{"id":4281,"date":"2022-10-12T13:16:30","date_gmt":"2022-10-12T09:46:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgk-co.com\/%d8%ae%d9%88%d8%b1%d8%a7%da%a9-%d8%b7%db%8c%d9%88%d8%b1-%d8%a8%d8%af%d9%88%d9%86-%d8%a2%d9%86%d8%aa%db%8c-%d8%a8%db%8c%d9%88%d8%aa%db%8c%da%a9\/"},"modified":"2026-04-27T17:26:55","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T13:56:55","slug":"natural-alternatives-to-antibiotics-in-poultry-feed-antibiotic-free","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgk-co.com\/en\/natural-alternatives-to-antibiotics-in-poultry-feed-antibiotic-free\/","title":{"rendered":"Natural alternatives to antibiotics in poultry feed (antibiotic-free poultry)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A new era has begun in which livestock producers are moving towards production systems with limited or no antibiotic use. For poultry farmers this means a demand for, and a search for, safe, natural and proven alternatives to antibiotics for their birds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Global consumer demand for antibiotic-free chicken has put pressure on food suppliers, who in turn challenge producers to deliver products that meet these requirements. In the past, producers used in-feed coccidiostats to control coccidiosis  and protozoal diseases, and antibiotics to eliminate bacterial diseases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In many countries, especially in the European Union, chemical treatments are no longer routinely used in feed and are now only applied at the discretion of veterinarians to control a specific disease. Producers are therefore looking for safe, natural and proven options to reduce antibiotic use.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Below we look at natural alternatives to antibiotics in poultry feed and their role when diseases appear after antibiotics are removed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The next generation<\/strong> Mannan<\/strong> oligosaccharides (<\/strong>mannan oligosaccharides<\/strong>)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Among the natural dietary alternatives to antibiotics are mannan oligosaccharides (MOS), obtained from the cell wall of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae<\/strong> (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) (the most important industrial yeast  for producing biochemical products). Mannan oligosaccharides have long been known for their ability to prevent pathogens such as Salmonella and E. coli from colonising the gut of poultry.<\/p>\n\n\n

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The second generation, MRF, derived from mannan oligosaccharides, is more concentrated and can be used at low inclusion rates in poultry diets with the same benefits. For example, trials showed positive effects on weight gain and feed conversion in birds given MRF compared with birds without the supplement.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Faecal moisture can be used as an indicator of bird health and disease status, and wet litter is a major problem in commercial production.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research has shown that feeding MRF significantly improves faecal moisture compared with a control group without MRF, and the difference between birds fed bacitracin methylene disalicylate and those fed MRF is not statistically significant. A meta-analysis showed that MRF improves broiler performance, with a significant increase in average weight of about 0.08 kg and an average reduction in feed conversion ratio of about 0.033.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meta-analysis results for all comparable MRF trials show that, statistically, the performance of broiler groups fed MRF was similar to that of groups fed antibiotics, indicating the potential to replace antibiotics with natural alternatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Multifactorial intestinal diseases in poultry<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

With preventive antibiotics removed, treating multifactorial infections such as coccidiosis is a common problem in poultry farming, and Campylobacter remains a challenge. Different species of the protozoan parasite Eimeria attack different areas of the intestinal mucosa, causing structural damage, inflammation and increased mucus secretion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Such damage leads to nutrient malabsorption, diarrhoea and, in severe cases, mortality. Globally, financial losses from coccidiosis are estimated at more than 3 billion dollars a year. Poultry farmers are encouraged to reduce the negative effects and public health risks of these diseases with improved management strategies and natural feed options such as MRF together with other gut-active ingredients, including plant extracts. Research has shown that a combination of MRF and plant extracts (MRF-PL) reduced oocyst shedding by Eimeria by 14%, and improved the feed conversion ratio of broilers from 1.77 to 1.73 even though they had already been vaccinated against coccidiosis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Histomoniasis (<\/strong>Histomoniasis<\/strong>)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Another protozoan pathogen that mainly affects poultry is histomoniasis, usually associated with blackhead disease (BD) in turkeys. The protozoan parasite Histomonas meleagridis, together with E. coli, causes infectious enterohepatitis, in which the protozoa and bacteria multiply in the gut, enter the bloodstream through the caecum and cause clinical lesions in the liver. The link between the protozoa and bacteria seen in blackhead disease suggests that modulating the gut microbiota and improving overall gut health can help prevent and reduce clinical signs and mortality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Co-infection with protozoan organisms (such as coccidiosis and blackhead disease) has a severe economic impact because of clinical disease. Trials on broilers infected with histomoniasis showed that MRF and plant extracts performed better than a common drug such as Histostat in both feed conversion and mortality, and greatly reduced caecal and liver lesions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Campylobacteriosis (<\/strong>Campylobacteriosis<\/strong>)<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Campylobacteriosis is a major human health concern caused by eating contaminated carcasses. Poultry may not be affected by the bacterium, but the pathogen is usually present in their gut and can be transferred to the meat during processing. Studies have shown that feeding diets containing MRF significantly reduces Campylobacter colonisation in the broiler caecum and consequently improves weight gain. The effect of MRF is thought to be indirect, through changes in the bacterial composition and structure of the gut or through an enhanced immune response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To meet the growing demand for antibiotic-free poultry diets and address global consumer concerns about antibiotic resistance, safe and natural alternatives are essential to support performance, health and welfare and, ultimately, better chicken meat quality<\/a><\/em><\/strong> .<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Studies on natural, proven feed ingredients such as MRF and plant extracts have shown that these measures are effective in controlling digestive diseases that threaten both poultry and human health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you prefer, you can listen to this article as a podcast<\/a><\/em><\/strong> .<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A new era has begun in which livestock producers are moving towards production systems with limited or no antibiotic use. For poultry farmers this means a demand for, and a search for, safe, natural and proven alternatives to antibiotics for their birds. Global consumer demand for antibiotic-free chicken has put pressure on food suppliers, who […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2923,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[87],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4281","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles-guides"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgk-co.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4281","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgk-co.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgk-co.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgk-co.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgk-co.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4281"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/sgk-co.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4281\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4301,"href":"https:\/\/sgk-co.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4281\/revisions\/4301"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgk-co.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2923"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgk-co.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4281"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgk-co.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4281"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgk-co.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4281"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}