20 Jun Nikos Gogorosis & Giannis Karvelis interview at FEEDINFO about nuPhoria
Nikos Gogorosis, NUEVO animal SA’s Managing Director, and Giannis Karvelis, Nuevo SA’s Technical Director, discuss the Greek company’s first phytogenic solution, nuPhoria®, that enhances animal’s cyto-protection and anti-inflammatory capacity in a holistic way.
Founded by a team of veterinarians and animal scientists in 2009, Greece’s Nuevo SA has carved a niche for itself by developing and offering tailor-made nutritional and health solutions for both monogastrics and ruminants, ranging from vitamin/mineral premixes and concentrates to specialty feed additives.
The company is now gearing up to expand its additive portfolio with the introduction of its first phytogenic solution, nuPhoria®, which was developed with bioactive components derived from Mediterranean plants, herbs and spices specially formulated to benefit animal health by enhancing cyto-protection and anti-inflammatory capacity.
Nuevo SA also sees the nuPhoria® solution as an ongoing commitment by the company to support sustainable animal production and a valuable tool in advancing the industry’s antibiotic reduction efforts.
“At Nuevo we strive to continually innovate and improve standards and performance throughout the animal nutrition and production supply chain, and to deliver added value and increased efficiency with all our products, services and solutions, in harmony with the environment and natural resources,” the company’s Managing Director, Nikos Gogorosis explained to Feedinfo during a recent sit-down. In the following Industry Perspectives, he and the Technical Director, Giannis Karvelis give us an in-depth look at Nuevo’s growth and sustainability strategy, what exactly went into the development of nuPhoria® and the exciting science powering the solution.
[Feedinfo] How are you managing to stand out in the animal nutrition sector? What is Nuevo offering customers that is different from others in this space? Why should they choose to partner with you?
[Nikos Gogorosis] We pride ourselves in getting to know our customers and their needs thoroughly, and then offering them the best custom-made solutions and services to cover their specific needs regarding animal nutrition and health. Our customer base encompasses large integrators, independent feed manufacturers, as well as individual farmers, small and large scale, across all livestock species. Our processes are also guided by the International Quality Standards and Practices, resulting in the high quality of our operation and products (ISO 9001:2015, ISO 22000:2018 & FAMI QS).
But the main reason customers choose us for their supply, I think, is the quality of our technical knowledge, and our ability to translate this into the best and most cost-effective, custom-made solutions for their needs.
[Feedinfo] Let’s talk about your new phytogenic solution, nuPhoria®. What led to its development and how long did it take?
[Nikos Gogorosis] Our main reason for the development of nuPhoria® was the global need for a solution to the continued prevalence of antimicrobial resistant pathogens that threaten humans, livestock and the environment. The World Health Organization has declared that antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of humanity’s top 10 global public health threats and unless effective actions against AMR take place, things can only become worse.
We have been supporting the EU Horizon 2020 Healthy Livestock Research project, by running field trials looking at alternative
management practices, including the use of non-antibiotic feed additives as potential alternatives to the use of antibiotics on farms.
Scientific research has demonstrated the effectiveness of phytogenics in the livestock industry’s quest for alternative and safe methods to enhance animal performance while reducing antibiotic usage for metaphylaxis and prophylaxis.
All of this, plus our strong commitment to the ONE HEALTH framework, has led us to heavily invest over the last few years in the research and development of a 100% natural, well-balanced and cost-effective phytogenic solutions range. The result of all this effort is nuPhoria®, which, in addition to contributing to sustainable animal production through the enhancement of animal resilience and health, also provides a natural pathway for the reduction of antibiotic usage on farm.
[Giannis Karvelis] Phytogenics comprise a broad spectrum of bioactive substances, a majority of which belong to the phenolic and terpenoid groups. These substances have various modes of action that have been found to positively impact certain biochemical processes and metabolic pathways in animals.
Nuevo’s R&D team, working with university-sponsored research, was able to isolate the most effective substances from Mediterranean plants, herbs and spices with proven efficacy in promoting animal health and performance, such as thymol, hydroxytyrosol, anethole, curcumin, apigenin and hesperidin. What makes nuPhoria® unique is its effective combination of these substances – mixed into species- specific blends for efficacy in poultry, swine and ruminants. The nuPhoria® solutions can have a species-specific beneficial impact on livestock health by enhancing animals’ cyto-protection and anti-inflammatory capacity in a holistic way. This, in turn, can help counteract the effects of everyday production stressors and challenges on the animal.
[Giannis Karvelis] Phytogenics comprise a broad spectrum of bioactive substances, a majority of which belong to the phenolic and terpenoid groups. These substances have various modes of action that have been found to positively impact certain biochemical processes and metabolic pathways in animals.
