Natural Biologics introduced its latest innovation in poultry gut health, Procillus™, at IPPE 2025. Developed by the pioneers at BioActive Innovations and Natural Biologics, Procillus harnesses the power of two unique Bacillus velezensis (BV) strains. These exclusive strains were methodically identified and selected to enhance gut barrier function, enhance immune function, and reduce pathogen loads.
Natural Biologics’ senior technical service manager Dr. Theresia Lavergne met with Feed Strategy to discuss this new technology.
TRANSCRIPT OF INTERVIEW WITH DR. THERESIA LAVERGNE, NATURAL BIOLOGICS
Jackie Roembke, editor-in-chief, WATT Feed Brands and Feed Strategy: Hi everyone. Welcome to Feed Strategy Chat coming to you from IPPE 2025.
This Feed Strategy Chat is brought to you by Natural Biologics. Natural Biologics was founded in 2015 to provide innovative natural solutions for agriculture producers to manage risk and improve the health and productivity of animals and crops across the world, focusing on the core values of integrity, relationships and innovation. Natural Biologics bring scientific validation to the development of natural solutions for the many animal health challenges of today. To see the full line of animal health solutions for poultry, swine and ruminants. Visit www.naturalbiologics.com.
We're here with Dr. Theresia Lavergne, senior technical service manager with Natural Biologics. She's here to tell us about an exciting new Bacillus strain that the company is showcasing here at IPPE 2025.
How are you, Dr. Lavergne?
Dr. Theresia Lavergne, senior technical service manager, Natural Biologics: I am good, excellent.
Roembke: How is that traffic here today?
Lavergne: It's been a very busy first day.
Roembke: Excellent. So tell me, how were these novel bacillus strands selected, and what were the primary functions that they were selected for?
Lavergne: Our Bacillus strains that were selected for our new product, Procillus, were actually obtained from samples from chickens or from a chicken’s environment. We had more than 1,000 different Bacillus isolates that were found, and all of those were screened for different criteria to end up in this product, Procillus.
They were screened or selected for the Bacillus that would help improve gut integrity, make less permeable guts, so that pathogens could not leak in the gut or other things could not leak out of the gut and cause systemic disease. They were also selected because they would have a positive effect on the immune system, like it reducing the expression of the inflammatory cytokine so we could reduce inflammation within the gut.
They were selected for pathogen reduction. We don't want those pathogens, and specifically here we're talking Clostridium profringens, Salmonella, as well avian pathogenic E. coli. And they were also screened to see that they would have produced enzymes that can be beneficial for nutrient digestion, because we want to improve protein and energy digestion and improve feed conversion. While having all those positive effects, we also want to make sure there's no negative effects, like the Bacillus themselves having a virulence factor or pathogenic effect.
That's how they were selected. Screen for good characteristics and making sure we don't have any bad ones in them.
Roembke: Please explain the in vitro and in vivo data and how that illustrates the functionality of the novel Bacillus strain.
Lavergne: Okay, well, first going to the preventing leaky gut, maintaining gut barrier function integrity.
There's an assay called transepithelial electrical resistance (TEER). And what we'll do is take a cell line, it's a cell culture assay, so you have epithelial cells, and you give them a challenge, which is very typical lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and put the Bacillus, and then we measure electrical resistance through that cell line, and the more resistant, that means better gut integrity, which means we'll have a less permeable gut. And we will prevent bad things from leaking out of the gut and going systemic.
We've also done pathogen inhibition assays. Looking at putting Clostridium perfringens pathogen or Salmonella or pathogenic E. coli with the Bacillus, and letting the Bacillus see how much it would inhibit the growth of those pathogens.
Also, looking at the microbiome. Again, with epithelial cells and cell culture assay, really in the details, and looking at the factors that are produced that would cause inflammation in the gut and we want to reduce those — so those are actually specific cytokines. We want these Bacillus to reduce those inflammatory the ones that call the cause the inflammation. So do all that in vitro. Make sure we have a, you know, a good candidate to help mitigate a leaky gut. Work with the immune system, and then, of course, reduce pathogen loads.
From the over 1,000 isolates that we started with, we narrowed it down to about six that went into a growth trial with live birds because we want to make sure the birds grow well on those. Also, we wanted to, like I said at the beginning, have Bacillus that produced enzymes to help with nutrient digestibility. So that's part of the growth trial, we look at we can measure how they're digesting protein and energy, and are they doing that more efficiently and have a more efficient feed conversion?
So of course, we go into the growth trial to actually evaluate that in a bird.
Then the top two, at this time, is what it came out with, and we have in this new product called Procillus.
Roembke: Great. Now, how are you testing the efficacy in the field?
Lavergne: With customers, we will have a benchmarking and validation program. Before a customer would go onto product, we would go in and collect intestinal samples, gut samples, at different ages — we're talking broilers — different ages, and we will look at the pathogen load that's in that gut, primarily Clostridium perfringens and pathogenic E. coli. We can look at more on the microbiome, good bacteria, if we want to as well.
We'll also take samples of the litter, the bedding material, and look at the pathogen load there. And then we'll feed the product for about three broiler cycles or so, six months or so, and then go back and repeat that so we can see where the pathogen loads are decreased.
We can also do some of those other in vitro cell culture assays and look at the actual indicators of a permeable gut or not from the actual samples we take. We'll do that initially, before on product, we'll feed the product, and then see what's happened to their pathogen levels, gut integrity. And then about every year or so, we'll come back and do that again, unless there's more of a request from a customer for another type of evaluation program, or for us to come more often, or whatever.
So yeah, it's going to be a close working relationship with customers to make sure that the product is working in their system as they need it to and meeting their measures of success.
Roembke: Thank you so much, Dr Lavergne, a lot to think about.
If you would like more information about all of the exciting information that we discussed here today, visit www.NaturalBiologics.com. Thanks to you for tuning in, and thanks to you again.
Lavergne: Thank you.