June 16, 2006

Chemaphor reports positive results for OxBC as feed additive

Canada's Ottawa-based Chemaphor Inc has introduced its first carotenoid-based product for non-pharmaceutical applications

Chemaphor said its OxBC, a feed additive, is effective as a non-antibiotic, non-hormonal promoter of growth and feed conversion efficiency in livestock.

The company said a study carried out in young pigs by Dr Daniel Hurnik of the Atlantic Veterinary College at the University of Prince Edward Island indicated that OxBC added to regular swine feed promotes growth of the animals and improves conversion of feed into body mass.

A subsequent collaborative study by major industrial companies in the animal health and feed supply businesses has also shown OxBC improves growth and feed conversion efficiency, the company said.

As feed is the major cost of livestock food production, additives providing improvements in growth and feed conversion efficiency can lead to significant cost savings for the producer, as well as reduce the burden of waste on the environment, the company said in its press release.

OxBC is a caroteniod-based compound.

Carotenoids are a family of approximately 600 highly-coloured compounds found in nature which are highly susceptible to oxidation. In the oxidation process, the parent molecules are destroyed and a very large number of new compounds are formed.

Many, if not most, of the biological activities of carotenoids flow from one of more of their oxidation products, and not from the parent compound itself. OxBC, comprises a mixture of oxidation products obtained directly via the spontaneous oxidation of beta-carotene. OxBC represents a cross-section of the spectrum of the numerous carotenoid oxidation products that occur naturally in the plant world.

Chemaphor Inc develops products for the animal health, skin care cosmetics, pharmaceutical and specialty chemical markets. The company's two flagship products are a non-pharmaceutical product, OxBC, and a lead cancer drug compound, OCL-1.