Anti-inflammatory Approach Of Big Fish™ On The Growth Of Rainbow Trout

July | August Feature heading: Anti-inflammatory Feature title: Anti-inflammatory approach of Big FishTM on the growth of rainbow trout International Aquafeed is published five times a year by Perendale Publishers Ltd of the United Kingdom. All data is published in good faith, based on information received, and while every care is taken to prevent inaccuracies, the publishers accept no liability for any errors or omissions or for the consequences of action taken on the basis of information published. ©Copyright 2009 Perendale Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without prior permission of the copyright owner. Printed by Perendale Publishers Ltd. ISSN: 1464-0058

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Anti-inflammatory

Anti-inflammatory

Anti-inflammatory approach of Big Fish™ on the growth of rainbow trout by Mingder Yang, PhD of Aova Technologies, Inc. Madison, Wisconsin, USA and Mark E. Cook PhD University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, Wisconsin, USA

T

he growth potential of animals in modern agricultural practices is five to 10 percent below genetic

potential.

This is evidenced by the work of Levs and Forbes (1959), who showed that animals reared in a germ free environment, grew 12 percent faster than those raised in conventional environments. In the late 1950s, animal research revealed that the lost growth potential of animals in consolidated environments could be partially overcome by feeding antibiotics.

been growing concern that the use of antimicrobials is generating antibiotic resistant human pathogens in animal products. In an article by Witte (1998) the following comment was made: “Industrial investment in alternatives to antimicrobials for animal growth promotion should… [protect] the fragile resources that are critical to successful management of human infectious disease.” The mechanism by which microbes in the absence of overt disease, suppress the growth of farm animals has begun to be elucidated. The interface of microbes and animals results in the

"Since intact antibody molecules cannot

ery is reduced growth and poorer feed efficiency (Cook, 2000). During every potential breach of the animal’s defence against microbial invasion, immune cells release hormones, known as cytokines, which stimulate and recruit cells involved in the defence of invading microbes. Upon release of these cytokines - most notably, interleukin-1 (IL-1) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) - the activation and proliferation of white blood cells demand a supply of nutrients for immune defence. It is now well recognised that a primary source of these nutrients for immune defences is skeletal muscle via degradation, hence decreased growth or weight loss. This is exacerbated because skeletal muscle catabolism greatly exceeds the nutrient needs of the immune system (Cook, 2000).

Inflammatory Responses on Growth and Feed Efficiency

locally in the digestive tract by decreasing

Inflammation is an important first defence against infectious diseases; however, unchecked - and more specifically, unwarranted - inflammation typically creates more damage to the host than could ever be assigned to the original pathogen itself. When inflammatory processes respond to a perceived threat when none is truly present, or to such a degree that the host’s health is adversely impaired, the inflammation is considered unwarranted.

By the mid 1970s, essentially all swine and poultry raised for meat production were fed antibiotics to stimulate growth and improve feed efficiency. However, since the mid-1980s there has

constant need of the animal’s immune system to maintain a vigilant defence against a potential invasion. The animal’s defence mechanism is not without cost. The primary cost of this defence machin-

36 | InternatIonal AquAFeed | July-august 09

First sign of inflammation In animal agriculture, the first sign of inflammation is evidenced by decreased animal performance as evidenced in decreased growth and feed efficiency (Klasing, 1987). Reduced performance can be observed in the absence of overt signs of inflammation. Decreased growth and feed efficiency associated with unsanitary environments is the result of unwarranted, yet sub-clinical inflammation (Dafwang, 1987; Roura, 1992). Restoring animal growth caused by unwarranted inflammation is the reasoning behind the novel products developed by Aova Technologies. Results shown to date suggest

that while animal performance can be improved by targeting unwarranted inflammation, there are also indications that resistance to infectious or opportunistic pathogens is also reduced. Damage caused to the host due to unwarranted inflammation may actually

Immune defence The major recruiter of immune defence mechanisms in the animal is the eicosanoids. These are lipids inflammatory mediators that originate from membrane phospholipids (particularly arachidonic acid (AA) in the sn-2 position of phospholipids).

Table 1:

Location

Length

Rearing system

1

Japan

1 mo

flow through

0.30 %

7.6 %

17.3 %

15

2

US

9 mo

re-circulation

0.40 %

7.0 %

n/a

200

3

US

2 mo

flow through

0.30 %

27.8 %

8.1 %

12

6 weeks

flow through

0.60 %

9.1 %

5.6 %

20

Trial

4 Portugal

provide an entryway for pathogens to cause infection. Hence it is not surprising that a management program against inflammation is a management program for better animal health.

Why Does Big Fish Work?

cross the gut lining, the product acts gut inflammation"

the kidney (Lupus), the joints (arthritis), the gastrointestinal tract (inflammatory bowel disease), and even the skin (atopic dermatitis). In some diseases, as those in humans mentioned above, the cellular and chemical machinery of the immune system begin to attack the body itself (autoimmune diseases).

