Phytochemicals as antibiotic alternatives to promote growth and enhance host health.

Vet Res. 2018 Jul 31;49(1):76. doi: 10.1186/s13567-018-0562-6. Lillehoj H1, Liu Y2, Calsamiglia S3, Fernandez-Miyakawa ME4, Chi F5, Cravens RL5, Oh S6, Gay CG7. Author information 1 Animal Biosciences and Biotechnology Laboratory, Agricultural Research Service, US Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, MD, 20705, USA. Hyun.Lillehoj@ars.usda.gov. 2 University of California, Davis, CA, 95616, USA. 3 Animal Nutrition and Welfare Service, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 08193, Bellaterra, Spain. 4 Instituto de Patobiología, Centro Nacional de Investigaciones Agropecuarias, Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, Calle Las Cabañas y Los Reseros s/n, Casilla de Correo 25, Castelar, 1712, Buenos Aires, Argentina. 5 Amlan International, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA. 6 Animal Biosciences and Biotechnology Laboratory, Agricultural Research Service, US Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, MD, 20705, USA. 7 National Program Staff-Animal Health, Agricultural Research Service, US Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, MD, 20705, USA. Abstract There are heightened concerns globally on emerging drug-resistant superbugs and the lack of new antibiotics for treating human and animal diseases. For the agricultural industry, there is an urgent need to develop strategies to replace antibiotics for food-producing animals, especially poultry and livestock. The 2nd International Symposium on Alternatives to Antibiotics was held at the World Organization for Animal Health in Paris, France, December 12-15, 2016 to discuss recent scientific developments on strategic antibiotic-free management plans, to evaluate regional differences in policies regarding the reduction of antibiotics in animal agriculture and to develop antibiotic alternatives to combat the global increase in antibiotic resistance. More than 270 participants from academia, government research institutions, regulatory agencies, and private animal industries from >25 different countries came together to discuss recent research and promising novel technologies that could provide alternatives to antibiotics for use in animal health and production; assess challenges associated with their commercialization; and devise actionable strategies to facilitate the development of alternatives to antibiotic growth promoters (AGPs) without hampering animal production. The 3-day meeting consisted of four scientific sessions including vaccines, microbial products, phytochemicals, immune-related products, and innovative drugs, chemicals and enzymes, followed by the last session on regulation and funding. Each session was followed by an expert panel discussion that included industry representatives and session speakers. The session on phytochemicals included talks describing recent research achievements, with examples of successful agricultural use of various phytochemicals as antibiotic alternatives and their mode of action in major agricultural animals (poultry, swine and ruminants). Scientists from industry and academia and government research institutes shared their experience in developing and applying potential antibiotic-alternative phytochemicals commercially to reduce AGPs and to develop a sustainable animal production system in the absence of antibiotics. PMID: 30060764 PMCID: PMC6066919 DOI: 10.1186/s13567-018-0562-6 Free PMC Article Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Google+