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Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only Publication Acceptance Date: 10/24/2012 Publication Date: 12/5/2012 Citation: Lillehoj, H.S. 2012. ARS Research Review on "Recent progress in developing alternative strategies to antibiotics in poultry production". Meeting Abstract. P2. Interpretive Summary: Technical Abstract: The global animal industry needs to address the increasing regulatory restrictions on the use of antibiotic growth promoters (AGPs) in animal production. Many AGPs have already been restricted by animal farms in the European Union and soon other countries are expected to be under increasing scrutiny as consumers’ concerns about drug resistant superbugs increase. Accordingly, scientific evidence-based publications are supporting the possibility of sustaining intensive modern farming without the use of AGPs, especially in the area of disease control. There has been a great deal of information on new biocontrol approaches for preventing and/or treating bacterial, viral and parasitic pathogens in food animal production. Multiple alternatives, including prebiotics, probiotics, phytonutrients, hyperimmune antibodies, antimicrobial peptides, and toll-like receptor agonists, have already been used by the animal industry for various claims, but it is generally accepted that none of these alternatives are known to be as effective as AGPs in field application. However, a combination of additives or novel feed additives have shown some efficacy to compensate for production loss, in the absence of AGPs, with economic returns. "Phytonutrients" are plant- or fruit-derived chemical compounds possessing health benefits including promoting tumor killing and increased resistance to infectious diseases. While numerous studies have shown disease prevention or immune enhancing effects of phytonutrients, very few reports have examined the underlying mechanisms for their specific immune modulating effects in animal disease models. Many phytochemicals are known for their anti-inflammatory properties and an increasing number of studies have indicated that diets rich in anti-inflammatory phytochemicals may have beneficial effects in ameliorating tissue damages caused by pathogens. This presentation will highlight recent progress in understanding immunomodulatory properties of phytonutrients and developing dietary immune enhancing strategies to mitigate the use of antibiotics. |
