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The supplementation of livestock rations with herbs containing bioactive components, such as rosmarinic acid (RA), have shown promising results as a natural feed additive in promoting growth, productive and reproductive performance, feed utilization, fertility, anti-oxidant status and immunologic indices. Furthermore, RA reportedly reduces the risks of various animal diseases and mitigates side effects of chemical and synthetic drugs. RA is a natural polyphenol present in several Lamiaceae herbs like Perilla frutescens, and RA is becoming an integral component of animal nutrition as it counters the effect of reactive oxygen species induced in the body as a consequence of different kinds of stressors. Studies have further ascertained the capability of RA to work as an anti-microbial, immunomodulatory, anti-diabetic, anti-allergic, anti-inflammatory, hepato- and renal-protectant agent, as well as to have beneficial effects during skin afflictions. Additionally, RA is favored in meat industries due to enhancing the quality of meat products by reportedly improving shelf-life and imparting desirable flavor. This review describes the beneficial applications and recent findings with RA, including its natural sources, modes of action and various useful applications in safeguarding livestock health as well as important aspects of human health.

Ever since the European ban on use of in‐feed antibiotics in food animals, the search for alternate antibiotic‐free growth promoter is undertaken worldwide. There are few alternatives such as probiotics, pre‐biotics, phytochemicals, enzymes and organic acids. Among these alternatives, the organic acids or simply acidifiers play an important role in gut health in animals. The acidifiers could be used to favourably manipulate the intestinal microbial populations and improve the immune response, hence perform an activity similar to antibiotics in food animals in countering pathogenic bacteria. Acidifiers also improve the digestibility of nutrients and increase the absorption of minerals. The incorporation of organic acids also leads to thinning of the intestinal lining which facilitates better absorption of nutrients and its efficient utilization. However, their effect will not be similar among all types of organic acids as their mechanism of activity is based on its pKa value. Moreover, there are claims about the neutralization of acids by the secretion of bicarbonates in the initial part of intestine, reactivity with metallic items in feed mills and reduced palatability due its bitter taste demands non‐reactive and targeted delivery for better performance. Currently, coated salts of acidifiers are available commercially for use in food animals especially pigs and poultry. The present review highlights the role of different acidifiers in livestock nutrition with their potent applications in improving nutrient digestibility, mineral utilization, meat quality, enhancing immunity, antimicrobial effects in countering pathogenic bacteria, boosting performance and production, and thus safeguarding health of livestock animals and poultry.

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Poultry industry has undergone rapid growth during last three decades. For which even higher usage of antibiotics, both as growth promoters as well as therapeutic agents, has been adopted. However, due to the fear of resistance development in bacterial populations to antibiotics, presence of antibiotic residues in poultry products and increasing consumer demand for products free from antibiotic residues, search for alternatives that could replace antibiotics without causing loss to productivity or product quality has accelerated. Such alternatives in poultry include the use of organic acids, probiotic microorganisms, prebiotic substrates that benefit proliferation of beneficial bacterial populations or synbiotic (combinations of prebiotics and probiotics) ensuring better production and maintaining health of the birds. Others include vitamins and minerals, herbal drugs, plant extracts, phytobiotics and antimicrobial peptides. Probiotic organisms provides competition to pathogenic organisms for intestinal colonizing sites, reduce the diversion of nutrients for harmful microbes and the toxins produced by them and stimulates the immune systems. Similarly, prebiotic offers an alternative, as it alters the intestinal microbes and immune system to reduce colonization by pathogens and allows proliferation of beneficial microflora in the gut. Even using synbiotic is a better strategy for enhancing poultry production, however, more research is needed for selection of probiotic, prebiotics or synbiotics either alone or in combination that can result in the selection of strains capable of performing effectively in the gastrointestinal tract. The contents of this review will be useful for researchers to enrich their knowledge on alternatives of antibiotics in poultry birds without compromising performance of birds and bird welfare.