Phytochemicals - A New Class of Feed Additives

About Author: Manoj Dupati, Shiva Kumar, Sharadamma K. C. and Radhakrishna P. M.
Provimi Animal Nutrition India Pvt Limited,
Yelahanka New Town, Bangalore – 560 106,
Karnataka, India

Plants have provided human beings for all needs in terms of shelter, clothing, food, ?avours and medicines. In particular plants have formed the basis of sophisticated traditional medicine systems like Ayurvedic, Unani, and Chinese amongst others. These systems of medicine have given rise to some important drugs which are being used in modern medicine too. This article highlights and provides an overview of the classes of molecules present in plants having specific biological activity and finds use as feed additives ensuring better health and productivity of live stock.

Plant produces a vast amount of metabolites, which is distinguished into primary and secondary metabolites. The term primary metabolites comprises of the necessary molecules for the survival of the plant cells. While secondary plant metabolites occur usually only in special, differentiated cells and are not necessary for the cells themselves but may be useful for the plant as a whole. (Crozier et al., 20071)

Reference ID: PHARMATUTOR-ART-1122

Primary Metabolites are necessary for basic survival and propagation –which is for both anabolic and catabolic pathways, assimilation, respiration, transportation, differentiation. They are common to all plants and Phytosterols, Acyl lipids, Nucleotides, Amino acids, Organic acids etc. are some of the few examples of them.

The secondary metabolites are diverse within the plant kingdom (Kossel 1891) they are the ones which give plants color, flavor and smell. We use them as phytomedicines, drugs, insecticides, dyes, flavorings and fragrances. Plants use secondary metabolites as a defense against pathogens and predators - bactericidal, repellent, poison, and also as attractants to encourage fertilization and dissemination.

Recent and continuing changes to legislation controlling the use of antibiotic feed additives have stimulated interest in bioactive metabolites in plants generally called as phtochemicals as alternative performance enhancers on the body functions of farm production animals.

These phytochemicals originate from leaves, roots, tubers or fruits of herbs, spices and other plants. They may be available in solid, dried, and ground forms, or as extracts. In simple terms, phytochemicals are products of plant origin, which are chemically active due to the specific functional group they carry and geometrical shapes & configuration. The common sources of plant metabolites possessing bioactivity are summarized in Table 1.

Table 1: Common source of plant metabolites

These phytochemicals are being explored to provide solutions for improving feed intake and supporting the digestive system by suitably manipulating feed formulations.

The three major groups of phytochemicals commonly known and, which are increasingly coming under focus, are Alkaloids, Terpenoids and Phenolics. These plant metabolites are known to stimulate immune system, enhance antioxidant activity provide antimicrobial effect and better feed conversion efficiencies (Caspar wenk 2006). Some of these phytochemicals may help to ensure the health and high performance of farm animals without antibiotics being added to the feed. The Principal activity of the metabolites has been presented by several authors.

Few phytochemicals are well known to have antimicrobial ability e.g. tannic acid, which inhibits the growth of intestinal bacteria such as Bacteriodes fragilis, Clostridium.perfringens, E.coli and Enterobacter.cloacae (Chung et al., 1993)2. Some of the Terpenes, which contain essential oils, have long been recognized for their biotransformation activity towards toxins entering the liver helping release of specific enzymes that can degrade toxins to harmless metabolites.

Another example that can be cited is β-carotene a tetraterpene that serves as precursor to Vitamin A in both food and feed applications (W. W. Weeks, 19863)
Further the effect of hymus vulgaris (thyme) and cinnamomium zeylanicum  (cinnamon) on the performance of broilers was studied by ( Al-Kasie et al., 20094) who found their effect on the live weight gain and the improvement of the health of poultry in addition to other performance traits, feed conversion ratio and feed intake.

It is noted that flavor component of garlic (Allium sativum) has been found to inhibit development of tumors in different organs. Diallyl sulfide (DAS) an active compound in garlic is reported to have antioxidant activity (Shukla et al., 20035).

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The active compounds present in plants relieve the host animals from immune defense stress during critical situations and increase the intestinal availability of essential nutrients for absorption, there by helping animals to grow better within the frame work of their genetic potential.  (S.R.Hashemi and H. Davoodi, 20106)

Herbal extracts from thyme, origanum, rosemary, clove and cinnamon containing alkaloids was seen with growth promoting activity it also prevents coccidial multiplication and reduces its damaging effect on the intestinal wall. They are also found to have effect on live weight gain and improvement of the health of poultry in addition to other performance traits, feed conversion ratio and feed intake. (Windisch and Kroismayr, 20067)

Plant belonging to euphorbiaceous family commonly known as euphorbia hirta has reportedly shown that it posses antibacterial activity (Hashemi et al., 2008), in vitro antioxidant activity ( Sharma et al.,2007) , acts as analgesic, antipyretic, anti-inflammatory and anti depressant for blood pressure ( William et al., 1997).

The positive effect of e.hirta supplementation on broiler performance has also been demonstrated (Hashemi et al., 20098). The key active ingredient in e.hirta is a chemical known as Quercetin, which is a flavonoid with the ability to scavenge reactive oxygen species (ROS).

