Animal Feed Supplemented with Probiotics

Necessity for Probiotics in the Animal Feed Industry

With the predicted rise in the global population to over 9.7 billion by 2050, we are set for an escalation in the demand for food. This necessitates a more efficient intensification of the industrial livestock production system. Optimal breeding, improved nutritional strategies, and enhanced disease control and prevention measures are of importance in maximizing food production. Presently, certain regions like the European Union have banned or restricted the use of antibiotics in feed due to their potential in fostering pathogen resistance. Hence, the sustainable production of natural and alternative feed additives such as probiotics emerged as an utmost priority.

Probiotics, essentially non-pathogenic, non-toxic microorganisms, have gained recognition as an important natural microbial feed additive. The approval of probiotics as "generally recognized as safe" by the US Food and Drug Administration fuels their popularity. They can be native or alien species, single or multi-strain microorganisms, or a mixture of bacteria, yeast, and fungal microorganisms. Major bacterial probiotics examples in animal husbandry include lactic acid users and producers in ruminants, and Saccharomyces cerevisiae, a yeast found in both ruminants and non-ruminants.

Fig.1 Probiotics in Animal Feed

Probiotics' Role in Gut Health and Immunity of Animals

Probiotics application in animal feed has been linked with an increase in beneficial microbes and a reduction in the non-essential and pathogenic ones like E. coli, Salmonella, and Clostridium perfringens. Notably, these microbes are key in the occurrence of diseases and other adverse conditions such as food refusal, necrotic enteritis, and gut disorders. On the contrary, probiotics can enhance animal health by altering the gut microbiota favorably and increasing the beneficial gut microbes. The inclusion of Bacillus subtilis, for instance, not only improves gut health but also enhances productivity in poultry affected by necrotic enteritis.

Probiotics trigger a variety of reactions in the host animal system, resulting in enhanced productivity, health, and overall well-being. The mechanisms contributing to the inhibition of pathogen growth and abundance incur the production of antimicrobial compounds and peptides, competition-driven exclusion, regulation of immune response, and alteration of gut microflora to stimulate digestion efficiency. Gut microbes produce short-chain fatty acids, such as lactic acid, acetic acid, propionic acid, and butyric acid, which inhibit certain pathogens by reducing the pH inside and outside the cell.

Probiotic type and strain play a significant role in the traits that need improvement. For monogastric animals, the effect of probiotics is more conspicuous and easier to observe. In feed, Bacillus subtilis as a probiotic notably reduces gut pH, enhances gut antioxidative state, invigorates the gut-related immune system, and activates intraepithelial lymphocytes in the gut. Such probiotic and antimicrobial substances resulting from Bacillus species exert a growth-promoting, prophylactic, and therapeutic effect on livestock.

The utilization of probiotics in animal feed ushers in a sustainable approach to enhancing livestock production. Undoubtedly, these beneficial microorganisms hold extensive promise in the quest for natural, effective, and antibiotic-free alternatives in animal feed for boosting animal health and productivity.

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For Research Use Only. Not intended for use in food manufacturing or medical procedures (diagnostics or therapeutics). Do Not Use in Humans.