The use of phytogenic feed additives in ruminant nutrition
2021
Malyugina, Svetlana
Antibiotics growth promoters (AGPs) have been widely included in animal diets to achieve better productive performance, feed conversion, and higher growth rates. However, the routine use of AGPs in animal feed leads to bacterial resistance towards antibiotic substances, increasing the risk of transmitting drugresistant bacteria (i.e., "superbugs") to consumers either by direct infection or by transferring resistance genes from agriculture to human health. The next challenge is to reduce the overall use of veterinary antibiotics in animal nutrition. Nowadays, restricting or banning the use of AGPs and antibiotics in animal nutrition became a worldwide trend. Many plants produce secondary metabolites, such as phenolic compounds, saponins, and essential oils, which can be used as phytogenic feed additives (PFAs) due to the content of biologically active ingredients. Some phytonutrients have antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. Their potential use in animal nutrition has been reported in the literature regarding their beneficial effects on animal health, performance, qualitative parameters of meat, and milk. Phytogenic feed additives (PFAs) have been proposed as a suitable alternative to AGPs in animal production. This review summarizes the scientific knowledge on the use of dietary phytochemicals, as well as their effectiveness to improve animal performance and health and also the milk yield and quality. In addition, the impact of phytogenic compounds on methane emission is also discussed.
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