Impact of chitosan on productive and physiological performance and gut health of poultry

Abstract

SUMMARY The general trend in the poultry industry considers animal welfare and the quality of final products. The prevalence of antibiotic resistance, along with increased public concern about superbugs, resulted in considerable interest in the use of natural and safe alternatives in poultry production to lessen the risk of resistance transfer to humans via the food chain. Some feed additives such as chitosan may confer additional cytoprotective impacts. Chitosan is a biosynthetic polysaccharide that is the deacylated derivative of chitin. Chitosan is one of the promising natural polymers and additives that has attracted great attention due to its biological properties such as biocompatibility, biodegradability, antioxidant, antimicrobial, non-toxicity and anti-inflammatory activity. Chitosan has been shown in recent publications to be an effective feed additive for poultry health and an antibiotic growth promoter alternative. Thus, it can be concluded that chitosan is one of the natural feed supplements expected to enhance the overall health and productivity of different poultry species. This review contributes to updating our knowledge on producing chitosan, its characteristics and dietary chitosan influences on the productive performance and gut health of poultry.