Potential health benefits of Aloe vera in livestock diets: A Review

Abstract

Aloe vera is one of numerous feed supplements that can be used to increase productivity and disease resistance in domesticated animals. To reap these advantages, there are various indications, which include the proper dosage for better efficacy. As stated earlier, the rising demand for animal source protein in practice is largely met by the strengthening of the livestock sector; this demand goes along with higher demand for animal feeds and animal feed additives. For many years, livestock keepers have been using chemical derivatives and antibiotics to treat their animals against many animal diseases. But the misuse of antibiotics and poor handling of chemical derivatives in different fields has led to tremendous effects, which include adverse effects on animals, plants, the environment, and the final consumer. Herbs are plant sources of safer and inexpensive compounds, so many herbal products have been reported worldwide to enhance several actions such as anti-stress, tonic, antimicrobial, growth stimulant, and immune stimulant in livestock rearing. So many medicinal plant extracts have been tested recently for animal growth performance, immune stimulation, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and disease resistance, which have offered good results and have the potential to reduce the use of antibiotics. Aloe vera is one of the herbs that is rapidly utilized as a feed additive in the livestock sector. The physico-chemical composition of Aloe vera and its health characteristics, such as antioxidant properties, healing, immune responses, antimicrobial properties, and many more benefits in domesticated animals, are briefly well discussed in this review article.