Pharmacological Applications and Action Mechanisms of Phytochemicals as Alternatives to Antibiotics in Pig Production

Abstract

Antibiotics are widely used for infectious diseases and feed additives for animal health and growth. Antibiotic resistant caused by overuse of antibiotics poses a global health threat. It is urgent to choose safe and environment-friendly alternatives to antibiotics to promote the ecological sustainable development of the pig industry. Phytochemicals are characterized by little residue, no resistance, and minimal side effects and have been reported to improve animal health and growth performance in pigs, which may become a promising additive in pig production. This paper summarizes the biological functions of recent studies of phytochemicals on growth performance, metabolism, antioxidative capacity, gut microbiota, intestinal mucosa barrier, antiviral, antimicrobial, immunomodulatory, detoxification of mycotoxins, as well as their action mechanisms in pig production. The review may provide the theoretical basis for the application of phytochemicals functioning as alternative antibiotic additives in the pig industry.

The Activity of Plant-Derived Ren’s Oligopeptides-1 against the Pseudorabies Virus

“…Ren’s oligopeptide-1 has the merits of less residue, little drug resistance, fewer side effects, and lower cost. It can improve the animal health and growth performance of pigs and is expected to become a promising feed additive [ 37 ]. It is imperative to develop natural antiviral compounds that can provide new ideas for the treatment and prevention of viral diseases.…”

Editorial: The development and utilization of novel antibiotic alternatives

“…Phytochemicals have been used for many years to treat various ailments (Li et al, 2021 ), which possess many unique advantages compared with the above several antibiotic alternatives, such as exceptionally rich sources, diverse chemical structures, and multiple biological functions (Porras et al, 2021 ). Therefore, phytochemicals are gaining significant attention as substitutes for antibiotics.…”

“…Due to their excellent properties as antibiotic alternatives, various phytochemicals have been used in animal production as feed additive to improve animal health and growth performance (Li et al, 2021 ; Ayalew et al, 2022 ), and some have been successfully commercialized. In this topic, Yin et al demonstrated that dietary Lycium barbarum polysaccharides (LBPs) supplementation could improve growth performance, antioxidant capacity and immunity, and reduced diarrhea incidence in weaned piglets.…”

“…The discovery of antibiotics is one of the greatest milestones in the history of human medical, meanwhile, that have promoted the rapid advancement in animal production. Statistics predict that up to 200,235 tons of antibiotics will be used in food animals to promote the growth of animals and to prevent bacterial infections in 2030, but most of them are not absorbed by animals and are excreted via feces and urine, which can directly contaminate and harm the surrounding environment (Xu et al, 2022;Li et al). Even worse, the heavy misuse of antibiotics undoubtedly also contributes to the emergence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria, and results in a potential global health crisis.…”

Phytochemicals as Alternatives to Antibiotics in Animal Production

“…Consequently, various alternatives were sought to reduce the use of antibiotics in animal production, in order to maintain their health and performance. The types of additives available to increase animal productivity while maintaining the health of the human population include probiotics and prebiotics, plant extracts, essential oils, dietary fiber and enzymes, antimicrobial peptides, functional amino acids, hyperimmune antibodies from eggs, clays, and/or metals [2,3,[7][8][9][10]. The optimal combinations of different compounds, together with good management and breeding practices, can be the key to intensifying the performance and productivity of animals with the aim of reducing and/or replacing antibiotics in the animal industry [3].…”