Managing the unavoidable risk
of endotoxins
Animals face many external stressors in life—environment, disease, and transitions are a few. Unfortunately, within the animal’s own gut, harmful gram-negative bacteria are naturally produced. Managing the levels of gram-negative bacteria present and available in the intestinal tract is imperative for animal health and performance.
They cannot be avoided
Naturally living in the animal intestinal system, endotoxins—literally meaning ‘toxin from within’—are lipopolysaccharides (LPS) contained in the membrane of gram-negative bacteria. These LPS are inflammatory pyrogens and trigger an immune response in the gut. When stressed, the gut microbiome balance of gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria tilts adversely to too many gram-negative bacteria. This immune response negatively impacts animal health and reduces production potential.
‘Binding’ the solution
Unfortunately, when the gram-negative bacteria membrane divides, through binary fission, or is destroyed, like with an antibiotic, the damage-causing LPS is released in the animal’s system. Therefore, killing gram-negative bacteria can actually have a detrimental side effect. Instead, they should be bound to a natural binding agent, allowing the toxins to pass through the gastrointestinal tract and not be absorbed. Agrifirm’s toxin binding line has been scientifically shown to bind to both mycotoxins and endotoxins. We are the first to demonstrate endotoxin binding through ex vivo studies.
On a farm, there are many risks to animal health that can be managed externally, however, some are unavoidable. Reducing stress can influence the ratio of gram-negative to gram-positive bacteria present in the gut. Still, the risk of endotoxins is always there. Since killing gram-negative bacteria releases high levels of LPS, binding them to pass through the animal is the best solution for health, performance, and profit.
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