Nanotechnology in Animal Nutrition and Animal Feed.

Nanotechnology in Animal Nutrition by Assistant Professor Boby Basnet.

1. Nanotechnology in Animal Nutrition and Feed
BOBY BASNET
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
DEPARTMENT OF ANIMAL NUTRITION AND FODDER PRODUCTION

2. Nanotechnology in Animal Nutrition and Feed
BOBY BASNET
ASSISTANTPROFESSOR
DEPARTMENT OFANIMALNUTRITIONANDFODDERPRODUCTION
ILAM COMMUNITY AGRICULTURE CAMPUS
ILAMNEPAL

3. INTRODUCTION
•Insimpleterms,nanotechnologyinanimalnutrition,also
knownasnano-biotechnology,incorporatesnanoscale
materialsandtechnologiestoimprovethedistribution,
stability,andefficacyofnutrientsinanimalfeed.
•Nanotechnologyencapsulatesnutrientssuchasvitamins,
minerals,andbioactivecompoundsintonanoparticles.
•Itplaysasignificantroleinimprovingfeedquality,
enhancingdiseaseresistance,andreducingenvironmental
impact.
•Nanomineralsincreasethesurfaceareaandbiological
activityofthefeedconsumedbytheanimals.
•RichardFeynman,knownasthefatherof
nanotechnology,firstspokeaboutthistechnologyin1959.
Nanotechnologyisbeingusedinvariousfields,including
agriculture,livestock,health,andtheenvironment.
•Fiftyyearsago,whenmedicineswerescarce,farmers
wouldfeedredclaytosickorpoisonedanimals,which
providedessentialmicro-nutrientsandhelpedeliminate
harmfulcompoundsfromthebodythroughexcretion.

4. Balancedandhigh-qualityanimalfeedisessential
tomakelivestockfarmingsustainable,competitive,
andachievemaximumreturns.Thedevelopmentof
thelivestocksectordependsoncrucialaspectslike
animalhealth,breeding,feed,andmarket
management.Approximately70%ofthetotalcost
inlivestockfarmingisspentonfeedmanagement,
withthesectorcontributing5.56%tothenation's
GrossDomesticProduct(GDP).InNepal,12%of
thelandiscoveredbygrazingareas.
Nutritionreferstotheessentialfoodelements
requiredforgrowth,healthmaintenance,and
production.Nutrientsincludecarbohydrates,
proteins,vitamins,minerals,andsalts.Feed
managementteacheswhat,howmuch,andhowto
feedanimalsindifferentconditions.Farmersin
ruralareasareoftenfoundtofeedmoretocows,
buffaloes,goats,pigs,andchickens.Itiscrucialto
feedaccordingtotheproductionstageandageof
theanimals.
Agriculturalcropslikemaize,rice,millet,
buckwheat,barley,andothersserveassourcesof
carbohydrates,whilelegumes,oilseeds,andtheir
by-productsareusedasproteinsources.A
deficiencyofnutrientsinthedietcanleadto
stuntedgrowth,weightloss,reduceddisease
resistance,poordevelopment,decreased
reproductiveability,reducedmilkproduction,
hinderedutilizationofcalciumandphosphorus,
deformedlimbsinyounganimals,birthofweak
offspring,anemia,fertilityissues,andmiscarriages.
Nowadays,theexcessiveuseofhormones,
antibiotics,feedadditives,andmineralsaltsin
animalsandpoultryiscausingnegativeeffects.To
mitigatetheadverseeffectscausedbythegrowing
demandforanimalnutritionandtheexcessiveuse
ofthesesubstances,nanotechnologyhasbeen
developedinthefieldofanimalnutritionandfeed.

5. TYPES
•Generally,nanomaterialsarecategorized
intoorganicandinorganictypes.
•Organicnanomaterialsincludeproteins,
carbohydrates,andfattyacidmolecules
derivedfromplants,whileinorganic
nanomaterialsincludemicroscopicmineral
salts.
•Currently,themostwidelyused
nanotechnologyinanimalnutritionand
feedinvolvesnano-mineralsaltssuchas
nanozinc,nanocopper,nanoiron,nano
silver,andnanogold.

6. IMPORTANCE
Researchshowsthattheuseofnanotechnologyinlivestock,suchascowsandbuffaloes,increasesmilkproduction,
meatyield,improvesspermquality,increasesthenumberofmicroorganismsintherumen,andenhancesthe
digestivesystem.Nanosilverhelpsincreasethealkalinephosphataseintheblood,aidinginthegrowthofchicken
bones.Nanocopperstrengthensthebonesinchickens.Studiesindicatethatwhennanosilver,nanocopper,andnano
ironaremixedintochickenfeed,theyresultinmoreeggsandbettereggquality.Similarly,feedingpigletswithnano
coppermixedintheirfeedacceleratestheirgrowth.
Therefore,bydevelopingandexpandinganimalnutritionandfeedsystems,increasingtheproductionoflivestock
andanimalproducts,promotingimportsubstitution,andboostingexports,thenationcanachieveself-sufficiency.
Attractingmoreindividualstocommerciallivestockfarmingrequirestheadoptionofscientificmethodsinfeed
management,improvedgrasscultivation,conservation,promotion,andutilizationofgrazingareas.Thefederal
governmentshouldallocateabudgetforanimalnutritionandfeedsectors,NepalAgriculturalResearchCounciland
theAnimalNutritionDivisionshouldconductstudies,research,andproduction,universitiesshouldrevisecurricula
toincludesuchtechnologies,andprovincialandlocalgovernmentsshouldfocusonpromotingnanotechnology.By
doingso,nanotechnologycanbecomeanexcellenttechnologytoincreaselivestockandanimalproductproduction
inNepal,similartothesuccessesseenintheUSA,China,andIndia.

7. Thank you