POULTRY farmers can stop dosing their birds with antibiotics. Researchers in Wisconsin have developed an alternative to the controversial practice of adding antibiotics to feed to make poultry grow quickly: adding antibodies against appetite-suppressing neurotransmitters and a fatty acid first isolated from hamburgers.
Antibiotics work as growth promoters because, by knocking out bacteria, they help prevent stimulation of the immune system. When a bird’s immune system is stimulated by infection, immune cells release chemical messengers such as interleukin-1 or tumour necrosis factor. These cause muscle wasting and also cause the release of peptide neurotransmitters that suppress appetite. “Chickens respond to…
