Herbal alternative to farmyard antibiotics
Research at the University of Leeds into herbal remedies in the farmyard could soon see pigswill garnished with garlic and cows chewing on cinnamon-flavoured cud. With an EU ban on antibiotic growth promoters in animal feed from 2006, alternatives need to be found urgently. The use of plant extracts, once dismissed as quack science, is attracting growing interest from the industry.
Dr Henry Greathead, researcher at the department of biology, is experimenting with essential oils from thyme as a treatment for coccidiosis, a disease of chickens currently controlled with in-feed antibiotics.
Dr Greathead said: “Antibiotics are excellent growth promoters, and the ban will put EU farmers at a competitive disadvantage with producers elsewhere, so we are trying to find sustainable alternatives. Plant extracts are natural and their production would help ensure a diverse agriculture. Above all they are acceptable to the consumer.”
Another University project is investigating the use of extracts from garlic and aniseed to increase digestive efficiency in dairy cows. Plant extracts may also replace the use of growth-promoting hormones, which are used to boost animal production in many countries, but are banned in the EU.
Dr Greathead said: “It’s unlikely that plant extracts alone will ever be as effective as antibiotics, but I’m confident that we can maintain high levels of production with good husbandry – and without needing antibiotics and steroids.”
Media Contact
More Information:
http://reporter.leeds.ac.uk/495/s1.htmAll latest news from the category: Agricultural and Forestry Science
Newest articles
“Nanostitches” enable lighter and tougher composite materials
In research that may lead to next-generation airplanes and spacecraft, MIT engineers used carbon nanotubes to prevent cracking in multilayered composites. To save on fuel and reduce aircraft emissions, engineers…
Trash to treasure
Researchers turn metal waste into catalyst for hydrogen. Scientists have found a way to transform metal waste into a highly efficient catalyst to make hydrogen from water, a discovery that…
Real-time detection of infectious disease viruses
… by searching for molecular fingerprinting. A research team consisting of Professor Kyoung-Duck Park and Taeyoung Moon and Huitae Joo, PhD candidates, from the Department of Physics at Pohang University…