Synergies with probiotics

1+1 = 3: How Livalta™Cell HY40 creates synergies with probiotics

Probiotics are known for having a whole host of benefits when fed to animals, including positive effects on the microbiome; support for healthy development and productivity; and they can help provide protection against pathogens. But in the real world, it’s not always easy to achieve those positive effects. One factor that will make a difference is the probiotic microorganism’s ability to cope with the challenging conditions found in the animal’s gut, such as a low gastric pH. Sometimes, they need help!

We know what Livalta™Cell HY40, our enzymatically treated yeast derived from selected non-GM saccharomyces cerevisiae strains, can do on its own: it combines the nutritional and functional benefits of yeast and nurtures and protects the animal. It can be an element of a strategy to support reducing antibiotics. But what if we combined Livalta™Cell HY40 with probiotics? Could there be synergies: 1+1 = 3?

To test this, we carried out an in vitro trial with Livalta™Cell HY40 and the probiotic Bacillus subtilis is, also known as the hay bacillus or grass bacillus, widely used to enhance animal fibre digestion and gut health. We placed bacteria on a 'growth medium':

• Group A: Growth medium supplemented with 0.1 % glucose as a carbon source
• Group B: Growth medium supplemented with 0.1% Livalta™Cell HY40

…and then simulated a low pH stress by pre-treating two additional groups with hydrochloric acid, setting the pH to 2.0 and incubating the bacteria for 30 min at 37°C following Sumeri et al., 2010.

• Group C: Growth medium supplemented with 0.1 % glucose + low pH stress
• Group D: Growth medium supplemented with 0.1% Livalta™Cell HY40 + low pH stress.

We monitored the growth of the bacteria across the 4 groups spectrophotometrically for 24 hours using an automated growth analyser.

Figure 1. Growth curves of Bacillus subtilis cultures in growth media containing either 0.1% glucose or 0.1% Livalta™Cell HY40, with or without low pH stress So what did we see? Our results summarized in the graph above show that

• without low pH stress, Livalta™Cell HY40 can help to support the growth of the probiotic Bacillus subtilis, especially during early stages
• under low pH stress, Livalta™Cell HY40 can help to optimise the resilience and support the growth of the bacteria

So there are potential synergies: Livalta™Cell HY40 can help to support the growth of probiotic bacteria and protect them under the difficult conditions in the gut of the animal. 1+1 = 3.