|
Reference Type |
Journal Article |
|
Record Number |
77 |
|
Author |
Gill, C. |
|
Year |
2001 |
|
Title |
Safe and sustainable feed ingredients |
|
Journal |
Feed International |
|
Volume |
22 |
|
Pages |
40-45 |
|
Label |
Journal |
|
Keywords |
Ethnoveterinary medicine, Nutrition |
|
Notes |
The commercial poultry industry is facing increased restrictions on the use of antibiotics as feed additives. The search for alternative, "natural" compounds to protect poultry and promote their productivity continues. Many of our colleagues who have an interest in village chickens have drawn our attention to the uses of ethnoveterinary medicine. Two strands of interest seem to be converging - the examination of remedies enshrined in folk beliefs, and the scientific examination of plant extracts for therapeutic substances. The author considers alternatives to antibiotic feed promoters that can be regarded as safe and sustainable. Safe ingredients are those that are acceptable in human food. Sustainable ingredients have no or minor ill effects on the environment. The article deals with enzymes, preparations containing microbes, organic acids and extracts of plants. The latter are the substances most related to ethnoveterinary preparations and are in the category that has yet to be accepted as safe and sustainable. The intended functions of these botanical preparations are Plants with supposed remedial activity are usually grown in plantations or harvested from the wild. A few (the author mentions oregano, thyme and rosemary) have been selected or hybridised to alter the content and uniformity of active constituents. Oregano seems to be the plant most intensively studied, and its essential oils contain phenols with antimicrobial activity. This activity indicates that these additives should not be combined with live yeasts or probiotic preparations. Commercial preparations of an oregano product were found not to affect the flavour of meat from treated chickens or pigs. |
