Referenced technical articles and practical guides on gut-health and nutritional feed additives, organised by product family.
Tributyrin, sodium butyrate, coated butyrate and calcium butyrate — the mechanisms, the species evidence and the practical feeding programs.
Pillar Article · ~13 min read · 24 references
What butyrate does at the intestinal level, why the delivery form changes where it works, which of the five proposed mechanisms are well supported — and where the trial evidence stops. With an honest scorecard and a cross-species dose-conversion table.
Read the pillar article →Technical Article · Broilers · ~11 min read · 13 references
What published broiler trials, two meta-analyses and a commercial farm trial show about sodium butyrate, coated sodium butyrate and tributyrin — inclusion rates, phase programs and realistic expectations.
Read the broiler article →Technical Article · Swine · ~13 min read · 25 references
What pig trials, two independent meta-analyses and challenge studies show — from the nursery through the finisher to the sow herd, and how to turn that into inclusion rates you can defend.
Read the swine article →Butyrate is the primary energy source for colonocytes and a central signal for gut development, barrier integrity and immune modulation. Among short-chain fatty acids (acetate, propionate, butyrate), butyrate is the key driver of gut function — and the site, duration and density of its release determine the response.
Tributyrin releases butyrate gradually along the intestine, where it fuels gut cells and supports barrier integrity. In weaned piglets it improves growth, villus height and gut resilience; in sows it helps reduce stillborn rate; in broilers and breeders it supports performance, egg quality and gut health; in ruminants it aids rumen and gut development; in fish and shrimp it strengthens intestinal integrity and stress resistance. Odorless, non-corrosive and heat-stable, it is easy to handle in any feed process.
Liquid tributyrin (AddPhorce 95) suits liquid feed systems; silica-carrier powders (AddPhorce 60 / 65) suit premix and complete feed; coated sodium butyrate (ButiFar Plus) reduces odor and controls release; granular calcium butyrate (ButraCal 90) supplies butyrate and calcium with low dust. For multi-target gut support, AddPhorce Plus combines tributyrin with monolaurin and thymol. Match the form to your feed process and target site of action.
Sodium butyrate (C₄H₇O₂Na, MW 110.09, mp 250–253 °C) is the most cost-effective butyrate source. Butyrate is the preferred energy of colonocytes: it repairs villi damaged by weaning stress, supports barrier integrity and shows selective antibacterial activity. Young pigs also recognise butyrate from sow milk, which improves feed attraction at weaning. At 1 kg/ton it measurably reduces post-weaning diarrhea; coated grades carry more butyrate past the stomach.
Product percentage and butyrate payload are not the same number. On a dry basis, sodium butyrate (≥98%) carries about 79% butyrate, tributyrin liquid (≥98%) about 86%, 60% tributyrin powder on silica about 52%, and 30% coated sodium butyrate about 24%. When comparing forms or setting dosages, always calculate on the butyrate payload — it is the correct basis for cost-in-use comparisons across product forms.
The EU’s first non-antibiotic growth promoter — a hydrogen-bonded formic acid dimer with the deepest regulatory dossier of any feed acidifier.
Potassium diformate (HCOOH·HCOOK, MW 130.14, mp 105–109 °C) was the first antibiotic-growth-promoter replacer approved in the EU. In the gut it splits into formic acid and potassium formate, lowering gastric pH and inhibiting Gram-negative pathogens while supplying dietary K⁺. As a preservative its anti-mold effect outperforms sodium diacetate, keeping feed fresh in storage. Typical use is 3–6 kg per ton of complete feed; a coated grade gives targeted intestinal release.
Drinking water is the largest daily nutrient intake, yet water lines are often overlooked. Pipe walls develop a polysaccharide biofilm that shelters pathogens and re-contaminates clean water. A buffered liquid acidifier such as WEILANDONGLI (a potassium diformate-based compound with acetic and propionic acids plus copper sulfate) works both ways: it cleans the line and suppresses biofilm, and in the animal it raises gastric acidity for better protein digestion and FCR — while the potassium ion supports electrolyte balance under stress.
