GB1572944A - Animal fodder mixture - Google Patents

Description

(54) ANIMAL FODDER MIXTURE (71) We, HENKEL KOMMANDIT GESELLSCHAFT AUF AKTIEN, a German Company, of 67 Henkelstrasse, 4000 Dusseldorf-Holthausen, Federal Republic of Germany, do hereby declare the invention, for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: The present invention relates to an animal fodder mixture.

High-efficiency animal fodder, customarily used nowadays in the intensive rearing of animals, contains a number of additives having a prophylactic and/or nutritive effect. These substances include, inter alia, antibiotica and enzymes. While antibiotica are already being used in mixed fodders of all types, enzymes are not yet used to a large extent.

The fodder mixtures used in the modern intensive rearing of animals have generally been optimized in all foodstuff components to an extent where it appears that further improvement is not readily possible.

However, unexpectedly, it has been found that even high-efficiency fodders of optimum composition can be further improved with respect to the utilization of the fodder and/or the increase in weight obtainable thereby when specific antibiotica together with proteolytic enzymes are added to these fodders.

Accordingly, the present invention provides an animal fodder mixture comprising carbohydrates, fats, protein, and 5 to 20 ppm of the antibiotic zinc bacitracin together with a quantity of proteolytic enzymes sufficient to provide an enzymatic activity of 0.05 to 2.5 mTU/g. If required, the animal fodder mixture can also contain further additives, for example, further conventional additives.

The anti-biotic zinc bacitracin belongs to the polypeptide antibiotica group. The commercial preparations are mixtures of various polypeptides having a zinc content up to 20 percent. The starting form Bacitracin is produced in a known manner from strains of Bacillus licheniformis.

Suitable proteolytic enzymes are primarily obtained by the culturing of micro-organisms and separation from the nutrient solution. The methods used for this purpose are known. By way of example, proteolytic enzymes from Bacillus licheniformis, Bacillus natta, Bacillus subtilis, etc., are used. Acid proteases are particularly preferred, for example those from Aspergillus niger or Rhizophus rhizopodiformis in accordance with German Offenlegungshrift No. 25 28 490. Proteases of this type have a particularly wide spectrum of activity in the slightly acid range between pH 2.5 to 6.5.

The composition of commercially available fodder mixtures is optimized for the special requirements of the individual species of animal. Carbohydrates, primarily from grain components, maize or the like form the basis of the commercially available fodder mixtures. Protein carriers are primarily soya waste, fish meal, animal body meal, bran, and the like. Aminoacids which are lacking, such as methionine, can be additionally added. Fats in the form of vegetable or animal fats or waste fats are added. Furthermore, salts, such as dicalciumphosphate, calcium carbonate, and common salt are added for the purpose of building up the body. If required, the fodder mixture is finished by adding trace elements, vitamins, ballast substances etc.

Substances formed by fermentation, such as single-cell proteins from mineral oil fractions or alcohols, various yeasts, algal protein or other substances possibly obtained from waste substances, can form a considerable part of the fodder formulation.

The animal fodder mixtures in accordance with the present invention contain, in addition to the conventional constituents adjusted to a specific species of animal, 5 to 20 ppm, preferably 10 to 15 ppm of the said anti-biotic and proteolytic enzymes in a quantity such that the enyzymatic activity is 0.05 to 2.5 mTU/g, preferably 0.2 to 0.5 mTU/g. In particular, a combination comprising zinc bacitracin and an acid fungus protease or protease mixture is used. The use of fodder mixtures in accordance with the present invention gives a 4% increase in the growth and a 4% improvement in the utilization of the fodder as compared to corresponding control mixtures containing only an anti-biotic.

The effective combination of zinc bacitracin and enzymes has proved to be particularly successful in fodder for fattening chickens. Altenatively, however, they can also be used for other species of animal in which the use of zinc bacitracin alone is advantageous, for example in pig fattening and in foodstuffs for laying hens.

Advantageously, the antibiotic is added to the fodder in the form of a pre-mixture, for example combined with soya extraction waste. The enzyme component is also applied as a pre-mixture when using meallike fodder compositions. Any optional fodder component, such as soya waste, acts as a carrier substance. When using steampelleted fodder, the enzymes have to be incorporated in a suitably stabilized form in order to prevent deactivation by moisture and heat during pelletization. A method of this type is the subject of, for example, British Patent Application No. 2466/77 (Serial No. 1,572,761).

