Granular feed supplement

#This disclosure is generally directed to granular feed supplements for ruminant animals. In particular, this disclosure provides a granular feed supplement for a ruminant in which a physiologically active substance is stable in the rumen of a ruminant animal and is digested and absorbed in the abomasum and subsequent digestive tract. Also disclosed are a method of making and a method of using the granular feed supplement.

#Ruminant animals are mammals of the suborder Ruminantia that have a stomach divided into four morphologically distinct compartments: the rumen, the reticulum, the omasum, and the abomasum. The rumen and the reticulum are derived from the terminal portion of the esophagus, and only the omasum and the abomasum are considered to be a genuine stomach. Bacteria present in the rumen enable ruminants to digest cellulosic materials such as grass. Conventional digestion occurs in the abomasum, sometimes called the “true stomach.” Well-known ruminants include cattle, sheep, and goats.

#The rumen, which is essentially a continuous fermenter, supports a variety of micro-organisms under neutral conditions which attack and digest much of the ingested feedstuffs consumed by a ruminant as part of their normal life cycle. Ingested protein material is broken down in the rumen to soluble peptides and amino acids that are used as nutrients by the microorganisms. A stream of ingesta, rich in microbial cells, passes out of the rumen into the omasum. The function of the omasum is to separate liquids and solids. Much of the liquid reenters the rumen while the remainder of the material enters the abomasum. Digestion and absorption then proceed in the abomasum in a manner similar to that found in monogastrics. Enzymes secreted into the lumen of the abomasum digest much of the material, including the microbial cells. The digested microbial cells provide protein and amino acids to the ruminant.

#This disclosure relates to feed additives comprising a core that is coated with a coating material, which are stable in the rumen of a ruminant animal and are digested and absorbed in the abomasum and subsequent digestive tract.

#The core comprises at least one granulated physiologically active substance or biologically active substance (hereinafter “active substance”). The core may be a single granule, or may further include a matrix comprising one or more excipients such as binding substances, inert ingredients, and flow-control substances that together aid the formation of pellets of granulated active substances. The core may comprise one or more active substances, generally in a solid form, and must be firm enough so as to remain intact during the following phases of processing, especially during coating operations.

#The term “active substance” herein refers to, for example, amino acids, vitamins, enzymes, nutrients such as proteins and carbohydrates, probiotic micro-organisms, prebiotic foods, mineral salts, mixes of acids such as for instance lactic acid, fumaric acid, citric acid and malic acid, choline, and choline derivatives. These active substances may be used individually, or mixed together in varying weight ratios.