Antibacterial Agents Growth C2H2K2O4-Potassium diformate

These short-chain organic acids are generally absorbed through the intestinal epithelia by passive diffusion, providing energy for renewing the intestinal epithelia and maintaining the gut health 

Despite the reported improvement in the nutrient availabilities of aquatic animals fed on dietary acidifiers, contradictory results have been reported on the growth promoting effects. Oral administration of potassium diformate (KDF) significantly improves the feed intake, the live weight gain, the feed conversion ratio and the protein efficiency ratio of various tilapia species. 

In contrast, Petkam et al. and Zhou et al. reported no significant improvement in the growth performance of tilapia fed on organic acids/salt blend or KDF, respectively, at various dietary levels.

From another point of view, KDF can improve the general health status of cultured animals by its stronger antimicrobial effect towards coliform bacteria, Escherichia coli and Salmonella sp., than towards lactobacilli.

It was reported that the total bacteria per gram of faeces was significantly reduced in the fish fed with an organic acid blend and KDF diets.

Similarly, Da Saliva et al.indicated that propionate, butyrate and acetate salts exhibit the highest inhibitory capacity against vibrio species in marine shrimp. These acids can penetrate through the cell wall of gram-negative bacteria and release protons into the cytoplasm. Thus, the bacteria consume a large amount of ATP to excrete protons in trying to maintain a balanced intracellular pH, resulting in the depletion of cellular energy with eventual cell death. 

Although the scientific publications focused on the antimicrobial effects of organic acids are numerous, very few publications have tackled their effects on the indigenous beneficial flora, lactic acid bacteria (LAB), which has become a major source of concern as one of the most common probiotic bacteria used in aquafeeds.