Animal feed including cationic cholesterol additive and related methods

Abstract

Methods and feed compositions for increasing health of agricultural animals incude administering a cationic cholesterol additive through the diet of the animal, such as through solid feed or drinking water of the animals. The method includes feeding an animal a diet comprised of a cationic cholesterol additive, such as a compound with a sterol backbone and a plurality of cationic groups attached thereto. The feed composition may include a solid or liquid feed component and a cationic cholesterol additive. The methods and compositions are useful for animals raised in confined feed operations, such as cattle, swine, horses, sheep, or poultry, and can reduce harmful bacteria in the digestive tract, increase beneficial bacteria flora, improve feed conversion efficiency, reduce morbity and/or mortality, and/or yield harvested meat having reduced content of harmful bacteria.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A feed composition for improving the health of an animal, comprising:
 a feed component selected from a liquid and/or solid suitable for oral ingestion by an animal; and   a cationic cholesterol additive comprising a compound of Formula IB or salt thereof:   
       
         
           
           
               
               
           
         
       
       where,
 at least two of R 3 , R 7 , and R 12  are independently aminoalkyloxy or aminoalkylcarboxy, and 
 R 18  is selected from the group consisting of alkylaminoalkyl, di(alkyl)aminoalkyl, alkoxycarbonylalkyl, alkylcarboxyalkyl, and C-carboxyalkyl. 
 
     
     
         2 . The feed composition of  claim 1 , wherein the feed component comprises a dry feed. 
     
     
         3 . The feed composition of  claim 1 , wherein the feed component comprises a liquid. 
     
     
         4 . The feed composition of  claim 3 , wherein the feed component comprises drinking water of an animal. 
     
     
         5 . The feed composition of  claim 1 , wherein the cationic cholesterol additive is included in an amount so as to improve feed conversion by an animal when fed the feed composition compared to the animal when fed the feed component in the absence of the cationic cholesterol additive. 
     
     
         6 . The feed composition of  claim 5 , wherein the cationic cholesterol additive is included in an amount so as to improve feed conversion efficiency by at least 6%. 
     
     
         7 . The feed composition of  claim 1 , wherein the cationic cholesterol additive is included in an amount so as to selectively kill harmful bacterial, including  C. difficile,  while maintaining or enhancing growth of beneficial microflora, including  lactobacillus,  in the gastrointestinal tract of the animal. 
     
     
         8 . The feed composition of  claim 1 , wherein R 3 , R 7 , and R 12  are each aminoalkylcarboxy. 
     
     
         9 . The feed composition of  claim 8 , wherein R 18  is alkylcarboxyalkyl. 
     
     
         10 . The feed composition of  claim 1 , wherein the cationic cholesterol additive is included in a concentration of 0.0001% to 5% by weight of the feed composition. 
     
     
         11 . The feed composition of  claim 1 , wherein the cationic cholesterol additive is included in a concentration of 0.01% to 1% by weight of the feed composition. 
     
     
         12 . The feed composition of  claim 1 , wherein the cationic cholesterol compound is included in a concentration of 0.5 ppm and 1000 ppm of the feed composition. 
     
     
         13 . The feed composition of  claim 1 , wherein the cationic cholesterol compound is included in a concentration of between 2 ppm and 500 ppm of the feed composition. 
     
     
         14 . The feed composition of  claim 1 , wherein the feed composition is formulated for feeding cattle. 
     
     
         15 . The feed composition of  claim 1 , wherein the feed composition is formulated for feeding poultry. 
     
     
         16 . The feed composition of  claim 1 , wherein the feed composition is formulated for feeding sheep. 
     
     
         17 . The feed composition of  claim 1 , wherein the feed composition is formulated for feeding swine. 
     
     
         18 . The feed composition of  claim 1 , wherein the cationic cholesterol additive comprising a compound selected from the group consisting of: 
       
         
           
           
               
               
           
         
       
       and salts thereof. 
     
     
         19 . A feed composition for improving the health of an animal, comprising:
 a feed component selected from a liquid and/or solid suitable for oral ingestion by an animal; and   a cationic cholesterol additive comprising a compound selected from the group consisting of:   
       
         
           
           
               
               
           
         
       
       and salts thereof. 
     
     
         20 . A method of improving the health of an animal, comprising:
 feeding the animal a diet comprised of a cationic cholesterol additive,   the cationic cholesterol additive comprising a compound of Formula IB or salt thereof:   
       
         
           
           
               
               
           
         
       
       where,
 at least two of R 3 , R 7 , and R 12  are independently aminoalkyloxy or aminoalkylcarboxy, and 
 R 18  is selected from the group consisting of alkylaminoalkyl, di(alkyl)aminoalkyl, alkoxycarbonylalkyl, alkylcarboxyalkyl, and C-carboxyalkyl. 
 
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein R 3 , R 7 , and R 12  are each aminoalkylcarboxy. 
     
     
         22 . The method of  claim 21 , wherein R 18  is alkylcarboxyalkyl. 
     
     
         23 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein feeding the animal a diet comprised of the cationic cholesterol additive in a quantity of feed improves feed conversion efficiency compared to if the animal were fed the quantity of feed in the absence of the cationic cholesterol additive. 
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein feeding the animal a diet comprised of the cationic cholesterol additive selectively kills harmful bacterial, including  C. difficile,  while maintaining or enhancing growth of beneficial microflora, including  lactobacillus,  in the gastrointestinal tract of the animal. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein the cationic cholesterol additive is fed to the animal in at least one of the food or drinking water of the animal. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein the cationic cholesterol additive is administered in at least 25% of the feedings of the animal for at least 25% of the animal's growth to maturity or during its life time. 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein the animal is selected from the group consisting of cattle, poultry, sheep, and swine. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein the cationic cholesterol additive comprises a compound selected from the group consisting of: 
       
         
           
           
               
               
           
         
       
       and salts thereof. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein the animal is raised in a confined animal feed operation. 
     
     
         30 . The method of  claim 29 , wherein the confined animal feed operation includes at least 250 beef, at least 150 dairy cattle, at least 500 swine, at least 100 horses, at least 2,000 sheep or lambs, at least 5,000 turkeys, and/or at least 5,000 chickens. 
     
     
         31 . The method of  claim 20 , wherein the animal, when slaughtered, yields harevested meat having a reduced content of harmful bacteria.