Chapters authored
Chitoneous Materials for Control of Foodborne Pathogens and Mycotoxins in Poultry
Public concern with the incidence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, particularly among foodborne pathogens has been challenging the poultry industry to find alternative means of control. Chitosan is a modified, natural biopolymer derived by deacetylation of chitin. The antimicrobial activity and film-forming property of chitosan makes it a potential source of food preservative or coating material of natural origin for improvement of quality and shelf life of various foods of agriculture, poultry, beef and seafood origin. In addition to its use as an antimicrobial, it has been shown that it has good properties as a mycotoxin adsorbent. The purposes of the present chapter is to summarize our experience using chitin-chitosan from Deacetylated 95% food grade chitosan (Paragon Specialty Products LLC Rainsville, AL) or Aspergillus oryzae meal (Fermacto®, PetAg Inc., Hampshire IL) to control foodborne pathogens, improve performance, biological sanitizer and mycotoxin binder in commercial poultry.
Part of the book: Chitin-Chitosan
Control of Aflatoxicosis in Poultry Using Probiotics and Polymers
An important approach to prevent aflatoxicosis in poultry is the addition of non-nutritional adsorbents in the diet to bind aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) in the gastrointestinal tract. These adsorbents are large molecular weight compounds that are able to bind the mycotoxin, forming a stable complex adsorbent-mycotoxin, which can pass through the gastrointestinal tract. In this chapter, we evaluate the use of polymers and probiotics to reduce AFB1 toxic effects in poultry. Our results on the efficacy of polymers and probiotics in sequestering mycotoxins are highly promising, although this field is still in its infancy and further research is needed. Furthermore, in vivo studies are needed to confirm the effectiveness of these materials against AFB1 toxic effects, since results in the past have indicated that there is great variability in the efficacy of adsorbing materials in vivo, even though the compounds may show potential adsorption capacity of the mycotoxin in vitro.
Part of the book: Mycotoxins
The Use of Probiotics in Poultry Production for the Control of Bacterial Infections and Aflatoxins
In intensive poultry production, a large number of antimicrobials are frequently employed to prevent (prophylactic use) and treat (therapeutic use) diseases, as well as for growth promotion (subtherapeutic use), in order to increase productivity. However, it has been reported that the use of antimicrobials at subtherapeutic doses is closely related to the increase in bacterial resistance and with the treatment failure. In addition to antimicrobial resistance, another problem derived from the use of antimicrobials is the presence of residues in animal products. Therefore, these problems and the ban of antimicrobial as growth promoters have prompted the poultry industry to look for alternatives with similar benefits to antibiotics. Among these alternatives, probiotics are one of the most widely studied and interesting groups. Hence, in the present chapter, the effect of probiotics and direct-fed microbial against foodborne pathogens and mycotoxins will be summarized.
Part of the book: Prebiotics and Probiotics
Use of Prebiotics as an Alternative to Antibiotic Growth Promoters in the Poultry Industry
Nowadays there is a great concern about antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which has been recognized as one of the most serious global public health threats. Multilateral organizations focused on global health accept the use of antibiotics in animal production as one of the main drivers of AMR, so that many strategies to control this problem have been proposed, resulting in the total ban of antibiotics as growth-promoting agents. On the other hand, this ban has led to an increase in the incidence of bacterial infections or even to the use of antibiotics at therapeutic doses, which could cause a worse scenario of bacterial resistance. Poultry is one of the most commonly exploited species worldwide and a sector that continues to grow and industrialize in many parts of the world, so it was to be expected that a large part of the antibiotics used in animal production was destined to this industry. The reduction or complete abolition of antibiotics in poultry production would have a positive effect in the control of AMR, but this would also have negative economic and public health repercussions, caused by foodborne pathogens and the decrease of the productive parameters. For that, many specific alternatives have been evaluated and marketed, prebiotics being one of the most promising alternatives for the poultry industry.
Part of the book: Prebiotics and Probiotics