100. BIOTECHNOLOGICAL METHODS FOR IMPROVING THE NUTRITIVE VALUE OF RUMINANT FEEDS: A REVIEW

Biotechnology is an important and broad science or group of sciences that has been successfully applied in many fields for the betterment of human life, including cell biology, environmental sciences, animal science, food science, medicine, and pharmacy. Modern Biotechnology has been successfully used in developed countries to enhance animal production and productivity and has resulted in increasing the quantity and quality of animal products. Biotechnology provides cutting-edge experiences that depend on the best scientific practices, innovative research, and applied technology. An increase in the world population and demand for animal products necessitates that developing countries must implement and adopt more modern biotechnological means in addition to effective traditional methods to improve the quality of available fibrous livestock feeds and the nutritional status and productivity of ruminants. Currently, the use of biotechnology in developing countries is limited to animal breeding, health care, and the conservation of animal feeds and products. Increased use of biotechnological methods via manipulations of rumen fermentation, recombinant DNA, removal of toxic compounds in feeds, use of exogenous enzymes etc. coupled with use of appropriate traditional methods will improve the quality of fibrous-animal feeds and the productivity of ruminants in developing countries.