In border to determine the enzyme unit (TU), the proteolytic activity of the proteases is ascertained in accordance with the known Anson principle. A suitably diluted quantity of enzyme solution is incubated for 20 minutes at 400C with an equal volume of 1.2% casein solution, the latter containing 0.6% lactic acid, 6 mol of urea and 0.1 mol of citric or acetic acid. The pH value of the casein solution is adjusted to 4.5 by adding 2 N caustic soda solution.

0.4 N trichloroacetic acid is added in the volume ratio 1:1 after incubation, the precipitate which is formed is filtered off from the undigested casein and the detached portions of protein produced during decomposition are ascertained in the filtrate by any optional method of determining protein. By way of example, the method described by Layne in Method of Enzymology 3 (1957), pages 448 ff., is suitable for this purpose.

A blank value has to be prepared for each measurement sample, trichloroacetic acid and then casein solution being added. This blank value gives, in addition to the reagent blank value, the proportion of lowmolecular peptides present in the enzyme solution before digestion. In the stated method, the difference between the principle value and the blank value is compared with the extinction which produces a specific quantity of tyrosine in this analysis. This quantity of tyrosine is then indicative of the proteolytic activity of the enzyme under consideration. An enzyme unit (TU) is that quantity of enzyme which in one minute, releases from a casein solution fission products which have the same extinction as a 1 M tyrosine solution. The data is normally presented in mTU i.e., 10-3 TU.

The present invention will now be further illustrated by way of the following Example: Example 1 160 male day-old battery chicks of Lohmann origin were fed for 6 weeks with similarly composed fodder mixtures, but (a) without an additive of antibiotic or enzyme (b) with an additive of 10 ppm of zinc bacitracin (c) with an additive of 10 ppm of zinc bacitracin and 0.3 mTU/g of acid proteases from Aspergillus niger and, after the test had been concluded, the final weight was determined and the fodder was evaluated. The term "fodder evaluation" refers to the ratio of fodder consumption:growth.

Fodder composition (%): Maize, coarse cut 50 Soya waste, extr. 18.5 Wheat pollard 15 Fodder fat (soya oil/lard in the ratio 1:1) 6 Fodder blood meal 3.5 Meat bone meal 3 Fish meal 1 Mineral substance mixture Vitamin pre-mixture 1 Carbonaceous fodder lime 0.89 Trace element pre-mixture 0.1 Antibiotica pre-mixture 0.01 100.00 Result: (a) (b) (c) without with with additive Zn.bac. Zn.bac.+E Final weight (g) 1518 1515 1557 Fodder evaluation 1.86 1.86 1.80 Zn.bac.=Zn bacitracin E=proteolytic enzymes from the said micro-organisms.

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. An animal fodder mixture comprising carbohydrates, fats, protein, and 5 to 20 ppm of the antibiotic zinc bacitracin and proteolytic enzymes in a quantity sufficient to provide an enzymatic activity of from 0.05 to 2.5 mTU/g.

2. An animal fodder mixture as claimed in claim 1, in which the antibiotic zinc bacitracin is present in an amount of 10 to 15 ppm.

3. An animal fodder mixture as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, in which the enzymatic activity is from 0.2 to 0.5 mTU/g.

4. An animal fodder mixture as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, in which the proteolytic enzymes are acid proteases having a spectrum of activity between pH 2.5 to 6.5.

5. An animal fodder mixture as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, which contains further additives.

6. An animal fodder mixture substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the Example.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims (6)

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. Result: (a) (b) (c) without with with additive Zn.bac. Zn.bac.+E Final weight (g) 1518 1515 1557 Fodder evaluation 1.86 1.86 1.80 Zn.bac.=Zn bacitracin E=proteolytic enzymes from the said micro-organisms. WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. An animal fodder mixture comprising carbohydrates, fats, protein, and 5 to 20 ppm of the antibiotic zinc bacitracin and proteolytic enzymes in a quantity sufficient to provide an enzymatic activity of from 0.05 to 2.5 mTU/g.

2. An animal fodder mixture as claimed in claim 1, in which the antibiotic zinc bacitracin is present in an amount of 10 to 15 ppm.

3. An animal fodder mixture as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, in which the enzymatic activity is from 0.2 to 0.5 mTU/g.

4. An animal fodder mixture as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, in which the proteolytic enzymes are acid proteases having a spectrum of activity between pH 2.5 to 6.5.

5. An animal fodder mixture as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, which contains further additives.

6. An animal fodder mixture substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the Example.