Natural By-Products and Feed Additives in Livestock and Aquaculture: Improving Productivity and Product Quality

The livestock and aquaculture sectors are facing increasing pressure to improve productivity while simultaneously enhancing product quality and reducing environmental impact. Rising feed costs, resource limitations, and sustainability challenges have intensified the search for innovative nutritional strategies. Natural by-products from agro-industrial processes and novel feed additives offer promising opportunities to optimize animal performance, improve gut health, modulate metabolism, and enhance meat, milk, egg, and fish product quality. These approaches align with circular economy principles by valorizing waste streams and reducing reliance on conventional feed ingredients. In ruminants, pigs, poultry, and fish, dietary interventions using functional compounds, phytogenics, fermentation products, and bioactive residues are gaining scientific and industrial relevance. However, robust experimental evidence is required to validate efficacy, safety, mechanisms of action, and economic feasibility under practical production conditions.This Research Topic aims to compile high-quality scientific contributions that advance knowledge on the use of natural by-products and feed additives in ruminant, pig, poultry, and fish production systems. The objective is to highlight nutritional strategies that improve productivity, product quality, animal health, and sustainability. We seek studies that elucidate physiological, metabolic, microbiological, and molecular mechanisms underlying performance responses. Emphasis is placed on research that integrates animal efficiency with improvements in meat, milk, egg, and fish product characteristics, including sensory, nutritional, and technological quality. Contributions addressing economic viability, environmental implications, and practical applicability are particularly encouraged. By bringing together multidisciplinary perspectives, this Research Topic intends to provide evidence-based insights that support innovation in animal nutrition and foster more sustainable livestock and aquaculture production.This Research Topic welcomes original research articles, reviews, and short communications addressing the application of natural by-products and feed additives in ruminants, pigs, poultry, and fish. Submissions may focus on nutritional, physiological, metabolic, microbiological, technological, or sustainability aspects. Suggested topics/themes include:• Valorization of agro-industrial by-products in animal feeding;• Phytogenics, plant extracts, and functional bioactive compounds;• Probiotics, prebiotics, synbiotics, and gut microbiome modulation;• Organic acids, enzymes, and fermentation-derived additives;• Effects on growth performance, feed efficiency, and nutrient utilization;• Impacts on gut health, immunity, and metabolic regulation;• Meat, milk, egg, and fish product yield, composition, and quality attributes;• Oxidative stability, shelf life, and product safety;• Mechanisms of action (physiological, biochemical, molecular);• Environmental sustainability and circular economy approaches;• Economic feasibility and practical implementation;• Both controlled experimental studies and applied production research are encouraged. Topic editors: Etna Aida Peña-Ramos, Ulises Macias Cruz, Humberto González-rIOS Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/79738/natural-by-products-and-feed-additives-in-livestock-and-aquaculture-improving-productivity-and-product-quality