Organic acids in poultry industry: a review of nutritional advancements and health benefits

SUMMARYThe discovery of antibiotics has been one of the greatest milestones in the field of medical science that has played a pivotal role in advancing the progress and performance of the livestock and poultry sector. Antibiotics have been used in poultry diets at sub-therapeutic doses for growth promotion and at therapeutic levels for disease treatment. Inappropriate and indiscriminate use of antimicrobials leads to antibiotic resistance and transmission of resistant genes either directly or through bacteria from animal feed, or the environment. In fact, numerous feed supplements have been proposed over the years as antibiotic alternatives, to improve the health status, welfare and productive performance of poultry birds. However, organic acids (OA) have emerged as a potential antibiotic replacement due to their antimicrobial nature. Although, OA are abundant in nature as conventional components of animal and plant tissues, whereas, few of them are produced by microbial fermentation in the hindgut of animals. Interestingly, supplementation of several types of OA such as formic acid, lactic acid, fumaric acid, butyric acid, citric acid and tartaric acid have been shown to significantly improve the health status and production performance of poultry birds. At the same time, OA have also been investigated for their multiple therapeutic effects on pathological disorders, as antimicrobial, antifungal, antiprotozoal, and anticoccidial agents. In addition, OA provide protection by improving the immune system, physiology and morphology of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). The prime objective of the present review is to highlight the therapeutic potential and beneficial uses of OA as an alternative to antibiotics in the poultry industry.KEYWORDS: Antibiotic substituteorganic acidgrowth promotertherapeutic effectshealth benefitspoultry AcknowledgementsAll the authors of this manuscript earnestly acknowledged from the support of respective Universities and Institutes.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Authors’ contributionsAll authors were equal contributors in writing this review article.Additional informationFundingThis work was supported by Natural Science Foundation of Chongqing, China [CSTB2022NSCQ-MSX0470] and the Open Project Program of Beijing Key Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine at Beijing University of Agriculture [BUAPSP202205].