Industry Review
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β-glucans: a natural solution to improving the immune status and survival of fish A measure of the effectiveness of a yeast cell wall is the ratio between β-glucans and MOS By Liliana Borges and Melina Bonato
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ntensive fish and shrimp farms are naturally susceptible to bacterial, fungal, and parasitic infections, particularly when the animals are under stress. For a long time, the most common method for dealing with the occurrence of bacterial infections in aquaculture was the administration of antibiotics. However, aquaculture faces serious problems due to various adverse effects of these drugs, such as accumulation in the animals’ tissues and environmental microbiota. Therefore, providing additives that strengthen the immune system might be one of the keys to higher productivity. ImmunoWall® (ICC Brazil) is derived from purified yeast cell walls of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, originating from the sugarcane fermentation process for ethanol production. It is the best natural source of mannan oligosaccharides (MOS) and β-glucans (BG), which are crucial to maintain intestinal health and to improve the immune status, thus ensuring optimal animal performance.
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Given that β-glucans are like the yeast cell wall ‘skeleton’, it is important to consider the ratio between β-glucans and MOS in order to measure the effectiveness of β-glucans.
ImmunoWall®
Yeast cell wall from primary fermentation yeast 1/2 BG 1/2 MOS
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The aggressive conditions during the sugar cane fermentation process to obtain ethanol leads the yeast to protect itself and, therefore, to strengthen its cell wall. Given that β-glucans are like the yeast cell wall “skeleton”, it is important to consider the ratio between β-glucans and MOS in order to measure the true effectiveness of β-glucans. The higher the β-glucans concentration, the lower the cell wall degradation in the gastrointestinal tract. ImmunoWall® contains around 35% of β-glucans and 20% of MOS, i.e. it has a BG: MOS ratio close to 2: 1, whereas the primary yeast cell walls have a 1: 1 BG: MOS ratio (Figure 1).
Microscopy structural difference between ImmunoWall and yeast cell wall from primary fermentation. Light microscopy images performed at Electron Microscopy Facility, Cellular & Molecular Medicine, University of California San Diego – 2016. Figure 1. The difference in β-glucans between ImmunoWall® and the yeast cell wall from primary fermentation.
56 STUDIES IN SEVERAL SPECIES DEMONSTRATE ITS EFFICACY. +200 IN VITRO STUDIES.
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EFFECTIVE AGAINST MYCOTOXINS.
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CMY
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THE HIGHEST RATIO OF
β-GLUCAN:MOS, MAKING IT LESS DEGRADABLE IN THE INTESTINAL TRACT.
EFFICACY AT LOW DOSES.
For more information: www.iccbrazil.com +55 11 3093-0799 | icc@iccbrazil.com.br
July/August 2019 AQUA Culture Asia Pacific