Dr. Naren Gaowa, Phd, CPBIO Ruminant Expert
Antibiotic growth promoters have been phased out in many markets. Conventional live probiotics often face survival challenges during feed pelleting and within the rumen environment. CPBIO’s butyrate-rich postbiotic offers a viable third approach, with its value demonstrated in a commercial trial involving 130 dairy cows and a 6.9:1 return on investment.
The gap that probiotics cannot close
Three key challenges drive performance losses in modern dairy herds: rumen acidification (SARA suppresses fibre digestion and milk fat), a weakened gut barrier (endotoxins cross into circulation), and chronic low-grade inflammation (energy diverted away from milk). These are primarily fermentation and gut-function challenges, not simply infection problems—helping explain why antibiotics are not a complete solution.
Live probiotics are the conventional answer, but they face practical limitations:pelleting heat can reduce viability, rumen pH, volatile fatty acids, protozoa and rapid outflow reduce their survival, and colonisation takes time. The postbiotic approach removes the organism and keeps the biology. A postbiotic is, by the ISAPP definition, *a preparation of inanimate microorganisms and/or their components that confers a health benefit on the host* — stable, standardised and active from the immediate availability.
| Challenge | Live probiotic | FermNutral postbiotic |
| Pelleting above 80 °C | Viability loss | Stable |
| Shelf life | Count degradation | Chemically stable |
| Rumen survival | pH, VFA, protozoa, outflow | Not required |
| Speed of action | Needs colonisation | First meal |
| Batch consistency | Viable-count dependent | Standardised chemistry |
FermNutral: a high-performance strain and complete fermentation matrix
FermNutral is produced by CPBIO from natural raw materials — maize, yeast extract and molasses — through a five-stage fermentation of the proprietary strain *Clostridium butyricum* CP-BIO3000, followed by inactivation and drying to a free-flowing granule.
The strain is the starting advantage. CP-BIO3000 was developed by natural screening followed by directed breeding, and produces butyric acid at a rate approximately 35% higher than comparable *C. butyricum* strains, reaching 60–70 g/L at a productivity of about 1.2 g/L·h. A more productive strain means a more concentrated, more consistent finished product.
The matrix goes beyond butyrate.FermNutral is a complete fermentation output rather than a single molecule: a butyrate-rich short-chain fatty acid fraction (butyric acid declared at 40%); cell-wall teichoic and lipoteichoic acids; the bacteriocin butyricin; exopolysaccharides; 17 free amino acids; a broad vitamin profile; and calcium at 15.2%.
Calcium association matters. Calcium association matters. In calcium-associated form, butyrate is less water-soluble than sodium butyrate, helping a greater proportion resist rapid ruminal fermentation and reach the lower digestive tract. This supports a dual-site effect, with activity in both the rumen epithelium and intestinal mucosa.
Five mechanisms, one outcome
· Rumen epithelial development. Butyrate supplies 60–80% of the energy used by epithelial cells and increases papillae length, width and absorptive area, raising plasma GLP-2 — accelerating rumen development in young animals and improving absorption in adults.
· Barrier integrity. Up-regulation of occludin and claudins and increased mucin production. In pre-weaned calves, butyrate supplementation cut diarrhoea frequency from 38.4% to 27.9% and lowered serum diamine oxidase.
· Anti-inflammatory signalling. As a histone deacetylase inhibitor, butyrate suppresses NF-κB and reduces TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6. In dry cows it raised ruminal villus height while lowering epithelial TNF-α, IL-1β and TLR-2 expression.
· Targeted antimicrobial action. Teichoic acids — which make up 10–50% of the Gram-positive cell wall — inhibit adhesion of undesirable organisms, while fermentation-derived butyricin has shown activity against *Staphylococcus aureus*, *Escherichia coli* and *Yersinia enterocolitica*.
· Rumen stability. Under grain-induced SARA, postbiotic supplementation stabilised liquid- and solid-phase microbiota and promoted lactate-utilising and fibrolytic bacteria.
Commercial proof: +2.5% milk yield
A commercial herd of 130 healthy lactating cows, randomly allocated to control and treatment groups, received FermNutral at 20 g/head/day, split as 10 g twice daily and mixed into the feed, over a 34-day test period with individual daily milk recording.
| Parameter | Result with FermNutral 20 g/head/day |
| Average daily milk yield | +2.5% versus control |
| Daily net return | +RMB 4.13 per head per day |
| Return on investment (ROI) | 1 : 6.9 |
Nearly seven units returned for every unit spent — in a business where margins are counted in fractions of a cent per litre.
How to use it
| Species | Inclusion | Administration |
| Dairy cattle | 20 g/head/day | 10 g twice daily, mixed into the feed |
Highest-value application windows. Transition cows, from three weeks pre-calving to at least 60 days post-calving; calves from the first week of life through weaning; and herds under challenge — high-concentrate diets, SARA risk, elevated somatic cell counts, or animals in the post-weaning and transport-stress window.
Quality you can audit
Manufactured to FAMI-QS, FDA-cGMP, GMP, CNAS and ISO 9001 / 14001 / 18001 standards from a proprietary, identity-locked strain, and standardised to a defined chemical specification. The product in the bag performs like the product in the trial.
The bottom line
The mechanisms are established — rumen development, barrier integrity, anti-inflammatory signalling, antimicrobial action, microbial stability. The commercial evidence is concrete — a 2.5% yield gain, +RMB 4.13 per cow per day, and a 1 : 6.9 return.
Gut health is not simply a cost—it is a powerful lever for improving dairy performance. FermNutral is how CPBIO helps producersunlock that value.
About CPBIO – A Global Biotech Company, Based on the global practice of Charoen Pokphand Group (CP Group) in the agricultural, animal husbandry and food industry chain, CPBIO has extensively and deeply participated in the health cause of animals, the earth and human beings with the thinking of the whole industry chain. Organizations and individuals in large-scale validated products and solutions.
For furtherquerypleasecontact –
Dr Amitash Sharma
Regional Business Director
CPBIO India
Cell- 96111 66974