A medium-chain monoglyceride with strong Gram-positive and enveloped-virus activity — and a Gram-negative gap that combinations must cover.
Osmolyte and methyl donor — anhydrous vs hydrochloride vs coated, and how to buy on delivered-betaine economics.
Tributyrin is the glycerol ester of butyric acid (CAS 60-01-5). It is odorless, non-corrosive and thermostable, and it passes the stomach intact. Along the small intestine, pancreatic lipases hydrolyse it stepwise into monobutyrin and butyrate, so butyrate is released gradually where epithelial turnover is highest — one molecule of tributyrin yields three of butyric acid. Release depends on lipase activity and may not be complete, which is one reason responses differ between young and older animals.
Yes. Tributyrin is thermostable and survives normal pelleting and extrusion temperatures without meaningful loss of activity.
SKF is the specialty feed-additive company of Beijing Challenge Group, backed by the Group’s certified production system and animal-nutrition expertise. We operate our own production facility and also work with long-term strategic manufacturing partners.
SKF (Beijing) Biotechnology holds FAMI-QS (Reg. No. FAM-2170, Cert. 11624FAM0042, valid to 5 March 2027 — verify current status at fami-qs.org). The Group’s production system is certified to ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 22000 and ISO 45001.
We export to Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Please contact our sales team for market-specific documentation and registration support.
Yes. Technical Data Sheets, MSDS and Certificates of Analysis are available on request for every product. Use the inquiry form or email contact@skfsw.com.
Butyrate is a short-chain fatty acid and the primary energy source for intestinal epithelial cells — this fuel role is the best-established of its mechanisms. It also influences gene expression and endogenous host-defence peptides, supports tight-junction integrity, and modulates local immune responses. The evidence is not uniform: pooled analyses find the clearest benefits in the first weeks after weaning and under enteric challenge, while effects on intestinal morphology are inconsistent between meta-analyses. Our Gut Health Library articles rank each mechanism by evidence strength.
Each butyrate form releases differently. Uncoated sodium butyrate converts to free butyric acid in the stomach under gastric acid, so most of it is absorbed early. Coated sodium butyrate passes the stomach intact — in the intestine, bile acids and lipases hydrolyse the coating and release butyrate along the small and large intestine. Tributyrin, the glycerol ester, passes the stomach intact as well and is hydrolysed stepwise by gut lipases into monobutyrin and butyrate for gradual intestinal release.
On a dry basis: sodium butyrate (≥98%) contains about 79% butyrate; tributyrin (≥98% liquid) contains about 86%; 60% tributyrin powder on silica carrier contains about 52%; and 30% coated sodium butyrate contains about 24%. Comparing the butyrate payload — not the product percentage — is the correct basis for dosage and cost calculations.
Glyceryl tributyrate (CAS 60-01-5, FLAVIS 09.211) is an authorised feed additive in the EU under identification number 2b09211 — category "sensory additives", functional group 2b "flavouring compounds", authorised by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/54 with a recommended maximum of 5 mg/kg complete feed. That is a flavouring authorisation: it does not cover zootechnical claims such as growth promotion or gut-health support, and it sits far below the inclusion levels used in nutrition trials. Whether performance- or gut-health-oriented claims are permitted depends on the market and the claimed function — confirm the current authorisation status and permitted claims with the competent authority in your target market before labelling or marketing. SKF exports to Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa; contact us for market-specific documentation.
Both are effective, by different routes. Coated sodium butyrate is designed to carry butyrate further down the intestine before dissolving; tributyrin is cleaved by pancreatic lipase along the small intestine. In the only published broiler head-to-head with a matched butyrate basis, tributyrin was the only form to significantly lower F/G over the full period and raise duodenal/jejunal butyrate, while sodium butyrate and monobutyrin led on livability — each form has distinct strengths. The practical choice depends on your target intestinal segment, pelleting process, odour constraints and cost per unit of delivered butyrate ion, not on any single headline result. See the broiler and swine articles in our Gut Health & Nutrition Library for the full trial data.
