Biomin reveals new water-soluble application for mycotoxin mitigation enzyme

Bangkok provided the launchpad earlier this month for a new application of Biomin’s Fumzyme that will initially target aquaculture feed producers in Asia. The Asian region was chosen for the launch of Fumzyme Sol because of its high prevalence of fumonisins, said the supplier.

Though Fumzyme is not new—it launched in 2013 and was subsequently certified by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) as a mycotoxin mitigation enzyme for poultry and swine—new Fumzyme Sol claims to be the first water-soluble solution against fumonisins.

“We hope we can target Asian feed millers and feed producers starting from aqua and then moving on to poultry and swine​,” said product manager Michele Muccio at VIV Asia in Bangkok.

A purified enzyme that biotransforms fumonisins into non-toxic metabolites, Fumzyme Sol is part of Biomin’s Mycofix product line. Instead of being included in the whole Mycofix package it is being sold separately in powder so it can be dissolved in water and applied as a post-extrusion spray.

Asia is a fitting starting point for the product, before it goes on sale globally. The second-most prevalent mycotoxins worldwide, fumonisins are also the most prevalent in Asia, according to Biomin’s 2018 mycotoxin survey​​.

“They are definitely there in the feed, and there are plenty of studies that show the negative effect of synergistic reactions with other mycotoxins. There is still a lot of work to do to raise awareness in Asia​,” said Muccio, who is getting ready to transfer from Biomin’s Australian headquarters to its Singapore base.

Plant-based ingredients 

The Asian aqua industry is still quite new to mycotoxins, having relied on fishmeal for so long. Now, with the price of fishmeal soaring, producers have been increasingly switching to plant meals containing corn and its by-products, which are a main target for contamination by fumonisins.

The fungal toxins, produced by Fusarium proliferatum​ and F. verticilloides​, are known to have harmful effects on food-producing animals, such as impairing growth, predisposing them to disease and contributing to a disruption of gut integrity.

Those who have a mycotoxin problem tend to see lower feed intake by the fish and a higher feed conversion ratio.

“Conventional mycotoxin binders are not sufficient to protect animals against fumonisin-contaminated feed. Fumzyme Sol specifically targets fumonisins and quickly renders them non-toxic​,” said Muccio.

“Of course plant meals can have high contaminations of mycotoxins. Fumzyme Sol is the only solution that has been proven to be efficacious in mycotoxin control. It is definitely a premium product but the break-even is also very easy to achieve with it.​”

Like its stablemates, the new product uses enzymatic biotransformation to counteract fumonisins in the gastrointestinal tract of animals. The novel post-extrusion spray is 200 times more powerful than the original, reaching the same efficacy with 5 grams Fumzyme sol, compared to 1kg of Mycofix Focus.

With Fumzyme Sol now under its belt, Biomin is working to develop new enzymes to add to its range, with hopes to switch entirely to enzymes in the near future.

“Developing an enzyme is not easy, of course. We have to prove a lot of things, so there’s a lot of work to do. But the plan for the future is to come with a full line of enzymes that can be applied in force-fed and liquid applications—applied any way​,” said Muccio.