Mathieu Castex

Mathieu Castex is the R&D Director of Lallemand Animal Nutrition. Mathieu has a background of more than 10 years in animal nutrition and aquaculture. He has a Ph.D. in aquatics physiology of nutrition and microbiology. He was instrumental in applying and developing the Lallemand Technologies to aquaculture and more specifically to shrimp farming. Mathieu is steering a team of more than 20 scientists, graduates, and postgraduates.

Lallemand Animal Nutrition is committed to innovation by providing specific, research-based microbial solutions to optimize animal performance and well-being.  Our team of experts covers various disciplines, from conventional microbiology to molecular microbiology, from nutrition to physiology and immunity, and from microbial fermentation to more complex bioprocessing and formulation. For the swine category, our internal mechanistic research activities and product development projects are systematically complemented by external research programs and projects, including partnerships with renowned universities and research centers around the world, allowing us to benefit from the latest analytical tools and expertise from leading scientists in the field.

Our product development process involves three steps, from the initial phase of knowledge acquisition, product discovery and proof of concept (Phase 1), to product development and production scale-up (Phase 2), and product deployment (Phase 3). One of our specificity at Lallemand is that we involve our academic partners, and potential customers, in every step as cooperation spells success. The final objective of this continuous research process is to offer our customers safe, efficient, and scientifically backed up solutions. In this presentation, we will provide key examples from our swine research projects illustrating these 3 development steps.

In particular, the development of our flagship strain Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii CNCM I-1079 for uses in Swine is a long-lasting success story. Even though the product completed phase 2 more than a decade ago, we are still pursuing the third phase of this product development. Our investigations are currently focusing on deepening our understanding of its mode of action,  particularly on intestinal microbiota and mucosal and systemic immunity, and highlighting its positive effect under an enlarged set of farming conditions and life stages. This allows us to recently obtain the authorization to apply this probiotic strain in all types of pig diets in the European Union, making it the first and only probiotic with such an authorization.

The journey of microbial-based solutions in swine nutrition and health looks exiting. While our knowledge of the roles of the intestinal microbiota is building up, the tools to monitor it are developing, and our understanding of the interplay with the animal physiology (Olobiont) is growing, new supplementation strategies will emerge. Lallemand is committed to take part in this race and bring its customers “updated/enlarged” recommendations for the use of its existing microbial solutions, while continuously searching for new specific microbial solutions to address the key challenges of swine production.