Animal feed utilization improvement

The prospects for PBS in agricultural sectors are seemingly huge, especially in crop protection via pesticide application, biomass conversion, and animal-feed-utilization improvement. 

The effect of enzymes, recorded in many feed trials, includes increased final weight of the animal, better feed utilization, improved feed conversion ratio (FCR), more homogeneous production, reduced mortality, and a reduced amount of sticky droppings (in chickens) (87). 

Hartley, R. D. In Improved Utilization of Lignocellulosic Materials in Animal Feed OECD Paris, 1985 pp. 10-30. 

ANTIBIOTICS ELFAMYCINS. The elfamyans are so named because they exhibit antimicrobial activity through the inhibition of protein biosynthesis via binding to the Wongation factor Tu. All of the known elfamyans are listed in Table 1. These antibiotics are distinguished by low mammalian toxicity, narrow-range antimicrobial activity, and positive effects on feed utilization and growth promotion in farm animals. Elfamyans also improve milk production in lactatmg ruminants. 

Nutritional Uses of Lecithin in Animal Feeds The functional aspects of lecithin use as an emulsifier are referenced above. Emulsification of dietary lipid is also nutritionally important for digestion. Immature animals of all species (e.g., calves, dogs, fish, pigs, and poultry) have limited production of digestive emulsifiers (i.e., bile) and enzymes. Providing lecithin as a dietary emulsifier allows improved utilization of feed energy. 

Even more complex is the structure of monensin, a compound which has been extensively used as an anticoccidial agent for poultry and shown to improve the efficiency of feed utilization in ruminant animals. When submitted to a culture of Sebekia bevihana, monensin was first quantitatively converted by enzymatic reduction of the 8-hydroxy-ketone (which is in equilibrium with its hemiketal tautomeric form) and was regioselectively further hydroxylated at the C-29 methyl group as well as at the nearby ethyl group substituent[94). 

Conjugated linoleic acid applications may be roughly divided into two major areas. The first is as a diet/ health supplement for humans. The second application is as a supplement in animal feed to inaease the CLA content in milk, eggs or meat products and/or to improve the visual or textural properties of meat or meat products sold to the consumer. The latter application has assumed inaeasing importance over the last decade, with CLA supplementation utilized to improve such commercial concepts as visual appeal (marbling) in cut meats, decreased fat/increased lean meat content and improved backfat firmness. 

Agricultural and forest processing always generates a tremendous amount of biomass that can be utilized to produce bioproducts, biopolymers or biofuels. Forestry and crop residues have been traditionally used as animal feed directly or, after pretreatments, to improve... 

Enzymes have been used for more than 20 years in poultry feed, mainly to improve the digestibility of cereals with high soiuble non-starch-polysaccharide (NSP) levels, such as wheat, barley, oats and rye [159, 160], It is well established that the inclusion of cell wall hydrolases in wheat, barley and rye-based diets of single-stomach animals, improves the efficiency of feed utilization, enhances growth and contributes to a better use of low-cost feed ingredients [161, 162], Several studies on the potential application of CBMs for animals feeding are available [163,164]. 

A wide variety of animal species are subjected to the administration of drugs during their lifetime.The various animal species can encounter drugs and other dietary additives by different routes and this is dependent on the environment in which they are kept. Intensively reared animals tend to have considerable consistency in the components of their diets and thus are much less likely to encounter the range of naturally produced compounds that extensively produced animals encounter. The desire for less expensive dietary constituents and increased efficiency of use has induced feed manufacturers and producers to add enzyme supplements to diets of most farmed animals to reduce the negative effects of indigestible dietary carbohydrates, refactory proteins and unavailable minerals such as phosphorus. This use of dietary additives to improve nutrient utilization and environmental consequences of feeding animals intensively has been the subject of intense research activity in the last five years. " The... 

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