Growth Promoters and Novel Feed Additives Improving Poultry Production and Health, Bioactive Principles and Beneficial Applications: The Trends and Advances-A Review

A substantial growth in poultry industry has been observed mainly due to exploitation of various modern growth promoting strategies and appropriate disease preventive and control measures. The present review describes the various essential growth promoters and novel feed supplements, their salient features, classical examples, bioactive principles, pharmacological and modes of action and useful applications for improving poultry production and health. It highlights antibiotics, probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, organic acids, vitamins and minerals, oils, enzymes, amino acids, betaine, carnitine, L-arginine, ractopamine, nucleotides, electrolytes, herbs, panchgavya elements. Apart from boosting poultry production and safeguarding general health of birds some of these have been found to possess beneficial immunomodulatory and stress relieving properties and also have added advantages to help produce lean meat and designer poultry products taking into account health awareness and preferences of the consumers. It is a comprehensive and an updated review compilation focusing the salient aspects of various important growth promoters and feed additives having potential applications to promote poultry production and health. Due care has been taken to cover the ongoing trends and recent advances with a perspective vision and their holistic usages and beneficial applications in poultry production system. The contents of the review will be highly useful for researchers, scientists, pharmacists, veterinary professionals, pharmaceutical industries, poultry producers/owners and poultry industry as well as for perspective applications in livestock industry. It would enrich the knowledge of researchers and help the scientific community to conduct more research on such daily essential requirements for boosting poultry production in a better way. It will also shed light regarding the management and production aspects of poultry especially broilers which will enlighten farmers and poultry producers for better economic growth.