APAC Role of Gut Health in AGP Free Production

Modern poultry operations have undergone dramatic changes in production practices in the last 50 years. Genetic selection for high growth rates and reproductive traits as well as improved management techniques and dietary requirements has led to increased performance standards in all livestock operations.

The expression ‘gut health’ has become the standard in the scientific literature and animal production industries to describe animal health.

From a scientific point of view, no one can state what gut health is, how it can be defined and, most importantly, how it can be measured. Interest in ‘gut health’ has increased due to the ban of antibiotic growth promoters (AGPs)

Whilst the precise mode of action of AGPs has still not been fully established, their withdrawal from animal feeds is clearly associated with increased incidence of intestinal disorders.

It is prudent to expect that poultry and pigs raised on feeds without AGP will experience higher incidences of intestinal health problems and prolonged period of immunological challenge. The metabolic changes induced by inflammation are homeostatic in nature and thus nutrients that would have been utilized for growth, skeletal muscle accretion and egg production are diverted to support host defense systems.

With the ban and/or reduction of the use of antibiotic growth promoters (AGPs) in poultry production, the alternatives to AGP are needed to preserve the balance of gut microbiota in chicken.

Therefore, availability of dietary strategies for maintaining gut health and function will be imperative for profitability and sustainability of the poultry and pig industries under restricted use of antimicrobials.