Evonik Probiotic Reports 50% Higher Broiler Survival in NE Trials

Oklahoma State University trials highlight the potential of faster-activating probiotics to improve poultry survival, intestinal health and production economics

Evonik has reported promising results for Ecobiol® PRO, its next-generation probiotic for poultry, with trials conducted at Oklahoma State University indicating a 50% relative improvement in broiler survival compared with a standard commercial probiotic under experimentally induced necrotic enteritis. The findings place renewed attention on probiotic performance, manufacturing processes and targeted gut-health interventions as poultry producers seek to manage disease-related losses and improve flock productivity.

Trial results point to a meaningful survival advantage

The research evaluated broiler chickens challenged with Clostridium perfringens, the bacterial pathogen associated with necrotic enteritis (NE), a disease that can damage the intestinal lining, compromise growth and cause mortality. The challenge model also involved Eimeria maxima, a coccidial parasite that can predispose birds to intestinal disease.

According to Evonik’s published trial summary, the studies involved day-old male Cobb 500 broilers and compared untreated controls, challenged birds receiving no probiotic, and challenged birds receiving either Ecobiol® or a standard commercial Bacillus-based probiotic. Supplementation was provided from day 0 to day 17 at 500 grams per tonne of feed, with the disease challenge introduced during the trial period.

In the first trial, reported survival between days 10 and 17 was 62.1% in challenged birds receiving no probiotic, 69.0% with the standard probiotic and 93.3% with Ecobiol®. In the second trial, survival was 76.3% with the standard probiotic and 96.7% with Ecobiol®. These results support Evonik’s claim of a substantial advantage over the comparator under the tested conditions.

The distinction matters: the headline figure describes a relative improvement in survival compared with the standard probiotic, not a 50-percentage-point increase, nor a guarantee of the same effect in commercial poultry houses. The study was a controlled disease-challenge experiment, and field performance can vary with pathogen pressure, flock health, feed composition, management, vaccination and other biosecurity measures.

Why probiotic activation speed matters

Ecobiol® is based on the spore-forming bacterium Bacillus velezensis CECT 5940. Evonik says its updated manufacturing process produces spores that germinate and develop into active bacterial cells more rapidly during intestinal passage. The company has reported approximately 46% faster spore outgrowth than competing spore-forming probiotic products in its comparative assessments.

This is a potentially important product-design distinction. A probiotic must survive feed processing and passage through the upper digestive tract before becoming active at the relevant intestinal site. Faster activation in the small intestine could give beneficial bacteria more time to multiply and interact with the gut environment during a period of pathogen challenge. Evonik describes its DAISy (Dynamic Avian Intestine in vitro System) model as part of the research used to investigate these processes and the influence of manufacturing on spore behaviour. The company has also reported lower intestinal lesion scores and improved body-weight gain in challenged birds receiving Ecobiol®.

The results should nevertheless be interpreted as product-specific evidence under defined experimental conditions, rather than proof that all probiotics—or all Bacillus strains—will deliver comparable effects.

Necrotic enteritis remains a production-economics concern

Necrotic enteritis can create losses through mortality, poorer growth, reduced feed efficiency, uneven flock performance and additional management or treatment costs. Evonik estimates the disease’s annual global economic burden at US$4 billion–US$6 billion. This is a company-cited industry estimate, not a loss calculation independently established by the reported trial.

For integrated poultry companies and independent producers, even a modest reduction in mortality or intestinal damage can have economic value because feed and chick costs are incurred before a bird reaches market weight. The commercial outcome, however, depends on the balance between any improvement in saleable bird output and the additive’s delivered cost, inclusion rate, baseline mortality, feed conversion, processing yield and local selling prices.

A proper return-on-investment assessment should therefore compare treated and untreated flocks using farm-level data—not survival alone. Relevant measures include mortality and culling, average daily gain, feed conversion ratio, final live weight, condemnations, veterinary interventions and cost per kilogram of saleable meat. The Oklahoma State University results provide a rationale for field validation, but do not by themselves establish a universal economic return.

Strategic implications for poultry producers and feed companies

The findings strengthen the case for evaluating gut-health additives as part of an integrated disease-management programme. Probiotics may complement sound litter management, coccidiosis control, appropriate feed formulation, water hygiene, vaccination where indicated and effective farm biosecurity. They should not be treated as substitutes for veterinary diagnosis or for necessary disease-control measures.

The development also reflects a broader industry focus on nutritional and microbiome-based approaches that may help reduce reliance on routine antibiotic use. Evonik positions Ecobiol® PRO within that strategy, alongside other feed-additive and nutritional solutions. Any reduction in antibiotic use must be demonstrated in the relevant production system; the survival trial alone does not quantify an antibiotic-reduction outcome.

For feed manufacturers and poultry integrators, the practical questions are whether the response is reproducible across diets and production systems, whether the product remains stable through feed manufacture and storage, and whether improved biological performance translates into measurable margins. Independent, peer-reviewed publication and larger commercial-farm evaluations would help establish the scale and consistency of the reported advantage.

Industry Takeaway

Evonik’s Ecobiol® PRO results highlight how probiotic strain selection and manufacturing-controlled activation may influence broiler resilience during necrotic-enteritis challenge. The reported survival advantage is commercially significant enough to warrant attention, but producers should validate the response under their own disease pressure, management conditions and feed economics before extrapolating the trial results to routine production.