Natural Antioxidants in Small Ruminant Nutrition: Revolutionizing Meat and Dairy Quality
A special issue of Animals (ISSN 2076-2615). This special issue belongs to the section "Small Ruminants".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 75
Special Issue Editors
Interests: milk quality; dietary antioxidants; animal welfare
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: animal health and welfare; herd health management; veterinary epidemiology; One Health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The fortification of animal diets with natural antioxidants presents a promising avenue for enhancing the quality of animal-derived products, protecting them against oxidation and bacterial spoilage, and safeguarding consumer health against foodborne diseases. Natural bioactive compounds have the potential to ensure the safety and quality of animal products by serving as biopreservatives against the deterioration caused by oxidation, spoilage bacteria, and foodborne pathogens. As a result, natural bioactive compounds are being increasingly studied and consistently evaluated in small-ruminant production systems to promote animal health and welfare status, as well as improve milk and meat quality, extend their shelf life, and increase their market value, aligning with the principles of sustainable production, the green economy, and environmental protection. Dietary supplementation with natural antioxidants has, therefore, emerged as an effective strategy to enhance milk and meat quality and safety, as bioactive compounds tend to accumulate where they are most needed. Specifically, natural agents can manipulate the bacteria involved in ruminal biohydrogenation, thereby mitigating methane emissions, improving health and welfare status, reinforcing antioxidant and anti-spoilage properties, and positively influencing milk and meat quality traits in small ruminants.
This Special Issue aims to present original research and review articles that examine the effects of natural dietary antioxidants on small-ruminant milk and meat quality traits.
Dr. Panagiotis Simitzis
Dr. Athanasios I. Gelasakis
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Animals is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- sheep
- goat
- meat
- milk
- natural agents
- oxidative stability
- food safety
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