Gut flora and immune modulation by plant extracts

摘要

The use of plants and their extracts in animal feeds is not new with the first records of plant based traditional medicine systems dating back to approximately 2600BC from Mesopotamia.In recent years there has been a surge of interest in the use of plants and their extracts as alternative performance enhancers for animals, largely due to the European Union Directive 1830/2003 banning the use of medicinal feed additives (in-feed antibiotics, and ionophores used as growth promotants) and consumer pressures for the use of 'natural' products in animal feeds.