Feed supplement comprising oligosaccharides and medium chain fatty acids

1. Feed supplement, comprising:

an oligosaccharide which is a homotrimer, heterotrimer, homotetramer and/or heterotetramer comprising 3 or 4 saccharide monomers selected from the group consisting of a pentose saccharide, a hexose saccharide, glucuronic and galacturonic acid, and wherein the saccharide monomers are connected by means of α and/or β bonds; and

a medium-chain fatty acid (MCFA) or a salt or a derivative and/or mixtures thereof, whereby said MCFA is selected from the group consisting of caproic acid (C6), caprylic acid (C8), capric acid (C10) and lauric acid (C12).

2. Feed supplement according to claim 1 , wherein the pentose saccharides are selected from the group consisting of ribose, arabinose, xylose and lyxose.

3. Feed supplement according to claim 1 , wherein the hexose saccharides are selected from the group consisting of allose, altrose, gulose, idose, talose and mannose.

4. Feed supplement according to claim 1 , with the MCFA provided as a free MCFA, as a mono-, di- and/or tri-glyceride of the said MCFA and/or a NH 4 + —, Na + —, K + —and/or Ca 2+ —salt of said MCFA.

5. Feed supplement according to claim 1 , further comprising raw materials and/or growth-promoting substances.

6. Feed supplement according to claim 5 , wherein the raw materials are selected from the group consisting of aromas and plant extracts, and wherein growth-promoting ingredients are selected from the group consisting of antibiotics, probiotics, prebiotics, essential oils, enzymes, fatty acids and organic acids.

7. Feed supplement according to claim 1 , wherein said homotrimer, heterotrimer, homotetramer and/or heterotetramer of the said carbohydrate components are present in liquid or solid phase, whereby said MCFA are present in liquid or solid phase, and wherein the feed supplement is present in liquid or solid phase.

8. Feed supplement according to claim 1 wherein the homotrimer, heterotrimer, homotetramer and/or heterotetramer of the said carbohydrate component or the MCFA are present in the feed supplement in an amount of at least 1, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60, 65, 70, 75, 80, 85, 90, 95, 99% by weight of the feed supplement.

9. Feed supplement according to claim 1 ,

wherein said homotrimer, heterotrimer, homotetramer and/or heterotetramer of the said carbohydrate component are dosed on dry weight between 1 g/100 g feed supplement (1% by weight) and 50 g/100 g feed supplement (50% by weight), preferably 25 g/100 g feed supplement (25% by weight), and/or

wherein the MCFA are dosed on dry weight between 1 g/100 g feed supplement (1% by weight) and 70 g/100 g feed supplement (70% by weight), preferably 35g/100 g feed supplement (35% by weight).

10. Feed comprising a feed supplement according to claim 1 .

11. Feed according to claim 10 , comprising up to 1% by weight of the homotrimer, heterotrimer, homotetramer and/or heterotetramer of the said carbohydrate component, and/or comprising up to 10% by weight of said MCFA.

12. Feed according to claim 10 ,

wherein said homotrimer, heterotrimer, homotetramer and/or heterotetramer of the said carbohydrate component are dosed on dry weight between 0.01 g/100 g food (0.01% by weight) and 2 g/100 g food (2% by weight), preferably 0.05 g/100 g food (0.05% by weight), and/or

wherein said MCFAs are dosed on dry weight between 0.01 g/100 g food (0.01% by weight) and 1 g/100 g food (1% by weight), preferably 0.07 g/100 g food (0.07% by weight).

13. The feed supplement according to claim 1 , wherein the feed supplement is not an emulsion.

14. A method of improving animal health comprising administering the feed supplement of claim 1 to an animal.

15. The method according claim 14 wherein the administering results in:

improving the microbial ecosystem in the gastrointestinal tract of an animal,

selectively controlling and regulating enteropathogens in the gastrointestinal tract of an animal,

optimizing the microbial colonization of the gastrointestinal tract by specifically inhibiting and agglutinating enteropathogens,

improving weight gain, reducing feed conversion and improving nutritive value, health and welfare of an animal, and/or

promoting specific growth in farm animals.

16. The method according to claim 15 wherein the enteropathogens are selected from the group consisting of:

filamentous micro-organisms and micro-organisms with adhesion structures, Gram-negative bacteria, Gram-positive bacteria, preferably selected from the group consisting of: Brachispira, Vibrio, Escherichia, Salmonella, Shigella, Klebsiella, Erwinia, Yersinia, Campylobacter, Helicobacter, Pseudomonas and Clostridium , preferably Brachyspira hyodysenteriae

fungi, yeasts and viruses, preferably selected from the group consisting of:

Penicillium, Aspergillus, Fusarium, Cephalosporum, Saccharomyces, Candida, Fungi imperfecti Hemiascomycetes and, Rotavirus and norovirus.

17. The method according to claim 14 , wherein the animal is selected from the group consisting of fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds mammals, and preferably is selected from the group consisting of poultry, pigs, ruminants and humans.

18. The method of claim 14 , wherein the feed supplement is administered in animal feed.

19. A method of preparing a feed composition comprising mixing the feed supplement of claim 1 with feed.