Biotechnology has the potential to increase yields in agriculture, produce high-quality feed and save resources in the manufacturing of feed ingredients. Determining which process is the most sustainable can be done by the eco-efficiency analysis. Christoph Guenther and Peter Saling explain this analytical tool by comparing biotechnologically produced vitamin b2 with the chemically produced version of this vitamin.

Chickens need phosphorus in their diet. However, their inability to break down phytate molecules results in the release of undigested phosphorus in their manure and reduced animal performance. Arun Panda and his colleagues investigated the effect of microbial phytase supplementation to undermine these problems.

Pakistan's tropical environment poses a great threat to poultry production. Tanveer Ahmad and Muhammad Sarwar's research into dietary electrolytes may prove vital to rescuing broiler performance under such extreme conditions.

Nutritional science rarely strays into the realms of physical chemistry. When we look at effective mineral supply, however, a good knowledge of the physical interaction between transition metals and their ligands can help us to design the perfect supply for fine-tuning animal productions and health.

The combination of vitamin E and organic selenium has improved the production and reproductive performance in broiler breeders and economic performance in broilers – particularly feathering, FCR, drip loss from meat and improved Se content of meat which is of added nutritional value for consumers. Furthermore, supplementing broiler breeders has carry-over effects into the progeny.

Animal nutrition can also benefit the human population, simply by enriching feed with the necessary nutrients. There is a real need in many countries to increase our selenium intake and with the controversy surrounding cholesterol in eggs at last reaching a conclusion, what better packaging is there for good human nutrition?

So many phosphate sources to choose from- so which selection criteria give valuable information? When formulating environmentally friendly diets for broilers, a measure of the digestible phosphorus content of feedstuffs is a useful guide.

Heat stress and age are common causes of reduced egg shell quality and incur large economic losses in the Indian poultry industry. A number of plants are known to contain high levels of metabolically active vitamin D3. Studies have shown that under adverse conditions, these can be useful in reducing the egg shell quality problems associated with age.

When environmental pollution becomes a restricting factor in livestock nutrition, there is a danger of over-compensating. In poultry production, this could have damaging effects on welfare. There is thus a need to re-assess phosphorus requirements in practice.

Maintaining optimal immune response in birds has become a major challenge in modern poultry production. As nutrition is a major cost in animal and poultry nutrition, maintaining optimal health via this route is desirable. It is well known that antioxidants can enhance the immune system. Combining this with the antioxidant and immunostimulant potential of some plant extracts may increase the benefits.