Plant Extracts as Feed Additives in Animal Nutrition and Health
A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Nutrition".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 June 2024 | Viewed by 5677
Special Issue Editors
Interests: animal nutrition; feed additives; innovative additives; animal health; animal science; phytogenics; botanicals; natural extracts
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
As a result of the decision to ban antibiotics in animal feed in most developed countries (i.e., Europe and the United States), research on alternative natural feed additives has significantly increased. Phytogenic feed additives are a wide range of plant-derived products (e.g., herbs, spices, essential/aromatic oils, oleoresins) which exhibit a wide range of activities, such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anticoccidial, and anthelmintic properties thanks to the presence of bioactive compounds mainly belonging to the classes of isoprene derivatives and flavonoids.
The dietary supplementation of phytogenic additives has been shown to exert beneficial effects on animals' health (gut, immune system, antioxidant defenses, etc.), growth performance, nutrient retention, and intestinal microflora, leading to reduced susceptibility to diseases.
This Special Issue aims to publish original research papers and review articles related to applying phytogenic feed additives to improve the welfare of livestock, poultry, and fish species. Particular emphasis will be on studies focusing on the antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory activities of phytoextracts on animals' organisms, correlating to the composition of phytoextracts.
Dr. Valentina Serra
Dr. Alessandro Guerrini
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- plant extracts
- phytogenic feed additive
- phytoextracts
- animal health
- performance
- livestock
- aquaculture
- antioxidant
- anti-inflammatory
Planned Papers
The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.
Title: Effect of Astragalus mollissimus on ruminal fermentation, methane production and performance of sheep´s
Authors: Jagoba Rey-Gotxi; L. Yuviana Martínez-Cordova; Aser García; Robin C. Anderson; Felipe A. Rodríguez-Almeida; Monserrath Felix-Portillo; Aleksandar K. Božić; America Chávez-Martínez; Adrián O. Máynez-Pérez; Einar Vargas Bello-Pérez; and Agustin Corral-Luna2
Affiliation: Jagoba Rey-Gotxi ([email protected]). NEIKER Instituto Vasco de Investigación y Desarrollo Agrario. N-104, km. 355 – 01192 Arkaute (Álava). Spain.
L. Yuviana Martínez-Cordova ([email protected]). Facultad de Zootecnia y Ecología. Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua. Periférico Francisco R. Almada km 1, Chihuahua, Chihuahua, 31453, México
Aser García ([email protected]). NEIKER Instituto Vasco de Investigación y Desarrollo Agrario. N-104, km. 355 – 01192 Arkaute (Álava). Spain.
Robin C. Anderson ([email protected]). USDA/ARS, Food & Feed Safety Research Unit, 2118 F&B Road, College Station, Texas 77845, USA
Felipe A. Rodríguez-Almeida ([email protected]). Facultad de Zootecnia y Ecología. Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua. Periférico Francisco R. Almada km 1, Chihuahua, Chihuahua, 31453, México
Monserrath Felix-Portillo ([email protected]). Facultad de Zootecnia y Ecología. Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua. Periférico Francisco R. Almada km 1, Chihuahua, Chihuahua, 31453, México
Aleksandar K. Božić ([email protected]). Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Republic of Serbia
America Chávez-Martinez ([email protected]). Facultad de Zootecnia y Ecología. Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua. Periférico Francisco R. Almada km 1, Chihuahua, Chihuahua, 31453, México
Adrián O. Máynez-Pérez ([email protected]). Facultad de Zootecnia y Ecología. Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua. Periférico Francisco R. Almada km 1, Chihuahua, Chihuahua, 31453, México
Einar Vargas Bello-Pérez ([email protected]). Facultad de Zootecnia y Ecología. Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua. Periférico Francisco R. Almada km 1, Chihuahua, Chihuahua, 31453, México
Agustin Corral-Luna ([email protected]). Facultad de Zootecnia y Ecología. Universidad Autónoma de Chihuahua. Periférico Francisco R. Almada km 1, Chihuahua, Chihuahua, 31453, México
Abstract: Astragallus mollissimus is a plant found in semiarid environments, it is also known to be responsible for cattle poisoning in rangelands of the south of the United States and the northern of Mexico. There is known A. mollissimus contains the nitrocompounds 3-nitro-propanol (3NPOH) and 3-nitro-propionic acid (3NPA). Recent studies have shown its antimethanogenic capacity, however, little is known about the effects of direct supplementation in basal diets. In the present study, two experiments were carried out to determine CH4 and volatile fatty acids production, animal performance, and the presence of nitrocompounds in blood. In experiment 1, four Pelibuey breed sheep (BW0 52.8 ± 6-05 kg) were assigned to a 4x4 latin square arrangement. In experiment 2, 20 Dorper breed sheep were randomized to five treatments. In both experiments, the A. mollissimus was supplemented fully homogenized in diets consisting of oat hay 67% and concentrate 33%. The supplementation with different doses of nitrocompounds reduces (P≤ 0.05) the total gas and methane production. Methane was reduced by 60% when 1 gr AM kg PV d was supplemented. Regarding the animal performance traits evaluated in experiment 2, no effects were observed in feed consumption and average daily gain. However, feed conversion was increased by AM supplementation. Finally, no differences were observed for nitrocompounds in plasma. These results suggest that 3NPA and 3NPOH from biological sources possess viable characteristics to be considered as antimethanogenic alternatives; however, research is needed to investigate the way of production or extraction from plants.