(1) The metabolism of living beings is a process that has as its objective to obtain energy from feed or to use the energy stored in the organism.

(2) The energy obtained is used to generate muscle movement, cell reproduction (growth or reproduction) and in the case of homeothermic animals (poultry and mammals) to maintain the internal body temperature stable.

(3) Furthermore, farm animals are selected to have greater cell reproduction (growth or reproduction) and therefore greater energy needs.

(4) Therefore, daily feed consumption is also higher in farm animals than in their wild counterparts.

(5) Thus, the need pushes farm birds and pigs to have a greater voracity and even to expel incompletely digested feed while they are ingesting new feed.

(6) As a consequence, the digestive system is subjected to a saturation of functions that can trigger increased peristalsis and, at its maximum degree, rapid transit. The presence of mycotoxins, micro-organisms and fats or proteins with low bioavailability favor an increase in the intensity of rapid transit.

(7) The consequences of rapid transit are: loss of FRC, loss of productivity and increased environmental contamination.

(8) Various solutions, mycotoxin and enzyme binders, have been proposed, but these solutions correct only the predisposing or aggravating causes but do not attack the primary cause.

(9) For this reason, at Biovet, S.A. we focus our research on increasing the time the feed remains in the intestine.

The various options presented different difficulties and finally, the application of fossil silica from diatoms was chosen since they are:

9.1 Marine biological structures.
9.2 Selectable by fossil structure.
9.3 Included in the list of additives.

(10) The selected structures, during the investigation, present a great correlation with their effects on intestinal transit in poultry and pigs and are available under the brand Alquerfeed Diatom™.

(11) Research carried out at the Scientific University of the South (UCSUR) and the University of Arequipa (UNSA) shows that intestinal transit was lengthened by 8% of the usual time in both poultry and pigs.

(12) This longer intestinal dwell time allows better digestive performance and results in a reduction of 8% of feed consumed to reach the same body weight.

(13) Since rapid intestinal transit is the first symptom of dysbiosis of the digestive microbiota, the use of Alquerfeed Diatom™ is considered to promote intestinal well-being.

(14) Alquerfeed Diatom™ acts through two mechanisms:

14.1 Normalization of intestinal transit.
14.2 Acidification of the intestinal environment by absorption of OH– ions from water and consequent increase in free H+ ions.