Optimizing gastrointestinal functionality through balancing feed composition and the microbiota is crucial to efficient feed utilization in poultry farming.

Together with its alliance partner Novozymes, DSM has created Balancius, a naturally occurring muramidase that removes bacterial debris made up of fragments of cell wall from dead bacteria that are released into the intestinal lumen where they may interfere with the intestinal surface.

Balancius effectively clears this debris through selectively breaking down polymers called peptidoglycans that are structural elements within bacterial cell walls, DSM said. Optimizing gastrointestinal functionality through the action of Balancius has the potential to significantly improve efficiency for the feed industry through enhanced digestibility, feed utilization and weight gain, the company announced.

The product is supported by data from 40 international studies that showed the addition of Balancius to poultry feed significantly improved the feed conversion ratio and weight gain, DSM said. Ongoing trials are currently addressing the potential for the extension of Balancius into other species.

“These results demonstrate that optimizing gastrointestinal functionality through the unique action of Balancius significantly improves feed efficiency and encourages weight gain of broiler chickens. These results have the potential to dramatically improve capacity for sustainable poultry production and translate to significant savings for individual production managers,” explained Sebastian Marten, vice president enzymes and eubiotics, DSM.

“Together DSM and Novozymes have developed a solution that contributes to the growth and welfare of animals by removing bacterial cell debris from the chicken’s gut. No other technology works like this,” said Susanne Palsten Buchardt, vice president at Novozymes for Animal Health & Nutrition Commercial.

To date, DSM said Balancius is registered in LATAM (Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico), in the U.S. and in APAC (Bangladesh, Pakistan and India). EMEA will follow soon (mid 2019), after a positive opinion published by EFSA EU in June this year.

DSM said the data collected from more than 40 studies done worldwide confirm that Balancius supplementation supports the digestive function by fostering nutritional uptake, increasing feed efficiency and thereby contributing to sustained growth.