Stress alert

High growth rates, nutritional imbalances, weaning, transportation, pathogens, toxins… Animals have to cope with all kinds of stressors resulting in a continuously triggered physiological status.

An excess of free radicals, also called oxidative stress, results in damage to the essential building blocks in the animal’s body. A loss of cell and organ functionality ends up in a waste of energy, increased risk on diseases and metabolic disorders.

Nature to the rescue

Animal diets are traditionally supplemented with antioxidative compounds to counter the problem of oxidative stress. The effects of Vitamin E for example is widely shown and accepted in scientific literature. However, increasing levels of this antioxidant may only have marginal effects and feed producers are depending on the variability in market prices of this type of raw materials.

Nature offers many alternative solutions in terms of compounds with antioxidative properties. Supplementation of animal feed with natural antioxidants with proven action within the animal may even lead to synergistic effects on the overall health and welfare of the animal.