Yeast and derived products: their uses in preventing mycotoxins in poultry feeds

SUMMARY Poultry is an important source of human protein so research was done to identify methods of improving the feed quality and overcoming the challenge of using this feed type. Poultry feed is commonly contaminated with certain organisms like fungi which produce a group of secondary metabolites called mycotoxins, which affect the quality of the feed. These mycotoxins are highly toxic even in a small concentration like ochratoxin A (OTA), deoxynivalenol, and T-2 toxin causing a wide range of disorders such as hepatic and kidney injury, etc. This review aims to provide an insight into this problem and the use of yeast and its derived products as a method to overcome these mycotoxins. In the literature, yeast is applied to poultry feed as it promotes the growth of broilers when added to the diet and enhances immunity by increasing the antibody titre and macrophages. It increases the size of immunity organs like the thymus gland and the spleen, improves gut immunity, and decreases the proportion of certain microorganisms like E. coli and Salmonella. Lachancea Thermotoleran is an example of a yeast strain that produces volatile organic compounds like 2-phenyl ethanol, which decreases the production of OTA by certain percentages according to the applied conditions. Therefore, the inclusion of yeast was applied as a promising feed additive to overcome mycotoxins in poultry diets because of its many benefits.