The Potential of Wood Vinegar to Replace Antimicrobials Used in Animal Husbandry—A Review
Gil Sander Próspero Gama,
Alexandre Santos Pimenta,
Francisco Marlon Carneiro Feijó,
Tatiane Kelly Barbosa de Azevedo,
Rafael Rodolfo de Melo,
Gabriel Siqueira de Andrade
Affiliations
Gil Sander Próspero Gama
Graduate Program in Forest Sciences, Forest Engineering, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Rodovia RN 160, km 03 s/n, Distrito de Jundiaí, Macaíba CEP 59.280-000, Brazil
Alexandre Santos Pimenta
Graduate Program in Forest Sciences, Forest Engineering, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Rodovia RN 160, km 03 s/n, Distrito de Jundiaí, Macaíba CEP 59.280-000, Brazil
Francisco Marlon Carneiro Feijó
Graduate Program in Environment, Technology, and Society—PPGATS, Laboratory of Veterinary Microbiology and Laboratory of Wood Technology, Universidade Federal Rural do Semiárido—UFERSA, Av. Francisco Mota, 572—Bairro Costa e Silva, Mossoró CEP 59.625-900, Brazil
Tatiane Kelly Barbosa de Azevedo
Graduate Program in Forest Sciences, Forest Engineering, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Rodovia RN 160, km 03 s/n, Distrito de Jundiaí, Macaíba CEP 59.280-000, Brazil
Rafael Rodolfo de Melo
Graduate Program in Environment, Technology, and Society—PPGATS, Laboratory of Veterinary Microbiology and Laboratory of Wood Technology, Universidade Federal Rural do Semiárido—UFERSA, Av. Francisco Mota, 572—Bairro Costa e Silva, Mossoró CEP 59.625-900, Brazil
Gabriel Siqueira de Andrade
Graduate Program in Forest Sciences, Forest Engineering, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Rodovia RN 160, km 03 s/n, Distrito de Jundiaí, Macaíba CEP 59.280-000, Brazil
The indiscriminate use of antimicrobials in animal husbandry can result in various types of environmental contamination. Part of the dose of these products is excreted, still active, in the animals’ feces and urine. These excreta are widely used as organic fertilizers, which results in contamination with antimicrobial molecules. The impacts can occur in several compartments, such as soil, groundwater, and surface watercourses. Also, contamination by antimicrobials fed or administrated to pigs, chickens, and cattle can reach the meat, milk, and other animal products, which calls into question the sustainability of using these products as part of eco-friendly practices. Therefore, a search for alternative natural products is required to replace the conventional antimicrobials currently used in animal husbandry, aiming to mitigate environmental contamination. We thus carried out a review addressing this issue, highlighting wood vinegar (WV), also known as pyroligneous acid, as an alternative antimicrobial with good potential to replace conventional products. In this regard, many studies have demonstrated that WV is a promising product. WV is a nontoxic additive widely employed in the food industry to impart a smoked flavor to foods. Studies have shown that, depending on the WV concentration, good results can be achieved using it as an antimicrobial against pathogenic bacteria and fungi and a valuable growth promoter for poultry and pigs.
