Posted On: February 24, 2010
EUREKA project E! 3025 MONALISA has developed a new, completely natural alternative to using antibiotics in animal feed. Formerly used as growth promoters and to prevent the damaging effects of the fungal toxins which are often present in feed, antibiotics have been prohibited for use in animal feed in the EU since 2006 – creating a need for a new, effective antimycotoxic agent. The already-known capacity of clay minerals to adsorb these mycotoxins has been increased ten times over in this project by the incorporation of molecules of extracts from algae (seaweed) onto the clay. The resulting activated clay is added to animal feed, where it is highly efficient at adsorbing the mycotoxin molecules.
The process, which involves suspension of the clay and seaweed extract in water, followed by removal of the remaining algal extract, centrifugation and drying, now holds two worldwide patents. It is the development of this process that is the main technological innovation. As well as applications in the field of animal feed, the clay-algal extract combination has potential uses in the purification of water from waste effluents, heavy metals or radioactive pollution.
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