concentration.

Brooder Management
Brooder house: It should be draft-free, rain-proof, and protected against predators. Brooding pens should have windows for adequate ventilation. The availability of dust particles in the environment irritates the respiratory tract of the chicks. Also, dust is one of the vehicles for disease transmission. The presence of more moisture in the environment causes ammonia fumes which irritate the respiratory tract and eyes.

Brooding Temperature: Heating is very much essential to provide the right temperature in the brooder house.  Too high or too low temperature slows down growth and causes mortality. During the first week, the temperature should be 95°F (35°C) which may be reduced by 5°F per week during each successive week till 70°F (21·10C). The brooder should be switched on for at least 24 hours before the chicks arrive. As a rule of thumb, the temperature inside the brooder house should be approximately 20°F (-6·7°C) below the brooder temperature.

Animal Nutrition and Feeding: Meeting the requirements of livestock nutrition is extremely important to maintain acceptable performance of neonatal, growing, finishing, and breeding animals. An optimal nutritional program should ensure adequate intakes of amino acids (essential and nonessential), carbohydrates, fatty acids, minerals, and vitamins by animals through a supplementation program that corrects deficiencies in basal diets.22 amino acids are needed to form body protein, some of which can be synthesized by the bird (non-essential), whereas others cannot be made at all or in sufficient quantities to meet metabolic needs (essential). Essential amino acids must be supplied by the diet, and a sufficient amount of non-essential amino acids must also be supplied to prevent the conversion of essential amino acids into non-essential amino acids. These essential amino acids must therefore be fed in order to supply the building blocks needed in the synthesis of body proteins thereby supporting growth.

Some other Farm management practices include; Litter management, Water Sanitization, Animal health management, Veterinary medicines and biological, Environment and infrastructure, Animal and product handling, etc.

We at Vinayak Ingredients Pvt. Ltd. Aim at making livestock production free from all the major hazards for safe and healthy production and consumption of the meat. We believe in “HERBOCORE” process and our aim is to manufacture safe, eco-sustainable, and cost-effective solutions for the benefits of the industry”. Our wide variety of products includes;

  • “KiFAY”-an Amino Acid Optimizer. It improves the availability of insulin receptors which are potential binding sites for IGF-1 and thus potentiating the action of IGF-1 resulting in improved ileal digestibility of various amino acids in the feed and also improves their uptake from the blood. Thus, improved amino acid accretion from blood results in better protein turn over. It also increases the efficacy and production of IGF-1 by stimulating insulin production resulting in increased bio-availability of IGF-1 in the liver.
  • “HERBOFLOXIN”-Natural antibiotic growth promoter. It improves the number of good bacteria in the gut and simultaneously reduces the pathogenic bacteria.
  • “MUCOFORT”-An Advance Mucin enhancer and respiratory tonic.
  • “ESSENTIOLITT”-It is an anti-vector solution. Controls and eradicates all stages of the insects and also ensures an unfavorable environment for them to prevent re-infestation.
  • “VINTOXO”- an excellent Toxin Binder which absorbs various mycotoxins on the surface with a CEC of 35 to 45 mEq per 100gms; it is able to absorb polar as well as non-polar mycotoxins and clears it out of the system.

Improving Pellet can Improve Poultry & Aqua Performance

Great quality pellets have a few advantages: diminished waste, less isolation in the feed, improved palatability and shorter eating periods. Likewise bird performance and feed effectiveness can profit by pelleting the feed. In any case, it is not generally simple to make a decent quality pellet.

Pellet binders are products that are utilized to “tie”, “paste” or hold the different feed segments together in order that they will keep up pellet integrity during consequent operations after they are expelled from the pellet die. There are many reasons used to legitimize the pelleting procedure. These include:
○ Improved animal performance
○ Decreased feed wastage
○ Reduced specific feeding
○ Improved bulk density
○ Better material handling attributes
○ Destruction of injurious life forms
○ Customer desires
○ Feed dust/disease control
Conditioning temperature is a solid element for enhancing the nature of pellets involved essentially of grain, particularly corn/soy. Fat is a strong lubricant however is unsafe to pellet quality. Amplifying steam addition and limiting fat added at the blender are two stages that can enhance quality at a generally minimal effort for every ton. Formulation changes that can be utilized to additionally enhance quality incorporate the utilization of a binder, surfactant or addition of wheat. Generation rate has little impact and ought to be expanded.
Combining results from few trials, it is conceivable to anticipate how the different components would influence nature of corn/soy pellets in respect to each other. Equipment problems in some cases confine the plant’s capacity to reliably keep up a high molding temperature. Pellet binders can enhance pellet quality and are not dependent to temperature for initiation; they can adequately diminish fines amid issue circumstances.

Role of antioxidants in feed

Antioxidants play a major role in animal health, production and performance. This is due to the detrimental effects of radicals and toxic products of their metabolism on various metabolic processes. It is a well known fact that oxidative stress is involved in many degenerative disorders. The oxidative free radicals are therefore considered as pathobiochemicals mechanism for initiating or progression of various diseases. The prooxidant-antioxidant balance can be regulated by optimal nutrient uptake or providing herbal antibiotics. Thus, the essential step in maintaining the balance between the oxidative damage and antioxidative defense in the animal body would be to boost the antioxidant capacity by optimizing the dietary intake of antioxidants.

Vitamin C is a water-soluble antioxidant. It is an important anti-stress agent. However, it can be easily oxidized. Sources of vitamin C are citrus fruits and vegetables. Vitamin C is required in collagen biosynthesis and protein metabolism.

Vitamin E is the found in the biological membranes and lipid droplets. Vitamin E is absorbed in the small intestine with various efficacies depending on the diet composition, level of supplementation, age, sex and other individual characteristics of animals. It is the main chain-breaking antioxidant in biological systems.

Carotenoid is a natural pigment, responsible for yellow, orange and sometimes red pigmentations in plants, insects, birds and marine animals. They possess antioxidant activity. They have some health promoting properties, including immune system modulation. They are found in some plant-derived feed ingredients.

Manganese has an essential part of a range of enzymes taking part in antioxidant protection, bone growth and egg shell formation carbohydrate and lipid metabolism including processing of cholesterol.

Zinc is the second most abundant trace element trace element in mammals and they take part in antioxidant defense as an integral part of SOD, hormone secretion, keratin generation and epithelial tissue integrity immune function.

Iron has a vital role in antioxidant defense as an essential component of catalase, energy and protein metabolism, hence respiratory carrier, electron transport, oxidation-reduction reaction.