engleski

What are the possibilities of propolis usage in modern domestic animals feeding protocols?

Intensive animal production must remain an economically viable business and must also satisfy consumer demands in terms of food quality and safety. In the past, it has relied on antibiotics and other medications to solve many of these problems. Today there are increasing concerns about the development of bacteria resistant to antibiotics, which has led to a ban on their use as growth promoters in animal production within the EU. Nutritional solutions are now required for resolving these issues. Humans have been using propolis for a long time and much is known about its biological activity. Many different characteristics have been shown, such as antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, immunostimulating and cytostatic. Nevertheless, studies on the nutritional benefits of propolis are still scarce, especially in sense of animal nutrition. It is well known that use of various immunostimulants, as dietary supplements, can improve the innate defence of animals providing resistance to pathogens during periods of high stress and to improve animal’s performance characteristics that are needed in order to obtain high productivity of animal production. Taking into account all of that it is logical to try incorporate propolis as a dietary supplement in modern domestic animals feeding protocols. Pilot studies made on chickens are encouraging because they showed that average weight gain, feed consumption and efficiency were significantly higher for propolis fed birds, which also had reduced mortality rates in comparison to control diet. This opportunity to improve animal production using the natural substances is important for all countries, especially for Croatia who is trying to become a member of EU and to become equal and concurrent in the global European and world market.

animal production ; animal feeding ; animal nutrition ; propolis ; Croatia

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