Green ingredients: feed additives based on plant extracts can have antibacterial properties as well as enhancing growth performance

摘要

Gone are the days when the only way to put herbs into ham or spices into sausage was at the meat factory. Extracts from these plants can be found in the pig feeds of a large number of countries. Their use looks sure to increase further as pork producers and feed manufacturers come to terms with the mounting pressure to omit sub-therapeutic antibiotics from some or all of their diets. Regulatory considerations will deter the products' suppliers from claiming that any botanical additive might have adirect medicinal application. The general claim made on behalf of the extracts suggests their inclusion in a pig's nutrition helps toward its efficient feed utilisation and growth. But there is considerable evidence that many of them possess the abilityto act against undesirable bacteria. This can be seen in our accompanying chart, which lists a selection of the more common herbs and spices according to the properties that have been attributed to their extraction products (usually the so-called essential oils). Note how many are suggested to have multiple activities. Extracts of most of the plants on the list are indicated to be useful in assisting digestion. Also in the majority are the ones categorised as being antibacterial.