Evaluation of two protected forms of sodium butyrate

An in vitro test presented in IPSF 2014 Atlanta, has determined the release of butyric acid during the digestion process.

Two butyrate salts with different protections were tested, a sodium butyrate encapsulated with palm stearine (GUSTOR COATED) and a sodium butyrate protected with sodium salt of palm fatty acids (GUSTOR N’RGY). The content of butyric acid was 25.54% in COATED and 56% in N’RGY. The test was based on Boisen (1991), and the two treatments had 7 samples each, replicated twice. First, the pH was adjusted to 2.0 and a pepsin solution was added. The closed flasks were incubated at 39ºC for 2 hours with gentle stirring. First flask was frozen after 1 h and the second flask after 2 hours. The rest of flasks continued the in vitro digestion. Then, pH was adjusted to 6.8 and the slurry mixed with a pancreatin solution. After closing, the remaining flasks were incubated at 39ºC, then frozen after 3, 4, 5 and 6 hours respectively.

The in vitro evaluation revealed, during the 6 h of the experiment, a higher gradual release of butyrate from N’RGY (91.38%) than from COATED (75.88%). This might be explained by the way the two fats are digested, either by acid hydrolysis or by enzymatic digestion (in birds, this point is of utmost importance in young animals). A product coated with palm stearin might be less available to chicks as the fat coverage has to be degraded by enzymes to release the active ingredient (sodium butyrate). N’RGY (protected with salts of palm fatty acids) might be more available to chicks as the protection is hydrolyzed by acids in the gastrointestinal tract