Honeybee and Plant Products as Natural Antimicrobials in Enhancement of Poultry Health and Production

Erinda Lika, Marija Kostić, Sunčica Vještica, Ivan Milojević and Nikola Puvača
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Erinda Lika: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Agricultural University of Tirana, Koder Kamez, 1029 Tirana, Albania
Marija Kostić: Faculty of Hotel Management and Tourism Vrnjačka Banja, University of Kragujevac, Vojvođanska Ulica bb, 36210 Vrnjačka Banja, Serbia
Sunčica Vještica: The Faculty of Applied Ecology, University Metropolitan Belgrade, Požeška 83a, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Ivan Milojević: Ministry of Defense, The Human Resource Sector, Nemanjina 15, 11000 Belgrade, Serbia
Nikola Puvača: Department of Engineering Management in Biotechnology, Faculty of Economics and Engineering Management in Novi Sad, University Business Academy in Novi Sad, Cvećarska 2, 21000 Novi Sad, Serbia

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 13, issue 15, 1-20

Abstract: The quality and safety attributes of poultry products have attracted increasing widespread attention and interest from scholarly groups and the general population. As natural and safe alternatives to synthetic and artificial chemical drugs (e.g., antibiotics), botanical products are recently being used in poultry farms more than 60% of the time for producing organic products. Medicinal plants, and honeybee products, are natural substances, and they were added to poultry diets in a small amount (between 1% and 3%) as a source of nutrition and to provide health benefits for poultry. In addition, they have several biological functions in the poultry body and may help to enhance their welfare. These supplements can increase the bodyweight of broilers and the egg production of laying hens by approximately 7% and 10% and enhance meat and egg quality by more than 25%. Moreover, they can improve rooster semen quality by an average of 20%. Previous research on the main biological activities performed by biotics has shown that most research only concentrated on the notion of using botanical products as growth promoters, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial agents. In the current review, the critical effects and functions of bee products and botanicals are explored as natural and safe alternative feed additives in poultry production, such as antioxidants, sexual-stimulants, immuno-stimulants, and for producing healthy products.

Keywords: honeybee; medicinal plants; quality; antimicrobials; poultry; health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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