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Introduction

HP AviStart was developed by Hamlet Protein based on subjecting selected high-quality soybean meal to a unique patented enzymatic and heat process. Inclusion of HP AviStart in pre-starter and starter diets, promotes digestion and absorption of amino acids in the immature chick and poult’s intestinal tract, promoting growth that is measurable at harvest. Processing of soybean meal to produce HP AviStart sharply reduces anti-nutritional factors. With benefits to feed conversion efficiency and the integrity of foot pads. The combination of enzymatic treatment at moderate temperatures, facilitates rapid digestion of protein and absorption of amino acids along the proximal small intestine, compared to non-processed soybean meal.

The Science Supporting HP AviStart

One of the mechanisms of action of HP AviStart can be measured by applying protein kinetics, which quantifies the speed of digestion of protein in the different intestinal segments, establishes the site at which amino acids are absorbed, and finally demonstrates their level in the portal circulation - ready for tissue deposition.  Protein quality is traditionally evaluated by its digestibility. This parameter quantifies residual undigested protein at the termination of the ileum.  The speed of digestion, the rate of amino acid absorption and the site within the small intestine are not considered when determining the digestibility coefficient. A rapid rate of protein digestion is an important factor in attaining feed conversion efficiency, especially during the first ten days of growth when the digestive tract is immature and is increasing in size disproportionately to deposition of muscle tissue.  The speed of protein degradation can be measured in vitro from the hydrolysis constant, which is determined indirectly by pH titration under controlled incubation in the presence of proteolytic enzymes over a two-hour period.

The difference in the kinetics of protein digestion and subsequent absorption of constituent amino acids among conventional feed-grade soybean meal and alternative protein sources demonstrates the beneficial effects of enzymatic processing under controlled mild heat.  It is evident from the following figure that HP AviStart is absorbed at a faster rate than conventional soybean meal characterizing the product as a “fast protein”.

Enzymatic processing in the presence of heat over a defined period as applied by the Hamlet Protein process inactivates anti-nutritional factors.  Although trypsin inhibitor is usually inactivated by solvent extraction with flash evaporation, crushing plants may either under- or over- process soybean meal with deleterious effects on growth rate.  Heat processing does not generally degrade or inactivate other anti-nutritional factors including galacto-oligosaccharides including stachyose and raffinose.  These compounds contribute to fermentation in the terminal intestinal tract, and provoke inflammation of the mucosa, leading  to dysbacteriosis, and predisposing to a range of intestinal conditions including clostridial necrotic enteritis

ANTI-NUTRITIONAL FACTORS IN U.S. SOYBEAN MEAL 

Scientific trial

Inclusion of HP AviStart in a broiler starter diet at five percent over a ten-day period resulted in a four percent increase in live weight, representing a statistically significant (p ? 0.05) increase compared to controls receiving an isonitrogenous diet incorporating conventional soybean meal. The increase in live weight was attributed to deposition of muscle tissue as a result of more efficient digestion due to the availability of amino acids from HP AviStart, classified as a ‘fast protein’.  This presumption is supported by increased trypsin activity throughout the intestinal tract and higher jejunal mRNA expression of transporters of peptides and amino acids. These observations are correlated with elevated levels of amino acids in the portal vessels supplying the liver, compared to controls receiving conventional soybean meal. 

Financial appraisal of HP AviStart

To determine the potential benefit of adding HP AviStart to a broiler pre-starter or starter diet, realistic assumptions were included in the following projection:

-    The cost of 48 percent soybean meal is $300 per tonThe cost of HP AviStart is around to $800 per ton

-    Conventional starter diet contains 27 percent soybean meal

Then: 

The contribution to diet cost of soybean meal at this inclusion level is $81 per ton. 

 If HP AviStart displaces soybean meal at an inclusion level of five percent of the diet, the combined cost per ton would be:

      22 percent soybean meal, amounting to      $66
        5 percent HP AviStart, amounting to         $40  
                                   Cost of combination    $106 per ton

Differential as a result of the inclusion of HP AviStart is equivalent to an increase of $25 per ton or   1.25 cents per lb. 

In the field: 

Projected feed consumption over the first ten days will be 0.57 lb. The incremental cost of HP AviStart inclusion will be 0.71 cents per bird

-    Assume a live weight of 6.5 lb. at harvest

-    With a standard WOG 75 percent yield, 4.9 lb. of RTC will be attained per bird

Each 1 percent improvement in live weight represents 0.05 lb./bird 

-    Assume RTC value after primary processing at $1.00 per lb.

1 percent improvement in growth is equivalent to 5 cents in incremental value

The Benefit to Cost ratio with each 1 percent improvement is therefore 5/0.7 or 7.1

By applying proportionality, a 2 percent increase would generate a 14.2:1 ratio, a 3 percent improvement, a 21.2:1 ratio and the determined 4 percent results in a Benefit to Cost ratio of 28.4:1

Proportionately higher growth rates and improvements in feed conversion efficiency can be attained by increasing the inclusion of HP AviStart, representing a “fast protein” with low levels of anti-nutritional factors.  The calculation does not take into account the beneficial effect of improved footpad quality, contributing to incremental revenue as an export product.  

HP AviStart is positioned as an ingredient with attributes supported by demonstrated biological mechanisms relating to rapid and efficient absorption of amino acids and diminished effects of anti-nutritional factors.  The in vitro studies involving protein kinetics are supported by controlled trials demonstrating an improvement in live weight at harvest, approximating four percent, compared to controls receiving conventional corn-soybean meal diets.