Principles of Animal Nutrition

Animals are biological transformers of dietary matter and energy to produce high-quality foods and wools for human consumption and use. Mammals birds fish and shrimp require nutrients to survive grow develop and reproduce. As an interesting dynamic and challenging discipline in biological sciences animal nutrition spans an immense range from chemistry biochemistry anatomy and physiology to reproduction immunology pathology and cell biology. Thus nutrition is a foundational subject in livestock poultry and fish production as well as the rearing and health of companion animals. This book entitled Principles of Animal Nutrition consists of 13 chapters. Recent advances in biochemistry physiology and anatomy provide the foundation to understand how nutrients are utilized by ruminants and non-ruminants. The text begins with an overview of the physiological and biochemical bases of animal nutrition followed by a detailed description of chemical properties of carbohydrates lipids protein and amino acids. It advances to the coverage of the digestion absorption transport and metabolism of macronutrients energy vitamins and minerals in animals. To integrate the basic knowledge of nutrition with practical animal feeding the book continues with discussion on nutritional requirements of animals for maintenance and production as well as the regulation of food intake by animals. Finally the book closes with feed additives including those used to enhance animal growth and survival improve feed efficiency for protein production and replace feed antibiotics. While the classical and modern concepts of animal nutrition are emphasized throughout the book every effort has been made to include the most recent progress in this ever-expanding field so that readers in various biological disciplines can integrate biochemistry and physiology with nutrition health and disease in mammals birds and other animal species (e.g. fish and shrimp). All chapters clearly provide the essential literature related to the principles of animal nutrition which should be useful for academic researchers practitioners beginners and government policy makers. This book is an excellent reference for professionals and a comprehensive textbook for senior undergraduate and graduate students in animal science biochemistry biomedicine biology food science nutrition veterinary medicine and related fields.