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Feed ANFs-Glycosides
BioVenic provides feed glycoside (anti-nutritional factor, ANF) analysis and mitigation services for the detection and reduced antinutritional impact of toxic glycosides in animal feed, supporting feed additive and bioprocessing development, and animal nutrition research across livestock, poultry, and companion animals. Our platform covers major antinutritional glycosides including glucosinolates, cyanogenic glycosides, glycoalkaloids, saponins, aliphatic nitrotoxins, and cardenolides, with detection via HPLC, MS, and NMR. We support glycoside-related animal research with in vitro and in vivo models and multi-omics (microbiome, metabolome, proteome) analyses to evaluate intervention efficacy and safeguard animal health.
Antinutritional Glycosides
A diverse array of toxic glycosides occurs in higher plants, including glucosinolates, cyanogenic glycosides, glycoalkaloids, saponins, aliphatic nitrotoxins, and cardenolides. Less abundant are toxic glycosides with diterpenoid, sesquiterpenoid, azoxy, phenolic, and sterol aglycones.
Saponins
Saponins are secondary compounds that are generally non-volatile, surface-active compounds widely distributed in nature, primarily in the plant kingdom. Saponins were considered toxic due to their apparent extreme toxicity to fish and cold-blooded animals, and many having strong hemolytic activity. Saponins are antinutrients due to their adverse effects, such as growth impairment, reduced food intake from bitterness and throat irritation, decreased nutrient bioavailability, and reduced enzyme activity and protein digestibility.
Cardiac Glycosides
Cardiac glycosides are organic compounds that increase the force and rate of heart contractions by acting on the cellular sodium-potassium ATPase pump. Hundreds of cardiac glycosides have been found in plants like Scrophulariaceae, Oleaceae, and Liliaceae, represented by digitalis. While therapeutic at medicinal doses for treating congestive heart failure in humans, they are toxic to domestic herbivores when consumed at natural plant concentrations, causing restlessness, dyspnea, ruminal atony, frequent urination and defecation, tachycardia, arrhythmia, and ventricular fibrillation.
Cyanogenic Glycosides
Cyanogenic glycosides are amino acid-derived secondary metabolites featuring a nitrile moiety, which releases hydrocyanic acid upon enzymatic hydrolysis. Many plant species produce hydrogen cyanide from cyanogenic glycosides when consumed, leading to acute intoxication and chronic and acute health problems.
Feed Glycosides Solutions
For feed glycosides with anti-nutritional effects, our solutions can help detect glycoside content and develop nutritional strategies (such as feed additives or feed biological processing methods) to reduce their impact on animal growth and health.
- Analytical Solutions for Glycosides
We have developed customized extraction and detection techniques for glycosides from various sample sources (e.g., different plant parts, feed forms, forage, animal samples, etc.). Our Feed Anti-Nutritional Factor (ANF) Analysis service can help you study their content and provide data for understanding feed safety and developing glycoside-related nutritional strategies. The techniques we use include HPLC, MS, NMR, and more.
- Development of Feed Additives to Counteract Glycosides
Adding enzymes and nutritional health promoters as feed additives can help reduce the activity of antinutritional glycosides and their impact on animal growth and health. We have extensive experience in feed additive development and an integrated technology platform to help you develop new animal feed additives. This includes evaluating additives, optimizing biological production processes, and formulating products to mitigate the negative effects of anti-nutritional glycosides.
- Biological Approaches for Glycosides Reduction in Animal Feed
Microorganism fermentation or enzymatic action can effectively reduce antinutritional factors in feeds. With our feed fermentation optimization and feed enzyme production/process optimization technologies, we can help develop new glycoside-degrading microorganisms or enzymes and study their effectiveness in degrading different antinutritional glycosides to improve feed utilization.
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- Feed Glycosides Related Animal Studies
Animal models are essential for developing feed additives, biological feed processing methods, and exploring the negative effects and mechanisms of glycoside antinutritional factors. Our animal research platform integrates in vitro animal models and in vivo animal models to provide assistance for livestock, poultry, and companion animal experiments. We also offer Animal Nutrition and Metabolism Analysis, and advanced omics research platform to rapidly and efficiently detect and study feed glycoside-related topics from a broader perspective.
Service Workflow of Feed Glycosides Solution
Related Research
A previous study investigated the impacts of Yucca saponin (YSa), Yucca schidigera extract (YS), and Quillaja saponaria extract (QS) supplementation (500 mg/kg) on yellow-feather broilers over a 56-day feeding trial. All three bioactive supplements significantly elevated average daily gain, enhanced systemic antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), increased serum immunoglobulins (IgA, IgY, and IgM), reduced circulating inflammatory markers (IL-6 and TNF-α), and promoted cecal short-chain fatty acid accumulation (acetic, butyric, and valeric acids) while depressing harmful nitrogenous metabolic byproducts such as ammonia nitrogen and urea nitrogen. Notably, Yucca schidigera extract displayed superior biophysical efficacy compared to YSa and QS by uniquely optimizing the feed-to-gain ratio, inducing significantly higher serum IgA and IgY concentrations, and driving the greatest reduction in pro-inflammatory IL-6 levels alongside distinct modulations of cecal microbiota diversity, demonstrating its particular utility as an antibiotic alternative for enhancing broiler growth performance, mucosal immunity, and gut homeostatic metabolic function.
