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Alternatives to Clinical Antimicrobials for Animal Production

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A special issue of Antibiotics (ISSN 2079-6382).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2021) | Viewed by 15189

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Matteo Daghio

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Guest Editor

Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry (DAGRI), University of Florence, Florence, Italy
Interests: microbial ecology; high-throughput sequencing; metagenomics; bioremediation; bioelectrochemical systems; rumen microbiota
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Arianna Buccioni

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Guest Editor

Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
Interests: animal nutrition and feeding; rumen metabolism

Prof. Dr. Carlo Viti

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Guest Editor

Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry (DAGRI), University of Florence, Piazzale delle Cascine 18, 50144 Firenze, Italy
Interests: microbial ecology; metagenomics; phenomics
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Conventional antimicrobials are widely used in animal farming causing potential undesirable effects. Indeed, the extensive use of antimicrobials contributed to the development of bacterial resistance. Several by-products, such as plant derived polyphenols, showed antimicrobial activity and represent a valid alternative to conventional antimicrobials. Furthermore, they can have positive effects due to the ability to modulate the activity of the microflora in animals’ gut and rumen, thus improving the quality of the products. The reuse of such by-products in animals feeding, can also lead to additional advantages since it provides additional value to a bio-waste that can become a useful feed resource with the final aim to reach a circular economy.

In this special issue we invite the authors to submit articles concerning the use of by-products with antimicrobial properties in animal farming and highlighting their effects on animals’ microbiota.

Dr. Matteo Daghio
Prof. Arianna Buccioni
Prof. Carlo Viti
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. Antibiotics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly 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 2900 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

Alternative antimicrobials
Animal feeding
Gut microbiota
Rumen microbiota

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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15 pages, 1682 KiB

Open AccessEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Allium Extract Implements Weaned Piglet’s Productive Parameters by Modulating Distal Gut Microbiota

by Miguel Rabelo-Ruiz, Claudia Teso-Pérez, Juan Manuel Peralta-Sánchez, Juan José Ariza, Antonio Manuel Martín-Platero, Óscar Casabuena-Rincón, Patricia Vázquez-Chas, Enrique Guillamón, María Arántzazu Aguinaga-Casañas, Mercedes Maqueda, Eva Valdivia, Alberto Baños and Manuel Martínez-Bueno

Antibiotics 2021, 10(3), 269; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics10030269 - 08 Mar 2021

Cited by 15 | Viewed by 3110

Abstract

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has risen as a global threat for human health. One of the leading factors for this emergence has been the massive use of antibiotics growth-promoter (AGPs) in livestock, enhancing the spread of AMR among human pathogenic bacteria. Thus, several alternatives such as probiotics, prebiotics, or phytobiotics have been proposed for using in animal feeding to maintain or improve productive levels while diminishing the negative effects of AGPs. Reducing the use of antibiotics is a key aspect in the pig rearing for production reasons, as well as for the production of high-quality pork, acceptable to consumers. Here we analyze the potential use of Allium extract as an alternative. In this study, weaned piglets were fed with Allium extract supplementation and compared with control and antibiotic (colistin and zinc oxide) treated piglets. The effects of Allium extract were tested by analyzing the gut microbiome and measuring different productive parameters. Alpha diversity indices decreased significantly in Allium extract group in caecum and colon. Regarding beta diversity, significant differences between treatments appeared only in caecum and colon. Allium extract and antibiotic piglets showed better values of body weight (BW), average daily weight gain (ADG), and feed conversion ratio (FCR) than control group. These results indicate that productive parameters can be implemented by modifying the gut microbiota through phytobiotics such as Allium extract, which will drive to drop the use of antibiotics in piglet diet. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Alternatives to Clinical Antimicrobials for Animal Production)

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17 pages, 2239 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Analysis of Gastrointestinal Responses Revealed Both Shared and Specific Targets of Zinc Oxide and Carbadox in Weaned Pigs

by Yuan-Tai Hung, Qiong Hu, Richard J. Faris, Juanjuan Guo, Pedro E. Urriola, Gerald C. Shurson, Chi Chen and Milena Saqui-Salces

Antibiotics 2020, 9(8), 463; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics9080463 - 30 Jul 2020

