Antibiotic growth promoters

Antibiotic growth promoters.

Sir, I was dismayed to see that Phillips et al. were defending what nearly all microbiologists know are grave abuses of antibiotics— their continuous use in feed as growth promoters and the needless widespread use of broad spectrum agents (fluoroquinolones). This is despite their acknowledgement that ‘the more an antibiotic is used, the more likely are resistant populations to develop’ and that...

Antibiotic Growth Promoters in animal production

Antibiotic Growth-Promoters in Food Animals

By Peter Hughes and John Heritage, University of Leeds, UK There has been a developing controversy surrounding the use of antibiotics as growth promoters for food animals. These drugs are used at low doses in animal feeds and are considered to improve the quality of the product, with a lower percentage of fat and a higher protein content in the meat. Other benefits of the use of antibiotic grow...

Antibiotic Growth Promoters in Poultry, and their Potential Alternatives

General Commentary on: Alternatives to Antibiotic Growth Promoters in Animals

Recent studies have evaluated the impact of alternatives to antibiotic growth promoters (AGPs) such as phytogenic feed additives (PFAs) in vitro and in vivo. Zhou and colleagues studied the antibacterial properties of 30 herbs on pathogenic Gram-negative and positive bacteria (1). Thirteen of the 30 herbs exerted a significant effect against Escherichia coli ATCC 25922 (p < 0.01, n = 11 and p <...