ISSUE FOCUS 30 FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE September 2025 The livestock sector is under increasing pressure to balance performance, profitability, and sustainability. While feed efficiency and productivity remain central, there is growing focus on improving product quality (e.g. nutrient density, sensory characteristics), animal welfare, and reducing reliance on antibiotics. These shifts reflect evolving consumer expectations and tightening global regulations. In this context, botanicals – including herbs, spices, and plant extracts – have attracted renewed attention. Their bioactive constituents such as essential oils, flavonoids, phenolic acids, tannins, and saponins are known for a broad spectrum of functional properties. These include antioxidative, antimicrobial, immunomodulatory, or digestion-enhancing effects, offering potential to improve animal resilience and reduce dependency on synthetic additives or therapeutics. However, realizing this potential requires more than just selecting the right plant. The stability of phytogenic ingredients during feed processing, storage, and digestion is a critical factor that determines their effectiveness. Many botanical substances are inherently sensitive to environmental factors such as temperature, light, oxygen, and pH changes. If these actives degrade before reaching their site of action in the animal, their functional value is lost. Botanical feed ingredients are functional plant-based compounds that can support animal welfare, performance, and sustainable production. To fully realize these benefits, the stability of their active ingredients during processing and storage – as well as their targeted application – is crucial to preserve functionality and efficacy at the site of action. Botanical Feed Ingredients: STABILITY IS KEY FOR FUNCTIONALITY Tobias Härtl Product Development – Extracts MartinBauer Celina Jordan Product Development – Extracts (Internship) MartinBauer Dr. Lisa-Marie Sandberg Manager Sales – Animal Nutrition Industry MartinBauer
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTUxNjkxNQ==