Evidence builds for quillaja benefits beyond coccidiosis control

Supplementing broiler diets with the saponin quillaja may offer performance benefits beyond coccidiosis control, according to new research. In multiple studies, feed conversion improved even when indicators of Eimeria infection showed little change.

Derived from the bark of the South American soapbark tree, quillaja is increasingly used in broiler production to support gut health and coccidiosis control programs.

However, three recent studies by Huvepharma found that birds receiving quillaja alongside different anticoccidials achieved feed-conversion improvements of approximately three to four points compared with birds receiving the anticoccidials alone.

Those increases occurred without consistent changes in lesion scores, oocyst shedding or other measures of coccidiosis control, suggesting quillaja provides an additional performance benefit beyond simply increasing the anticoccidial effect of existing programs.

Testing quillaja alongside anticoccidials

In the first study, researchers fed broilers salinomycin and narasin at the midpoint of their approved dosage ranges — 50 g/ton and 72 g/ton, respectively — or the chemical anticoccidial clopidol at its lowest approved dose of 113.5 g/ton. Each treatment was compared with the same anticoccidial supplemented with quillaja at 250 parts per million (ppm).

By day 42, birds receiving quillaja alongside each of the three anticoccidials had significantly better feed conversion than those receiving the anticoccidial alone. Average bodyweight was also significantly higher among birds receiving salinomycin with quillaja.

Some supplemented groups had lower E. tenella lesion scores at day 27, but the differences were no longer significant by day 35. No significant differences were recorded in microscopic E. maxima lesions across any of the groups.

Although the results indicated that quillaja supported broiler performance, they did not establish whether this was due to improved coccidiosis control or another effect.

Comparing quillaja with higher ionophore doses

The second study was designed to compare higher ionophore doses with mid-range doses supplemented with quillaja.

Salinomycin, narasin and monensin were fed at their highest approved rates of 60 g/ton, 90 g/ton and 110 g/ton respectively. Each was compared with the same ionophore at a mid-range dose — 50 g/ton for salinomycin, 72 g/ton for narasin and 100 g/ton for monensin — plus quillaja at 250 ppm.

By day 42, birds receiving the mid-range ionophore doses with quillaja had significantly better feed conversion than those receiving the higher ionophore doses alone. Average bodyweight did not differ between treatments.

Some differences in lesion scores were recorded at day 27, including lower gross E. tenella scores in the monensin comparison and lower gross E. maxima scores in the salinomycin comparison. However, none remained significant at day 35.

“If you saw the same improvement simply by using more of the anticoccidial, then all you’re really seeing is better coccidiosis control,” explained David Smith, DVM, director of technical services at Huvepharma.

“But because we saw that benefit even when we compared quillaja with higher doses of the anticoccidial, we think it’s doing more than simply improving coccidiosis control.”

Performance gains persist at maximum ionophore doses

A third study tested that conclusion by feeding salinomycin, narasin and monensin at their highest recommended rates, with and without 250 ppm quillaja.

Feed conversion again improved with quillaja supplementation, particularly in birds receiving salinomycin, where significant differences were recorded at days 35 and 42. The salinomycin group supplemented with quillaja also had significantly lower gross E. tenella lesion scores at day 27, but there were no differences in microscopic E. maxima scores. By day 35, lesion scores were again similar across all treatments.

Across the three studies, quillaja supplementation improved feed conversion by about two to three points, although the response varied depending on the anticoccidial used, the stage of production and the treatment comparison, said Brandon Doss, DVM, professional services veterinarian at Huvepharma.

Doss said the findings support earlier research evaluating quillaja alongside live coccidiosis vaccination. Across five controlled studies and three field evaluations, supplemented birds recorded an average feed-conversion improvement of about five points compared with vaccination alone.

As with the latest studies, those improvements were not accompanied by consistent changes in lesion scores, oocyst shedding or other measures of coccidiosis control.

“We didn’t see meaningful differences compared with vaccine alone, but we did consistently see an improvement in overall performance, particularly feed conversion,” Doss said.

Benefits go beyond coccidiosis control

For Smith, the fact that quillaja produced a response alongside vaccination and anticoccidials suggests its benefits go beyond managing Eimeria.

“We’ve seen additional performance benefits even in programs we considered to already have strong coccidiosis control,” he said. “That suggests quillaja is having some other effect on gut health and gut integrity, even if we don’t yet know exactly what’s driving it.”

In earlier trials, Huvepharma investigated several measures of intestinal health, including tight-junction proteins, villus-to-crypt measurements and intestinal morphology. Although researchers saw some favorable trends, none were consistent enough across studies to explain the performance responses, Smith said.

“I think quillaja is probably creating a more favorable environment for beneficial bacteria in the gut,” he added. “Whether that’s by promoting beneficial bacteria or suppressing harmful ones, we don’t know, but I think it’s changing the microbiome in a way that improves performance.”

Complementing coccidiosis control programs

While the latest research suggests quillaja offers benefits beyond coccidiosis control, Smith says producers should not view it as a replacement for vaccines or pharmaceutical anticoccidials.

“Quillaja isn’t a good enough anticoccidial to be an anticoccidial alone, but there is a benefit that is not just anticoccidial activity,” he said. “It makes a good complement to existing anticoccidial drugs or vaccines.”

Doss said Huvepharma’s research has also found no evidence that supplementation interferes with the vaccine cycling required for a live vaccine to stimulate immunity.

“We’ve demonstrated in multiple studies that it doesn’t have a negative effect on vaccine cycling or immunity. It allows the vaccine to do its job and develop immunity in the birds.”

That flexibility could become increasingly useful as producers seek additional tools to support existing programs, particularly as coccidiosis-control options become more limited, Doss said.

“If you look at the history of the US poultry industry, our toolbox for supporting coccidiosis control programs has become more and more limited,” he added. “We see this product as another tool to support those programs, regardless of whether you’re using vaccination or ionophores.”

Start early, feed continuously

Based on the studies, Smith recommends feeding quillaja throughout the production cycle rather than introducing it at a later feed stage.

“Our research has shown that you gain the most benefit when the product is fed continuously throughout the bird’s life,” he said. “If quillaja is affecting the microbiome and you wait until birds are 14 to 16 days old to start feeding it, the microbiome is already well established by the time they transition to the second feed,” he said.

“I think you would still see some improvement if you fed it for only part of the production cycle, but I don’t think it would be as consistent or as pronounced as feeding it throughout the bird’s life.”

For producers considering adding a quillaja product to their feed, Smith says the value of improved feed conversion outweighs the cost of supplementation in most production systems.

“Obviously the returns are different for every customer based on bird size and feed costs and the response within each system, but generally speaking the cost of a quillaja product per ton of treated feed is more than covered by the feed-conversion improvements,” he said.

Doss says Huvepharma is now evaluating quillaja alongside synthetic chemical anticoccidials. If the feed-conversion response is repeated, it would complete the evidence that the benefit can occur regardless of the primary coccidiosis-control approach.

“We’ve got the data with vaccine. We’ve got the data with ionophores, and then if we get the data with the chemical synthetic anticoccidials, that will complete the story,” he said. “It shows a benefit, no matter what you choose as your coccidiosis-control option.”

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