Animal Nutritional Physiology: Effects of Feed Additives on Livestock Products
A special issue of Life (ISSN 2075-1729). This special issue belongs to the section "Physiology and Pathology".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 August 2025 | Viewed by 356
Special Issue Editors
Interests: poultry nutrition; feed additives; feed materials; alternatives to antimicrobials; growth performance; nutrition and physiology; health status; animal product quality; poultry coccidiosis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Feed additives encompass various substances added to animal diets to promote growth, increase feed efficiency, and maintain animal health and welfare. These additives may include phytobiotics, enzymes, probiotics, prebiotics, organic acids, antioxidants, and other bioactive compounds, each exerting specific effects on the digestive, physiological, metabolic, and immune functions and the microbiota and gut health of animals. In addition to their effects on animal health and performance, feed additives have the potential to influence the quality indicators of animal-derived products, including meat, milk, and eggs. The composition, nutritional value, technological properties, sensory characteristics, shelf-life stability, and safety of these products can be modulated using feed additives in livestock diets.
By various mechanisms of action, feed additives are considered a crucial element of strategies for reducing chemoprophylaxis in animal production (excluding coccidiostats and histomonostats, which are also classified as feed additives). Thus, using feed additives contributes to meeting consumer expectations for high-quality, nutritious, and safe food products, aligning with the concept of “One Health”. However, it is important to take into account factors such as dosage, timing, method of administration, and interactions between additives and other dietary ingredients to optimize their use and maximize their effectiveness in ensuring animal performance, health, welfare, and product quality, which may not always occur simultaneously.
The goal of this Special Issue is to provide an up-to-date overview of the progress in current research on all aspects of feed additives as an approach to modulating the quality of animal-derived products, thereby enhancing their dietary and technological parameters that influence market value, consumer acceptance, and overall sustainability of livestock production systems.
Dr. Anna Arczewska-Włosek
Prof. Dr. Katarzyna Poltowicz
Guest Editors
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Keywords
- feed additives
- animal health
- animal performance
- animal-derived products
- animal nutritional physiology
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