Yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and its effect on production indices of livestock and poultry—a review

Improved feed efficiency is the current drive of today’s livestock enterprise and this may be actualized using feed supplementation. The use of natural growth promoting products in livestock feed is on the increase because of the ban on the use of antibiotics in feed by the European Union (EU). The use of antibiotics in animal feed has been reported to increase antimicrobial resistance and this has made animal nutritionist search for natural alternatives to antibiotics. Yeast, one of such natural alternatives in animal production, has received great attention in the last couple of decades. Research has shown that about 2500 yeast species exist in nature of which Saccharomyces cerevisiae is prominent. This paper reviews the current body of knowledge on production and physiological indices of livestock and poultry fed yeast diets. The chemical composition, nutritional analysis, and mechanism of actions of yeast were also discussed.