Direct-Fed Microbials and Prebiotics for Animals

In this exciting update, discover how feeding direct fed microbials (including eubiotics, postbiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics) is becoming increasingly widespread during food animal production. Beneficial effects particularly in cattle, pigs, aquaculture, and poultry, including improved general health, foodborne pathogen reduction, more efficient food utilization, increased growth rate and increased milk and egg production. Successes from feeding direct fed microbials in many food animal species which ensures their continual integration into part of a holistic food animal production scheme. Unfortunately, several fundamental questions remain about how and why probiotic approaches succeed, and which kind of probiotic-type products are best for specific production scenarios and schemes (e.g., grass-fed, never-ever antibiotics). Early establishment and retention of a balanced gastrointestinal microbial ecosystem (non-dysbiotic condition) is critical for a non-native biological additive to be effective in young animals. Therefore, the effectiveness of direct fed microbials in some food animal species may be an indirect consequence of speeding up the establishment and succession of the dominant microflora characteristic of the adult gastrointestinal tract, and preventing a dysbiotic ecosystem from establishing in the gut. We must understand the critical phases and processes involved in microbiota/microbiome establishment in the gut, and how they impact the outputs of the microbial fermentation. By linking the activity of the native and non-native microbial populations and how they interact, we can better design more tailored direct-fed microbials for use at the farm level. Several additional areas of future research directions are also suggested for further development and implementation of next generation direct-fed microbials as advances in sequencing technologies and bioinformatic programs become available. Continued research on direct fed microbials and prebiotics in general should markedly expand their commercial applications, and commercial acceptance and penetration in the animal production market.