Plants that are commonly present in desert contain saponins. Their leaf extracts suppress the bacteriolytic activity of rumen ciliate protozoa and there by enhance total microbial protein flow from the rumen. Saponins have selective antibacterial effects that may prove useful in controlling starch digestion (Wallace R.J, 20049).

Saponins also prevent bloat in cattle and reduce gastrointestinal nematode numbers. Lastly phenol compounds, which are polymerized into large molecules such as proanthocyanidins, condensed tannins and lignin when added into diets, have improved live weight gain, milk yield and protein concentration, and ovulation rate in cattle.  (Garry.C.Waghorn, Warren.C. McNabb., 200310)

The potential applications of phytochemicals are summarized in Table 2.

Table 2: Potential applications of phytochemicals

The action of these phytochemicals and their actions on peripheral metabolism are considered with a view to improve animal performance.  In order to fully exploit their bioactive properties for the benefits of animal performance, modes of action need to be understood thoroughly.  The chemistry, biochemistry and mechanisms of action of phytochemicals and their action on animals vary from animal to animal. The effects depend to a great extent on chemistry of the compounds, their interaction with other molecules, their concentration in the diet; the amount consumed, and is further dependent on the health status of the animals. (Acamovic T, Brooker JD, 200511)

The search for these molecules and bioavailability nowadays, has taken a slightly di?erent route where the science of ethno botany and ethno pharmacognosy are being used as guide to lead the chemist towards di?erent sources and classes of compounds. (Gloria E. Barboza et al., 200912). It is in this context that the ?ora of the tropics by virtue of its diversity has a signi?cant role to play in being able to provide new leads.

References:
1. Crozier, A., Clifford, M. N. and Ashihara, H.  Front matter, In:  Plant Secondary Metabolites: Occurrence, Structure and Role in the Human Diet, Blackwell Publishing Ltd, Oxford Uk . (eds. 2007)
2. Chung K.T., Stevens Jr S. E., Lin W.F., and Wei C. I., 1993. Growth inhibition of selected food-borne bacteria by tannic acid, propyl gallate and related compounds. Letters in Applied Microbiology. Vol 17, Issue 1: 29-32.
3. W. W. Weeks., Carotenoids -A Source of Flavor and Aroma , Aug 1986, Department of Crop Science, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695-7620, Biogeneration of Aromas, ACS Symposium Series, Vol. 317, Chapter 12 , pp 157–166
4. G.A.M. Al-kassie., 2009 Pakistan Vet. J., 2009, Influence of two plant extracts derived from thyme and cinnamon on broiler performance, Department of Public Health, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Baghdad, Iraq 2009, 29(4), 169-173.
5. Yogeshwer Shukla, Annu Arora, and Pankaj Taneja., 2003. Teratogenesis, Carcinogenesis, and Mutagenesis , Antigenotoxic Potential of Certain Dietary Constituents Environmental Carcinogenesis Division, Industrial Toxicology Research Centre, Lucknow, India. Supplement 1:323–335
6. S.R. Hashemi and H. Davoodi., 2010, Phytogenics as New Class of Feed Additive in Poultry Industry, Journal of Animal and Veterinary Advances, Volume: 9  Issue: 17, 2295-2304
7. W. Windisch,  K. Schedle, C. Plitzner, A. Kroismayr., 2008, Use of phytogenic products as feed additives for swine and poultry, Journal Of Animal Science, April 2008 vol. 86 no. 14 suppl: E140-E14
8. S.R. Hashemi et al., 2009 Morphological changes of the intestinal in broiler chickens fed herbal plant and acidifier, Department of animal Science,  Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia, Young Scientist 2009.   
9. Wallace, R. J., 2004. Antimicrobial properties of plant secondary metabolites.. Rowett Research Institute, Aberdeen, Proc. Nutr. Soc, 63:621–629.
10. Waghorn G.C., McNabb W.C., 2003. Consequences of plant phenolic compounds for productivity and health of ruminants. Proc Nutr Soc 62, 383-392.
11. Acamovic, T. and Brooker J.D., 2005. Biochemistry of plant secondary metabolites and their effects in animals. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 64, 403–412
12. Gloria E. Barboza , Juan J. Cantero , César Núñez , Adriana Pacciaroni & Luis Ariza Espinar., 2009, Medicinal plants: A general review and a phytochemical and ethnopharmacological screening of the native Argentine Flora, Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (IMBIV-CONICET), Casilla de Correo 495, 5000, Córdoba, Argentina.  Kurtziana v.34 n.1-2  Kurtziana versión ISSN 1852-5962,
13. Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phytochemical Phytochemicals, phytochemistry. Pg 1. Accessed January 12, 2011.
14. Surh .Y.J., Lee R.C., Park.K.K., Mayne S.T., Liem .A., Miller J.A., 1995 Chemo protective effects of capsaicin and diallyl sulfide against mutagenesis or tumorigenesis by vinyl carbamate and N-nitrosodimethylamine. Carcinogenesis;16: 2467–2471.  
15. Casper Wenk., 2006, Herbs, spices and botanicals: ‘Old fashioned’ or the new feed additives for tomorrow’s feed formulations? Concepts for their successful use. Institute of Animal Sciences, Nutrition Biology, ETH Zurich, Switzerland.

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