When a specific feed is given to an animal, it is done so to provide the animal with the most significant amount of benefit. However, there are situations when animal feeds are ineffective and do not perform the necessary function for which they are supplied. This is known as non-performance. Supplemental feed additives are provided in this situation. Food additives are substances provided to animals to increase the efficacy of nutrients and exert their effects on the gastrointestinal tract. Antibiotics have been utilized in animal feeding for quite some time. Feed additives and premixes aid in improving the quality of feed and the quality of food derived from animals and the progress of the performance and health of the animals.
Some of the most often used feed additives are listed below:
In addition to their primary application in treating diseases, antibiotics are widely utilized as feed supplements to enhance growth and feed conversion efficiency in livestock. Antibiotics help ruminant animals consume their feed more efficiently.
Calves that were given higher doses of dairy calf milk replacer had gentler feces, although they were still solid in their overall structure. Increases in the amount of milk replacer powder consumed, the typical day-by-day pickup, and the effectiveness of the addition all increased in direct proportion to the pace of growth. Although there were significant daily increases in body weight, there were also significantly more significant daily increases in body length and heart size. In contrast, the enlarged decrease in tallness did not achieve any quantifiable hugeness. A recent body-wide analysis revealed decreasing amounts of water and protein, but increasing amounts of fat were discovered as the nutrient rate increased over some time.
Biotechnology has made it possible to make adequate enzyme preparations in huge quantities, thanks to recent advancements in biotechnology. Several advantages are provided by enzymes when employed as food additives. Their primary function is to increase the nutritional content of meals by incorporating low-quality, and therefore less expensive, components. Both ruminants and non-ruminants can benefit from the addition of enzymes to their diets. Pig and poultry diets often contain enzymes in varying amounts.
The use of probiotics and prebiotics improve intestinal microbial balance. Probiotics are feed supplements that are added to the diet of farm animals to promote intestinal microbial balance. Probiotics increase the efficiency with which the animal consumes its meal. It also aids in the development and overall well-being of the animal. Aside from that, it increases the animals’ tolerance to extreme pH and environmental circumstances.
Regulations governing nutrient utilization in agricultural animals have resulted in developing technologies known as metabolic modifiers, which are a subset of beta-agonists. Biochemical chemicals known as metabolic modifiers are compounds that alter the metabolism of animals in a precise and targeted manner. They increase the animal’s productivity by increasing its production efficiency.
As a result, it is clear from the preceding that animal nutrition additives such as enzymes, probiotics, single-cell proteins, and antibiotics in the feed are already widely used in intensive production systems worldwide to increase the nutrient availability of feeds and the productivity of livestock.