October 25, 2023

Tonisity successfully completes trials with ruminant animals

 

Ireland-based Tonisity International Limited announced last month that it had successfully completed a series of trials of its isotonic products at various ruminant farms in Europe.

 

The company's suite of isotonic products includes a patented isotonic protein drink that directly nourishes the intestinal cells of the small intestine of certain animals, including piglets, which accelerates and increases the absorption of all nutrients into the body of the animal. The result is higher weight gain, lower mortality, fewer fall behinds and less need for medications for these animals – all producing a high return on investment for producers. The improvement in gut health, leads to more heavier pigs at finish.

 

The products also include a milk replacer additive that is mixed with milk replacers, which are widely used in farrowing houses to supplement the sows' milk.

 

In 2018, Tonisity led a trial of its isotonic product at a cattle farm in Spain. The trial showed that the product could be effective in reducing mortality of young cattle.

 

The company has been studying the potential application for ruminant animals since 2018, including further testing of the products with calves in Austria, Italy and South Africa. With an understanding that enterocytes are the same across species, the micro-enteral nutrition technology can be used especially in the pre-ruminant phase when the young ruminant animals are still drinking milk and not consuming dry feed, Tonisity explained.

 

This year, Tonisity made some adaptations to existing products to test and observe the possible effects of its products on certain young ruminant animals. The first formula was mixed with water to obtain an isotonic solution, while the second product was designed to be mixed with the milk replacer on the farms in question.

 

The trials were conducted on calves and goats at six farms in Eastern Europe. The main findings of the trials were as follows:

 

    - At a young age, drinking can be a challenge but, overall, Tonisity solutions were well consumed, leading to a visible improvement in general health status and growth performance;

 

    - In calves, after 10 days of administration, weak animals consuming the solution had a good recovery and were able to reach the same growth rate as their counterparts a few weeks later. In one specific experiment, the treated calves had better overall condition and improved health and were, on average, 3kg to 5kg heavier than the control group after a 60-day period;

 

    - The Tonisity solutions also helped reduce the incidence of diarrhea in calves, which is a serious problem in the industry.

 

With two products having been successful in these trials, Tonisity is working to launch two new products for ruminant animals, one as an application in drinking water and the other as a milk replacer additive, in the very near future, the company said.

 

Tonisity expects branding of Tonisity Ruminant Products to be completed soon. These products can be produced at the company's existing production facility in Ireland with no material adaptations or significant additional resources needed.

 

Tonisity expects to be selling the Tonisity Ruminant Products before the end of 2023.

 

Arie Halpern, chief executive officer of Tonisity International, said: "Tonisity is pleased to be continuing to expand its suite of gut-health products into the ruminant sectors. As our company continues to solve the animal health problems impacting pig production worldwide, we are now poised to extrapolate this novel technology into the cattle, goat and sheep industries.

 

"We are building a global animal health and science company across many animal species, and this step into ruminants, nearly a year ahead of schedule, is a very significiant one. Tonisity's innovative solutions are easy to use and produce important production gains, including lower mortality, higher weight gain and less antibiotics usage, and therefore, continue to produce significant returns on investment for customers all over the world."

- Tonisity