Fig. 1 Effects of Yucca saponin, Yucca schidigera, and Quillaja saponaria on nitrogen metabolism indexes in serum of broilers1
Why Choose Us?
Comprehensive Support
We offer a comprehensive set of technical support, a wide product catalog, and a complete service process by combining internal and external research resources, product resources, and technical service resources.
Specialized in Animal Research
We specialize in animal research and can not only help conduct research related to feed antinutritional factor glycosides, but also provide real data and data analysis using advanced testing platforms.
Efficient Services
We emphasize the efficiency of our services, actively follow up on research progress, and provide timely feedback to our customers, accelerating the development of nutritional strategies through smooth two-way communication.
Case Study
Researchers developed and validated a comprehensive biological detoxification protocol targeting six major classes of anti-nutritional glycosides in plant-based feed materials—saponins, cyanogenic glycosides, cardiac glycosides, glucosinolates, glycoalkaloids, and nitrotoxins—which collectively pose significant health risks to animals, with ruminants being particularly sensitive due to rumen bacterial hydrolysis that can exacerbate toxicity from sulfur-containing and cyanogenic variants. The integrated bioprocessing approach employed a tailored combination of enzymatic treatments (including β-glucosidase, cyanogenic hydratase, saponin-degrading enzymes, and myrosinase preparations) alongside optimized microbial fermentation using selected Lactobacillus, Bacillus, and Pseudomonas strains expressing specific glycoside-hydrolyzing activities. The radial bar analysis revealed substantial but variable degradability across glycoside categories: cyanogenic glycosides demonstrated the highest reduction at 92%, reflecting efficient enzymatic conversion of cyanohydrins to non-toxic carboxylic acids and ammonia through sequential β-glucosidase and α-hydroxynitrile lyase action—critically addressing acute HCN poisoning risks. Saponins showed 88% degradation, primarily through microbial fermentation-mediated structural modification that reduces hemolytic activity and surface-active properties responsible for membrane disruption and bloating in ruminants. Glucosinolates (85%) and glycoalkaloids (82%) were effectively reduced through myrosinase-catalyzed hydrolysis to isothiocyanates (subsequently metabolized) and glycoalkaloid chain cleavage respectively. Cardiac glycosides—the most structurally complex category targeting Na⁺-K⁺ ATPase pumps—achieved 78% reduction, sufficient to eliminate clinical cardiotoxicity symptoms including arrhythmia, ruminal atony, and tachycardia in herbivores. Nitrotoxins, representing the most recalcitrant class, still attained 70% reduction through extended fermentation protocols.
Fig. 2 Degradation Efficiency
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What types of feed samples are accepted for glycoside analysis?
A: We accept a wide variety of feed materials, including raw plant ingredients, compound feeds, forage, and feed additives. Solid samples should typically be homogeneous and properly dried or ground, while liquid additives require specific containment. If you are working with an unconventional or complex matrix, please consult our technical support team to confirm the optimal sample preparation and shipping conditions prior to submission.
Q: How should I prepare and package my feed samples before shipping?
A: Feed samples should be collected using representative sampling methods to ensure accuracy. Generally, approximately 50 to 100 grams of solid feed or 20 to 50 milliliters of liquid samples should be securely sealed in moisture-proof containers or bags to prevent contamination or degradation during transit. For samples requiring cold storage, appropriate packaging with ice packs is necessary. Feel free to contact our technical support staff if you need specific guidance on sample sizing.
Q: What analytical techniques are utilized to detect glycosides in feed?
A: Our analytical platform employs advanced and robust methodologies, primarily combining high-performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry techniques, alongside standardized colorimetric or immunoassays where applicable. These methods ensure high sensitivity and precision in identifying and quantifying specific anti-nutritional glycosides. For tailored detection limits or method selection based on your specific research goals, we advise reaching out to our technical experts.
BioVenic's solutions are specifically developed for glycoside antinutritional factors in animal feed and are designed to provide technical and service support to animal nutrition researchers. These include:
- Analysis of feed glycosides
- Development of feed additives
- Development of feed bioprocesses
- Animal studies related to feed glycosides
Solving the problem of feed antinutritional factor glycosides is our common goal with animal nutrition researchers. If you are interested in our solutions, please feel free to contact us with your research interests, and we will be happy to provide you with timely feedback.
Reference
- Dai, Zhenglie, et al. "Comparison of the effects of Yucca saponin, Yucca schidigera, and Quillaja saponaria on growth performance, immunity, antioxidant capability, and intestinal flora in broilers." Animals 13.9 (2023): 1447. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13091447. Distributed under Open Access license CC BY 4.0. Without modification.