Efficacy of berberine as a preservative against mold and yeast in poultry feed

Lotte Geerlofs, Zhiyong He, Sa Xiao, Zhi-Cheng Xiao

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleResearch

Abstract

Preservatives are added to products to stabilize and lengthen the shelf life of a product. Classic chemical preservatives might not be as effective anymore due to the resistance of microbial organisms. There is also rising concern that chemical preservatives adversely affect animal and human health. The aim of this study was to investigate the efficacy of berberine as a natural preservatived. Berberine with a 0.03 g/kg/feed concentration was mixed into the feed. The stability of berberine was measured for 2 weeks prior tothe efficacy experiment. Over a period of 4 weeks, the amount of mold and yeast cfu/g that were mixed in previously was measured and compared with the control feed that did not contain berberine. Berberine levels were stable when measured weekly for 2 weeks. The efficacy experiment showed that over the full four weeks, the concentration of yeast and mold was significantly lower (p<0.001) in the test group with the berberine incorporated in the feed. Berberine has an antimicrobial effect against a mix of yeast and mold strains at a concentration of 0.03 g/kg/feed in poultry feed and is stable when used in poultry feed.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)601-605
Number of pages5
JournalApproaches in Poultry, Dairy & Veterinary Sciences
Volume6
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 23 Oct 2019

Keywords

  • Berberine
  • natural preservative
  • antimicrobial
  • efficacy

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