Is It Possible That Pecan Nut (Carya Illinoinensis) Shell as an Organic Material May Be an Alternative Feed Additive

Abstract

Consumption of natural foods has become important day after day and organic food production has also become popular as a result of increasing demand of consumer. Therefore; industry and science world, for organic animal food production focuses on the waste products generated in plant production and the availability of these natural products in animal nutrition has been increasingly discussed in recent years. The shell which is released during the production of pecan nut (Carya illinoinensis) is considered an organic waste material. Although there have been a lot of research on the pecan nut, in recent years the number of research articles associated with the nutritional composition and some phytochemical properties of pecan nut shell that related human and animal health is low and this shows that it is just beginning to be a subject of scientific work in this area. It has been underlined that pecan nut shell has high fiber content, antioxidant and antimicrobial properties according to reported data in the recent publications. In the view of such data, it may be thought that pecan nut shell can be used feed additive, like a prebiotic, supporting immune system and stopping the development of some pathogens. In addition; it is also interesting to note that there is the protective function of the pecan nut shell which suppresses the growth of some microorganisms that can cause health problems in humans due to the meat in cooked and preserved inappropriate conditions. Thus, it is concluded that pecan nut shell as a natural and a new product has potential subjected to research area of animal nutrition as feed additive. © 2018, Centenary University. All rights reserved.