Evonik: Research shows DL-Met more efficient than hydroxy analogues
It has published the first edition of the MetAMINO ATLAS, which provides the results of 15 performance trials comparing the relative effectiveness of MetAMINO, the company's DL-methionine (DL-Met) product, with methionine hydroxy analog free acid or calcium salt products (MHA-FA/Ca).
The studies, it said, were conducted in 11 countries on five continents under different climatic, geographic and farm conditions - in experimental settings as well as at commercial farms with broiler chickens, laying hens, swine, and aqua species.
Those trials, investigating the relative bioavailability of supplementary methionine sources in relation to animal diets, suggest that 65 units of DL-Met achieve comparable performance to 100 units of MHA-FA, resulting in a relative bioavailability of 65% MHA-FA compared to DL-Met, according to the specialty chemicals producer.
“Across all trials and all species, we found that comparable animal performance criteria were achieved when 100 units of MHA-products were replaced with 65 units of MetAMINO,” commented Nils Niedner, product manager for that Evonik brand.
Evonik announced plans in February 2022 to build a methyl mercaptan plant in Mobile, Alabama, US. Methyl mercaptan is a key intermediate in the production of MetAMINO that the company currently sources from third parties. Mobile is one of Evonik's strategic hubs serving North and South American markets, next to Antwerp in Belgium and Singapore.
Its hubs in Antwerp and Singapore are already fully backward integrated. The Mobile plant is scheduled to come on stream in the second half of 2024, and the investment budget for that is around €150m (US$168.3m) over three years.
Understanding nutritive value
The challenge of meeting the increasing demand for milk, eggs, meat, and fish calls for decisive measures, said the German company.
“Enhancing livestock performance with nutritional supplements such as essential amino acids is one of the most effective approaches science has developed. In this context, precise knowledge about the relative nutritive value of DL-Met compared with liquid MHA-FA and MHA-Ca salt is an important prerequisite for cost-effective purchasing, feed formulation, and animal production.
“For this reason, a significant amount of research has been conducted to investigate the relative bioavailability of supplementary methionine sources in animal diets,” explained Dr Jan-Olaf Barth, head of the efficient nutrition product line at Evonik.
Further elaborating on the findings, the company said the research demonstrates that MHA-FA/Ca were, on average, 35% less effective than DL-Met.
“This means that 35% less product needs to be moved, stored and processed with DL-Met. Instead of three full truckloads of MHA-FA only two trucks of DL-Met are needed. Application of those results for practical purchase decisions suggest a 35% lower price for liquid MHA-FA relative to the price of DL-Met,” added the Evonik team.
