The study was conducted at the French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food, and Environment (INRAE) at St Pée sur Nivelle, a leading French research institute, as part of AQUAEXCEL2020 Transnational Access Program (TNA). The goal was to evaluate the nutritional performance of SylPro in rainbow trout diets.
In the study, feeds were formulated with SylPro as a replacement for fishmeal and/or plant-based protein-rich ingredients, said the US based company.
The results indicate the product was a suitable replacement for both plant proteins and fishmeal based on feed conversion ratio (FCR), specific growth rate (SGR), and body weight gain (BWG), when used in aquafeeds up to a 20% inclusion level, said Arbiom.
In addition, the inclusion of SylPro improved performance in fishmeal-free diets, as per the trial data.
The study results also underscore the product's protein digestibility, said the producer. “SylPro has consistently shown digestibility values on par with, or better than, premium fishmeal sources in rainbow trout, hybrid striped bass, and even weanling pigs,” said Dr Ricardo Ekmay, senior vice president of nutrition and product development, Arbiom.
The research team saw no statistical differences in mortality over the course of the study, said the company.
More trial data is forthcoming: “Arbiom has several performance trials underway with both research institutes and commercial partners evaluating SylPro in several fish species as well as weanling pigs, dogs, and cats.”
Regulatory, commercial status
Arbiom’s SylPro is produced using wood-derived media in a fermentation stage followed by downstream processing to produce the product, which is comprised of dried inactive yeast cells.
The protein ingredient falls under current feed definitions of dried, inactive torula yeast and is, therefore, considered approved, said the developer.
In terms of advances it has made on getting up to industrial scale production of the novel ingredient, Ekmay told FeedNavigator: “Arbiom has made progress, continuing to develop and produce large volumes of SylPro sample material for commercial trials. We have continued to advance our process scale-up work, achieving milestones in Arbiom’s demonstration program, which is on track to be completed this year. Arbiom is targeting 2024 for the first plant commissioning.”