Nuevo’s R&D team, working with university-sponsored research, was able to isolate the most effective substances from Mediterranean plants, herbs and spices with proven efficacy in promoting animal health and performance, such as thymol, hydroxytyrosol, anethole, curcumin, apigenin and hesperidin. What makes nuPhoria® unique is its effective combination of these substances – mixed into species- specific blends for efficacy in poultry, swine and ruminants. The nuPhoria® solutions can have a species-specific beneficial impact on livestock health by enhancing animals’ cyto-protection and anti-inflammatory capacity in a holistic way. This, in turn, can help counteract the effects of everyday production stressors and challenges on the animal.
[Feedinfo] What are the key areas where you noted nuPhoria’s® efficacy in supporting improved animal performance? Talk us through the scientific methods used to prove this.
[Giannis Karvelis] Our main goal was to prove nuPhoria’s® efficacy at a cellular level in order to have a complete understanding of its
mode of action. After in-depth research, the most representative critical biomarkers were selected to estimate the impact of nuPhoria’s® supplementation on key organs such as the liver, intestines and ovaries. Tissue samples from the aforementioned organs were profiled by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) via state of the art analytical palette of genes which have a crucial role in regulating cyto-protection and anti-inflammatory response mechanisms. We, therefore, studied the effects of nuPhoria® at the transcriptomics level by examining its action “at the core”.
Most importantly, its effectiveness was also assessed in control animal trials and field evaluations by measuring key performance indicators such as body weight gain, feed conversion ratio, laying rate, and other meat quality indices including malondialdehyde level, egg quality traits, and somatic cell counts. This comprehensive evaluation aimed to confirm nuPhoria’s® impact on the parameters that are understood, measured, and valued by our farmer customer base.
[Feedinfo] Your nuPhoria® range caters to both monogastrics and ruminants. Were these improvements in performance and meat quality noted for all species? Were there any particular variations that you noted?
[Nikos Gogorosis] As mentioned before, the efficacy of nuPhoria’s® supplementation was evaluated in poultry, swine and ruminants through various studies conducted at universities and commercial farms. The nuPhoria® range of products has been meticulously developed and commercially launched with a specific emphasis on formulating tailored blends that cater to the unique needs of poultry, pigs, ruminants, and even fish. These customised formulations are carefully crafted and targeted to address the specific requirements and challenges faced by each animal category.
Across the number of trials we have conducted, we have been able to record improvements in resilience through advanced biochemical and molecular analyses. Moreover, animals, across all species, fed diets fortified with nuPhoria® performed better and/or produced higher-quality products and demonstrated a better Return on Investment (ROI) when compared with the control groups.
[Feedinfo] In your marketing material you mention that “depending on nuPhoria’s® inclusion level and the diet specifications, multiple responses can be optimised with respect to performance and health.” What do you have in place to ensure customers are employing nuPhoria® correctly?
[Giannis Karvelis] It is well known that animal stress levels are highly dependent on a farm’s biosecurity level, the season of the year, feed quality and environmental conditions.
Our extensive university and research trials, again across all species, also looked carefully at the dose-response element depending on the stage of growth and/or production, the health and environmental pressures on individual farms, as well as the overall nutritional phase that the animals were in.
In line with the experience and knowledge gained from these trials and our many years of working with customers, nuPhoria’s® inclusion rate can be a part of a tailor-made solution we can develop for and in partnership with each producer, integrator, or feed mill manager. We can, therefore, adjust nuPhoria® inclusion level where needed to be the most efficacious or cost-effective, or both.
[Feedinfo] How does the nuPhoria® range support Nuevo’s growth strategy? Are there any expansion plans on the horizon?
[Nikos Gogorosis] nuPhoria® is a natural and an environmentally-friendly solution for promoting animal health that completely reflects Nuevo’s dedication to boosting sustainability in livestock production. Actually, one of nuPhoria’s® ingredients is an olive oil polyphenol derived from vegetate olive oil wastewater. In fact, what we are working towards is a circular economy-type model where we study and utilise bioactive compounds derived from agrifood waste in order to fortify our product portfolio with innovative, nutritional solutions and products that help to improve the health and performance of production animals. In fact, through our “Surplus Food Project” we have launched a processing plant operation, the first in Greece, which safely and cost-effectively turns food waste into valuable livestock feedstuffs for our customer base.
In terms of our growth strategy, it is a major objective of ours to further develop our business in selected export markets – mainly those in Europe, Africa and the Middle East – either directly or through alliances with third parties.