13TSB_N4L2FS: Development of silage inoculants to improve mineral composition of animal products

Consumers have an increasing fascination with the food they eat with a subsequent increase in demand for healthier, more nutritional functional food. This project will develop novel animal products which will increase the supply of bioavailable nutrients to the consumer reducing the reliance on dietary supplements. Se is essential for humans as a constituent of more than two dozen seleno-proteins which play critical roles in reproduction, thyroid hormone metabolism, DNA synthesis and protection from oxidative damage. Inadequate intakes of bioavailable Se are common in people living in Se-deficient regions, vegetarians and vegans. Se deficiency is also seen in patients' under-going kidney dialysis, people living with HIV and the elderly due to removal of Se through dialysis, increased loss through diarrhoea and malabsorption. Se is available in multimineral supplements as inorganic sodium selenate or sodium selenite. However, the human body absorbs only 50 % of Se as either selenate or selenite compared to over 90 % of Se in the form of organic selenomethionine and selenocysteine (IFMNB, 2000). Good sources of organic Se in the human diet are from animal products such as dairy and ruminant meat. However variability in composition is large due to the nature of the Se status of the soil during grazing and also the low levels of minerals contained typically in ensiled forage. A 2005 report estimated that typical UK silage contained less than 21 % of the Se requirement for optimum livestock nutrition (FWL, 2005). It is therefore common to supplement ruminants with minerals in the form of inorganic Se. As with humans the bioavailability of the inorganic form is significantly less than organic Se requiring a higher dose. In addition the conversion of inorganic Se into milk and muscle seleno-protein is inefficient resulting in lower levels in animal products for human consumption. Therefore the ability to use a silage inoculant which incorporates Se as an organic form will naturally increase the supply of available Se to animals and enrich products with a highly bioavailable form of the nutrient. As such the project will develop a novel method of nutrient delivery by enhancing organic Se in animal products. It will also develop a novel healthier food which will allow greater absorption of organic Se without the need for dietary supplementation through inorganic mineral tablets. In addition an increase in Se in animal products through greater antioxidant capacity will improve product shelf life and reduce waste.

Consumers have an increasing fascination with the food they eat with a subsequent increase in demand for healthier, more nutritional functional food. This project will develop novel animal products which will increase the supply of bioavailable nutrients to the consumer reducing the reliance on dietary supplements. Se is essential for humans as a constituent of more than two dozen seleno-proteins which play critical roles in reproduction, thyroid hormone metabolism, DNA synthesis and protection from oxidative damage. Se is available in multimineral supplements as inorganic sodium selenate or sodium selenite. However, the human body absorbs only 50 % of Se as either selenate or selenite compared to over 90 % of Se in the form of organic selenomethionine and selenocysteine (IFMNB, 2000). Good sources of organic Se in the human diet are from animal products such as dairy and ruminant meat. However variability in composition is large due to the nature of the Se status of the soil during grazing and also the low levels of minerals contained typically in ensiled forage. It is therefore common to supplement ruminants with minerals in the form of inorganic Se. As with humans the bioavailability of the inorganic form is significantly less than organic Se requiring a higher dose. In addition the conversion of inorganic Se into milk and muscle seleno-protein is inefficient resulting in lower levels in animal products for human consumption. Therefore the ability to use a silage inoculant which incorporates Se as an organic form will naturally increase the supply of available Se to animals and enrich products with a highly bioavailable form of the nutrient. As such the project will develop a novel method of nutrient delivery by enhancing organic Se in animal products. It will also develop a novel healthier food which will allow greater absorption of organic Se without the need for dietary supplementation through inorganic mineral tablets.

As the project will develop a new silage inoculant with the IP sitting with the lead organisation and licensed to Kelvin Cave Ltd. for UK distribution, this project will have real economic benefits to the industry consortium members in a relatively short time scale. The ability to develop further international licensing opportunities will have further economic benefit for consortium members and other licensees. Economic benefits will be seen by both farmers and retailers as animals produced will be of higher value warranting a higher market price and retailers will benefit through the expected extended shelf life that the higher level of Se antioxidant would provide. This is also an example of the environmental benefits as the technology could significantly reduce waste through the products' extended shelf life. In addition the technology could reduce the practice of Se fertiliser application to fields with subsequent nutrient leaching and loss into water courses and environmental pollution. As such there could be further saving to farmers in reducing the reliance on mineral licks and supplements to provide in-organic Se. The project also has obvious societal benefits with the development of a novel functional food increasing the bioavailability of an essential mineral to reduce reliance on dietary supplements. There will also be benefits in terms of animal health as Se deficiency in animals is associated with many production conditions such as retained placenta, mastitis and white muscle disease. The University of Bristol have access to mechanisms to help investigate and measure the health benefits over the longer term. Such as the Biomedical Research Unit in Diet, Nutrition and Lifestyle and the Elizabeth Blackwell Institute for Health Research which provides access to researcher in the fields of Neuroscience, Cancer, Cardiovascular Medicine, and Bristol Health Partners which brings together the health providers in the city to deliver evidence based patient benefit.

The data provided from the project will also provide robust information to feed back into policy makers and regulators, highlighting the current situation with regards to Se uptake and deposition into animal products. It will provide a greater biological understanding of the effect of organic Se on animal health and depositions to help develop further intervention strategies for the farming industry to address other mineral availability issues associated with developing functional foods beyond the scope of this project.

Economic Impacts
New product development in terms of both novel silage inoculants and Se enriched animal products.
Improved human and animal health and reduced Vet and NHS fees.
Enhanced sales of functional animal products to supply organic bioavailable minerals.
Reduced loss of products and extended shelf life
Higher returns for the farmer through a higher value carcass
Lower costs of production through greater efficiency and lower reliance on mineral supplements

Social Impacts
Increased consumer confidence in UK produced livestock products.
Improved confidence in the food that is supplied to the most at risk groups to supply the minerals that they require.
Reduced reliance on mineral supplements and the pill-popping culture.
Greater confidence and brand development opportunities of UK produced products.
Healthier consumers and animals

Environmental Impacts
Reduction in food wastage facilitated by an extended shelf life associated with improved Se anti-oxidant content.
Reduced environmental pollution from the use of Se fertilisers in Se deficient regions.
Improved efficiency of Se use by animals resulting in lower levels of Se in animal waste.
Greater health of animals and therefore efficiency of production which will improve Carbon efficiency and lower greenhouse gas emissions