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 2974

Abstract

Antibiotics and pharmacological zinc supplementation were commonly used as growth promoters for several decades in the swine industry before being limited because of public health and environmental concerns. Further, the physiological and metabolic responses associated with their growth promotion effects are unclear. To characterize these responses induced by pharmacological zinc supplementation (2500 mg/kg) and carbadox (55 mg/kg), 192 post-weaning pigs were fed basal and test diets for 43 days. Compared with basal, pharmacological zinc and carbadox independently improved growth performance. Pharmacological zinc increased gastric mucosa thickness compared with basal zinc, while carbadox increased intestinal villus:crypt ratio compared with non-carbadox. Pharmacological zinc and carbadox independently reduced interleukin (IL)-1β concentration compared with basal zinc and non-carbadox. Pharmacological zinc increased IL-1RA:IL-1 ratio by 42% compared with basal zinc, while carbadox tended to increase the IL-10 and IL10:IL-12 ratio compared with non-carbadox. Carbadox increased fecal concentrations of histidine and lysine compared with non-carbadox. The independent effect of pharmacological zinc and carbadox on morphology and nutrient metabolism, and their shared effect on immunity may contribute to the additive effect on growth promotion. These results further confirmed the concept that growth promotion is multifactorial intervention. Therefore, elucidating growth-promoting effects and searching for alternatives should include wide-spectrum evaluation. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Alternatives to Clinical Antimicrobials for Animal Production)

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Review

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13 pages, 1235 KiB

Open AccessReview

Polyphenols and Organic Acids as Alternatives to Antimicrobials in Poultry Rearing: A Review

by Federica Scicutella, Federica Mannelli, Matteo Daghio, Carlo Viti and Arianna Buccioni

Antibiotics 2021, 10(8), 1010; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics10081010 - 20 Aug 2021

Cited by 35 | Viewed by 4502

Abstract

For decades antibiotics have been used in poultry rearing to support high levels of production. Nevertheless, several problems have arisen because of the misuse of antibiotics (i.e., antibiotic resistance, residues in animal products, environmental pollution). Thus, the European Union (EU) as well as the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) promote action plans to diminish the use of antibiotics in animal production. Alternatives to antibiotics have been studied. Polyphenols (PPs) or organic acids (OAs) seem to be two accredited solutions. Phenolic compounds, such as phenols, flavonoids, and tannins exert their antimicrobial effect with specific mechanisms. In contrast, short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and medium chain fatty acids (MCFAs), the OAs mainly used as antibiotics alternative, act on the pathogens depending on the pKa value. This review aims to collect the literature reporting the effects of these substances applied as antimicrobial molecules or growth promoter in poultry feeding (both for broilers and laying hens). Organic acids and PPs can be used individually or in blends, exploiting the properties of each component. Collected data highlighted that further research needs to focus on OAs in laying hens’ feeding and also determine the right combination in blends with PPs. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Alternatives to Clinical Antimicrobials for Animal Production)

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21 pages, 553 KiB

Open AccessReview

Last Call for Replacement of Antimicrobials in Animal Production: Modern Challenges, Opportunities, and Potential Solutions

by Aneta Nowakiewicz, Przemysław Zięba, Sebastian Gnat and Łukasz Matuszewski

Antibiotics 2020, 9(12), 883; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics9120883 - 09 Dec 2020

Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3442

Abstract

The constant market demand for easily available and cheap food of animal origin necessitates an increasing use of antibiotics in animal production. The alarming data provided by organizations monitoring drug resistance in indicator and pathogenic bacteria isolated from humans and animals indicate a possible risk of a return to the preantibiotic era. For this reason, it seems that both preventive and therapeutic measures, taken as an alternative to antimicrobials, seem not only advisable but also necessary. Nevertheless, the results of various studies and market analyses, as well as difficulties in the implementation of alternative substances into veterinary medicine, do not guarantee that the selected alternatives will completely replace antimicrobials in veterinary medicine and animal production on a global scale. This publication is a brief overview of the drug resistance phenomenon and its determinants, the steps taken to solve the problem, including the introduction of alternatives to antimicrobials, and the evaluation of some factors influencing the potential implementation of alternatives in animal production. The review also presents two groups of alternatives, which, given their mechanism of action and spectrum, are most comparable to the effectiveness of antibiotics, as emphasized by the authors. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Alternatives to Clinical Antimicrobials for Animal Production)

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