Apex5 is a blend of botanical ingredients for poultry. It improves the gut function of animals. This will lead to better animal production, increased profit, better carcass characteristics and optimised digestion. Broiler producers worldwide are constantly facing the challenge of maintaining high production efficiency while the genetic selection of chickens for high growth rate, in combination with the processing of feed material and production stress have a negative impact on broiler gut development, feed passage rate and, therefore, digestive capacity. The suboptimal utilisation of nutrients, especially proteins, in turn increases the risk for imbalances in the gut microbiota, affecting the health of the digestive tract mucosa. In an effort to counter these effects with negative impact on production efficiency and profit of poultry production, feed additives based on beneficial phytochemical components have been developed. Nutriad recently developed Apex5, the result of a novel research-based optimisation process focusing on two key aspects of its functionality: biological activity and stability. To select phytochemical components with the highest biological activity on gut microbiota, the company relied on Quorum Sensing (QS) Technology. QS is a form of molecular communication used by bacterial populations to coordinate their biochemical activity, such as the production of virulence factors. By screening phytochemicals for their capacity to inhibit QS, Nutriad was able to determine the most potent components and their ideal ratios. This research resulted in the creation of the active core of Apex5, which almost completely blocks QS signalling in two bioassays at concentrations well below the bacteriostatic MIC level. Moreover, maximal protection of the essential oil core was achieved by testing combinations of active component diluents and protective matrices, until a procedure was found that reduced the loss of active ingredients under pelleting conditions with a factor 4.3 (as compared to typical botanical products). The results from the optimisation process were reflected in excellent field trial data evaluating zootechnical performance.