Oxidation in Poultry Feed: Impact on the Bird and the Efficacy of Dietary Antioxidant Mitigation Strategies

Oxidative reactions in premixes or final-compound feed pose considerable challenges to the poultry industry, both in terms of rancidity reducing palatability and shelf life and in vivo oxidative stress negatively impacting animal performance. Whilst there has been broad awareness of feed oxidation for many years, recognition of the impact of oxidative stress on the poultry industry has grown in the past twenty years. The appearance of woody breast and associated muscle meat myopathies has led to a rapid increase in research output and awareness of in vivo oxidative reactions. Oxidative stress has been widely demonstrated to damage tissue, lipids, and DNA, and is thought to be linked to conditions such as leaky gut, coccidiosis, and ascites, amongst others. The use of dietary antioxidants has been found to both protect feed from oxidation and ameliorate some of the detrimental effects associated with oxidative stress, including improving performance, increasing antioxidant capacity, and mitigating the effects of heat and transport stress. Therefore, the aim of this review is to provide insight into the process of in-feed oxidation and in vivo oxidation including a summary of the benefits of different kinds of antioxidants in feed as well as their potential in vivo added value, based on findings reported within all scientific literature.