LIVESTOCK HEALTH

THE  KEY  ISSUE

Dairy cattle treated with antibiotics produce milk contaminated with antibiotic residue, for a period of time, after the therapy. With increasing concerns pertaining to drug-resistant bacteria, it is essential to minimise unwarranted human and animal exposure to pharmaceutical residue in both waterways and dairy products.

THE  ROLE  OF  ZINC  IN  LIFE  SUSTENANCE

Zinc (Zn) is the second most abundant trace metal in the human body after iron and the only metal found in all enzyme classes. It is an essential mineral, to humans, animals and plants. It is crucial to both prenatal and postnatal development. Most zinc is found in the brain, muscle, bones, kidney, and liver, with the highest concentrations in parts of the eye and the prostate where in the latter, it plays a key role in prostate gland function.  

 Zn deficiency affects approximately two billion people globally, and this deficiency is associated with a multitude of diseases such as: growth retardation, delayed sexual maturation and impotency, infection susceptibility and diarrhea, which contributes to the deaths of about 800,000 children worldwide, annually. 

 Zn can be obtained from animal products such as meat, fish, shellfish, fowl, eggs, and dairy.  It is also available in plants, where the Zn content depends on the nature of the soil they grow in. Zn can't be stored in the body by animals and as a result, regular dietary intake of the element is necessary in their feed, to meet the physiological needs.

Zinc oxide (ZnO) is one of the most common Zn supplements. Due to its higher stability and lower cost, ZnO is recommended for the fortification of cereal flours, as it is absorbed in similar appreciable capacity as less stable and more expensive forms of zinc. Depending on the amount of the food that is expected to be eaten, zinc fortification of staple foods could be 20–50 mg/kg of flour or animal feed. Successful fortification of food/animal feed depends on the supplement being relatively benign in the food it is incorporated in. Unfortunately, this level of chemical inertness is often associated with insolubility and relatively poor bioavailability.

QUANTUM-GRADE  ZnO  FOR  ANIMAL HEALTH & FEED  FORTIFICATION

Third party scientific studies have been carried out to to compare the effect of addition of conventional ZnO (3000 mg/kg of feed) and nano-grade ZnO (< 90 mg/kg of feed) in order to evaluate the ration of for example in broiler chicken on the growth performance, feed intake, the possible change in the taste/smell of the feed, Zn residues in tissues, their anti- microbial activity against E. coli O78 isolated from chickens, and the induced histopathological changes. Such studies offer an  opportunity for the extensive use of ZnO-NPs in veterinary medicine.

From what studies show, the use of antibiotics can be circumvented, by the inclusion of  nano-grade ZnO, as a Zn supplement in animal feed. The nanograde form of the material is finer and easier to absorb, than regular zinc sources. Also, it provides benefits such as growth in poultry and increased milk production in cows. The immuno-modulatory and antimicrobial effects of this grade of ZnO, would reduce disease occurence and mortality rate in livestock. 

The economic health of many countries depends on agriculture, and nanotechnology is proving to be important for future animal husbandry and feeding. High levels of Zn excretion from supplemented animals have however raised concerns regarding environmental pollution. The utilization of better bio-available Zn sources capable of being supplemented at low doses,  to reduce the Zn added to the animal food and subsequent excretion levels.

Nano-mineralization of ZnO particles with high surface area offer an increased potential of absorption than conventional ZnO sources and thus provide the possibility to reduce the quantity required, for the fortification of food/animal feed.

Quantum-confined ZnO materials have minimal adverse effect on human cells and have the ability to cross the small intestine for further distribution to other parts of the body. 

Research has reported on ZnO nanoparticles illustrating quite a broad spectrum of antibacterial activity, showing inhibitory effects on the growth of pathogen such as  E. coli O157:H7, L. monocytogenes, and S. enterica serovar Enteritidis, Bacillus subtilis, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, Streptococcus pyogenes, Enterococcus faecalis and C. jejuni, amongst others.

Nanograde ZnO incorporated in animal food has been reported to improve the following aspects : 

• Growth

• Milk Production

• Immunity / Antimicrobial resistance, to lower the need for antibiotics and lower disease risk in poultry, as well as milk contamination in dairy cows.

A transition to our quantum-phase materials (< 20 nm particle size or atomically thin) lets you use less than 80 % of your current Zinc doses. As such, we enable you to achieve and/or supersede your current performance goals, while minimising the probability of aquatic environment pollution by using very minute levels of Zn.

AVERAGE DOSE:

The average nano ZnO doses for quantum-phase materials is much lower than that of regular nano-ZnO and range between 5 - 10mg/kg of animal feed**, depending on quantum material particle and spsecific surface area. 

A higher surface area ZnO quantum material offers improved Zn bioavailability and the enhanced efficiency means such quantum-phase ZnO can be administered in much lower doses than conventional nanomaterials, in the combined domains of improved animal health and feed fortification at minute doses.

Beyond the above mentioned benefits, our quantum-phase ZnO materials also offer the following benefits : 

• Superior UV-shielding

• Antifouling in feed storage vessels

• High Antimicrobial & Anti-fungal Activity

• Prevention and treatment of facial eczema

• Re-epithelialization of wounds (promote skin formation) from injury or sunburn

• Water-repellant / moisture barrier

Essentially, low surface area ZnO requires a high dosage, has low bioavailability, is harder to assimilate & is excreted as an environmental pollutant. High surface area ligand-free ZnO lowers the required Zn dose, augments bioavailability, is easy to absorb, improves animal health, minimises antibiotic usage & pollution.