Diseases of unwarranted inflammation can involve the airway (asthma and allergy),

July-august 09 | InternatIonal AquAFeed | 37

Big Fish Weight gain Feed Efficiency # of Fish dosage improvement improvement per tank

During an immune stimulation, for example, simple presence of the normal microflora of the animal, AA is released from the inner leaflet of the cell membrane via cytosolic PLA2 (cPLA2).

Anti-inflammatory Since intact antibody molecules cannot cross the gut lining, and the active ingredient in Aova Technologies’s antiPLA2 is avian antibody, the product does not affect the systemic immune system. Instead, the product acts locally in the digestive tract by decreasing gut inflammation. Big Fish was able to help fish realize the genetic potential in growth and feed efficiency.

References The released AA is then acted on by a number enzymatic systems, such as the lipoxygenases to form leukotrienes and the cyclooxygenases which form prostaglandins. These in turn cause a host of signalling effects down stream including the recruitment of inflammatory processes, and signal transduction pathways that lead to inflammatory cytokine production. In modern animal agricultural conditions, in the absence of disease, this response is severe enough to result in decreased performance.

The trials, which were run by a feed company in Japan, are summarized in table 1. Fish were grown from about 40 grams to 70 grams in the one-month trial.There was no mortality and Big Fish improved weight gain by 7.6 percent and feed efficiency by 17.3 percent in when compared to the control group. Trial 2 was conducted in a government aquaculture research facility. The fish were started at about 20 grams and grown to market size (~425 grams). Trial 3 was a two-month trial run at a university research facility. Rainbow trout were grown from 20 to 70 grams. Big Fish fed rainbow trout had a 27.8 percent growth improvement and 8.1 percent feed efficiency over the control group (Barry & Yang, 2008). Trial 4 was a six-week trial conducted in a research university in Portugal. Rainbow trout fed Big Fish, grew 9.1 percent heavier and had 5.6 percent improvement in feed efficiency.

"Big Fish was able to help fish

realize the genetic potential in growth and feed efficiency" Indeed, trials recently run in Thailand showed very significant improvements in growth, feed efficiency and survivability. Specifically, in grouper and Vietnamese catfish trials, fish gained 15 to 20 percent more body weight and improved feed efficiency 26 to 47 percent over the 13 weeks trial period. During the hot summer trialling period, survivability was enhanced 82 and 46 percent respectively. Furthermore, in a Streptococcus-challenged tilapia trial, fish fed Big Fish supplement diet survived 2.9:1 over control fed tilapia.

Fish trials Several rainbow trout trials were conducted to evaluate the benefit of Big Fish.

Realising genetic potential Since Big Fish product from Aova Technologies is designed to mitigate gut inflammation, questions had been raised on the safety of the product. Specifically, could the product weaken the animals’ immune system to fight diseases? Data collected from numerous animal studies showed no signs of abnormal mortality or morbidity. On the other hand, several reports showed improved health and growth benefit especially in sub-optimal environments or under specific disease challenge (Scanes 2008). 38 | InternatIonal AquAFeed | July-august 09

Barry, T., Yang, M. (2008) Effects of antiphospholipase A2 on the growth of rainbow trout. N. Amer. J. of Aquaculture. 70:236-239. Cook, M.E., 2000. The interplay between modern management practices and the chicken: how immune response and the physiological mechanism for growth and feed efficiency have adapted over time. Where do we go from here? In: Biotechnology in the Animal Feed Industry (eds., T.P. Lyons and K.A. Jacques). Nottingham University Press, pp 97-110. Dafwang, I.I., M.E. Cook, and M.L. Sunde, 1987. Interaction of dietary antibiotic supplementation and stocking density on broiler chick performance and immune response. Brit. Poultry Sci. 28:47-55. Klasing, K.C., D.E. Laurin, P.K. Peng and D.M. Fry. 1987. Immunologically mediated growth depression in chicks: Influence of feed intake, corticosterone and interleukin-1. J. of Nutr. 117:1629-1637. Levs, M., M. Forbes. 1959. Growth response to dietary penicillin of germ-free with a defined intestinal flora. Brit. J. Nutr. 13:78-84. Roura, E., J. Homedes and K. C. Klasing. 1992. Prevention of immunologic stress contributes to the growth-permitting ability of dietary antibiotics in chicks. J. Nutr. 122:2383-2390. Scanes, C.G., S.A. Cutler, R.W. Griffith, M. Yang and M.E. Cook. 2008. Effects of egg antibody to components of inflammatory activation (phospholipase a2 and Toll like receptor 4) on the response of young turkeys to Salmonella typhimurium challenge. Avian Biol. Res. 1:167-175. Witte, W. 1998. Medical Consequences of antibiotic use in agriculture. Science 279:996-997.

for

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Aova Technologies, Inc Madison, Wisconsin, USA Tel: +1 608 3109595 Fax: +1 608 3109596 Website: www.aovatech.com