An insight into the potential of berberine in animal nutrition: Current knowledge and future perspectives

In animal nutrition, the interest for novel feed additives has expanded with elevating industry standards and consumer awareness besides the demand for healthy animal-derived food products. Consumer and animal health are leading concerns dictating the importance of novel animal feed additives. Berberine (BBR) is a natural pentacyclic isoquinoline alkaloid that has exhibited diverse pharmacological properties, including metabolism-regulating, hepatoprotective, and inflammatory alleviative in addition to its antioxidant activity. Despite detailed information on cellular mechanisms associated with BBR therapeutics, and strong clinical evidence, only a few studies have focused on BBR applied to animal nutrition. However, great pieces of evidence have shown that dietary BBR supplementation could result in improved growth performance, enhanced oxido-inflammatory markers, and mitigated metabolic dysfunctions in both monogastric and ruminant animals. The data discussed in the present review may set the basis for further research on BBR in animal diets for developing novel strategies aiming to improve animal health as well as products with beneficial properties for humans.

Automated summary

With the improvement of industry standards and the increasing demand for healthy animal-derived food products, there has been an increasing interest in novel feed additives in the field of animal nutrition. Berberine, a natural substance, has shown various pharmacological properties such as metabolism regulation, hepatoprotection, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant activity. Studies have shown that adding berberine to animal feed can enhance growth performance, improve oxido-inflammatory markers, and mitigate metabolic dysfunctions. These findings provide a basis for further research on the use of berberine in animal diets to develop novel strategies to improve animal health and produce products with beneficial properties for humans.