review · Animals
Nanotechnology provides advanced tools for the livestock sector, particularly through the use of nanomaterials to boost feed utilisation and efficiency. Delivering trace minerals via nano vehicles enhances nutrient digestion, absorption, and bioavailability compared to traditional organic and inorganic sources, while simultaneously reducing environmental pollution. Incorporating nanominerals, particularly nano-selenium and nano-zinc, into ruminant diets promotes antioxidant activity, intestinal health, immune response, growth, and overall reproductive performance. Beyond feed additives, these materials can enrich media used in assisted reproductive technologies, improving the cryopreservation of spermatozoa, oocytes, and embryos. However, significant challenges remain regarding their metabolism, potential hazards, and ultimate fate within the animal body. Comprehensive evaluation of the economic, legal, ethical, and human health implications is essential before widespread implementation, ensuring that the technology delivers sustainable, safe, and nutritionally enhanced animal products.
Livestock production faces rising pressure to become more sustainable while delivering safe, high-quality food. Nanominerals offer a way to improve animal health, growth, and reproduction with lower feed inputs and less environmental waste. However, understanding their biological fate and potential toxicity is critical to ensure that innovations in livestock nutrition do not pose unforeseen hazards to animals, consumers, or the wider food system.
The work points toward applications in commercial feed additives and cryopreservation media for assisted breeding, primarily targeting livestock producers, feed manufacturers, and veterinary breeding specialists. Because the abstract identifies unresolved challenges concerning metabolism, potential toxicity, and regulatory, economic, and ethical requirements, this technology remains at an early to intermediate stage of research rather than being ready for immediate commercial deployment.
AI-generated from the published abstract. Always read the original work before citing.
Nanotechnology is one of the major advanced technologies applied in different fields, including agriculture, livestock, medicine, and food sectors. Nanomaterials can help maintain the sustainability of the livestock sector through improving quantitative and qualitative production of safe, healthy, and functional animal products. Given the diverse nanotechnology applications in the animal nutrition field, the use of nanomaterials opens the horizon of opportunities for enhancing feed utilization and efficiency in animal production. Nanotechnology facilitates the development of nano vehicles for nutrients (including trace minerals), allowing efficient delivery to improve digestion and absorption for better nutrient metabolism and physiology. Nanominerals are interesting alternatives for inorganic and organic minerals for animals that can substantially enhance the bioavailability and reduce pollution. Nanominerals promote antioxidant activity, and improve growth performance, reproductive performance, immune response, intestinal health, and the nutritional value of animal products. Nanominerals are also helpful for improving assisted reproductive technologies (ART) outcomes by enriching media for cryopreservation of spermatozoa, oocytes, and embryos with antioxidant nanominerals. Despite the promising positive effects of nanominerals on animal performance and health, there are various challenges related to nanominerals, including their metabolism and fate in the animal's body. Thus, the economic, legal, and ethical implications of nanomaterials must also be considered by the authority. This review highlights the benefits of including nanominerals (particularly nano-selenium and nano-zinc) in animal diets and/or cryopreservation media, focusing on modes of action, physiological effects, and the potential toxicity of their impact on human health.
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DOI: 10.3390/ani11071916
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