Published dose–response work in broilers found 1,000–2,000 mg/kg of a ~72% tributyrin product effective, with 1,500 mg/kg optimal; weaned-piglet trials used 1,000–2,500 mg/kg against an antibiotic comparator, with 1,000–1,500 mg/kg matching it. Commercial 60% tributyrin powders are typically used at 300–500 g/t depending on phase (company guidance). Always convert between products on a butyrate-ion basis — and confirm local regulatory status first, since permitted species and claims differ by market. The species articles in our Gut Health & Nutrition Library give the full dose tables.
Potassium diformate (HCOOH·HCOOK, CAS 20642-05-1) is a hydrogen-bonded dimer of formic acid and potassium formate that survives the stomach largely intact and delivers formate to the small intestine. It holds a distinctive regulatory record: Commission Regulation (EC) No 1334/2001 authorised it in 2001 in the EU group "Growth promoters" — the EU’s first non-antibiotic growth promoter. That group no longer exists; today the only live EU zootechnical authorisation is Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2023/1698 for sows at up to 12,000 mg/kg, while weaned-piglet and fattening-pig authorisations are technological (acidity regulator / preservative, 6,000 mg/kg ceiling) and support hygiene and process claims, not performance claims. There is no EU authorisation for poultry. In China, MARA Announcement No. 982 (January 2026) extended its scope to broilers at a recommended 2–4 g/kg. See the potassium diformate article in our Gut Health & Nutrition Library for the full regulatory tables.
Glycerol monolaurate (α-monolaurin, CAS 142-18-7) inserts into the cytoplasmic membrane of Gram-positive bacteria, disrupts the proton motive force and suppresses exotoxin production; it is also virucidal against enveloped viruses. Its well-documented limitation is Gram-negative enterobacteria: MIC values exceed 4,000 mg/L for E. coli and Salmonella because the LPS-rich outer membrane blocks it — so it is not a broad-spectrum enteric disinfectant on its own, and practical programs pair it with organic acids (a benzoic acid + GML combination reached a combination index of 0.50 against E. coli). Most positive livestock results cluster at 300–1,000 mg/kg of purified α-GML. Regulatory note: it is not an authorised feed additive in the EU (it circulates as a feed material under category 13.6) and enters China via the glycerol fatty acid ester emulsifier entry. See the monolaurin article in our Gut Health & Nutrition Library for species dose tables.
Decide on delivered betaine, not on product assay. Pure betaine HCl is only 76.3% betaine by weight, so 1 kg of 98% HCl product delivers ≈748 g of betaine versus ≈960 g in 1 kg of 96% anhydrous product — equal-betaine dosing needs a factor of ≈1.28 for the HCl form. Two international broiler trials on an equal-betaine basis favoured anhydrous betaine for growth, meat quality and gut barrier function; HCl flows better and is less hygroscopic but is a skin/respiratory sensitiser under EU user-safety assessment. Both forms are authorised EU nutritional additives (3a920 / 3a925, all species, recommended maximum 2,000 mg/kg). For ruminants, use rumen-protected (coated) betaine — uncoated betaine disappears from the rumen within 4–6 hours. The betaine selection guide in our Gut Health & Nutrition Library gives the full comparison tables and COA checklist.
Yes, and the dose is far lower than in feed because water application bypasses feed-matrix buffering. A 54-day trial in 480 native crossbred chickens found 550 mg/L optimal: jejunal villus height rose 63.5% and serum IgG, IgM and antioxidant capacity improved significantly, though growth performance did not change; in a mouse Salmonella challenge model, 0.1% in drinking water outperformed 1% in feed. Water application is most useful when feed intake has dropped, for example during heat stress. See the potassium diformate article in our Gut Health & Nutrition Library for the full data.