Animal Nutrition and Physiology

Animal nutrition and physiology examines how dietary inputs—ranging from amino acids and enzymes to microbial supplements—shape the biological processes that determine an animal's health and productivity. In livestock species like poultry and swine, the gut occupies a central role: its microbial communities, barrier integrity, and digestive capacity directly influence growth, immune function, and feed efficiency at commercial scale. The declining use of antibiotic growth promoters has made this research especially urgent, driving active investigation into probiotics, fermentation products, and other feed additives that can sustain gut health without contributing to antimicrobial resistance. Open questions remain around how environmental stressors like heat alter nutrient utilization and microbiota composition, and how interventions can be precisely matched to an animal's physiological state rather than applied as broad-spectrum solutions.

Works

197,194

Total citations

2,282,558

Keywords

Amino AcidsGut MicrobiotaProbioticsAntibiotic AlternativesPoultry ProductionDigestive Health