Potential of silver nanoparticles for veterinary applications in livestock performance and health

Abstract Modern-day intensive system of livestock farming is being faced with the increasing pressure to combat various health-related issues. This will require antimicrobial feed additives or drugs for either curative or preventive purposes. Nevertheless, antimicrobial resistance, re-emerging diseases, and disease outbreak call for the need to develop new drugs or management practices to improve the efficiency of established drugs. The silver nanoparticle has the potential to be useful for various veterinary applications. Silver nanoparticles have anthelmintics and acaricidal properties. It also has the potential to be applied as a preventive and therapeutic agent infectious bursa disease virus. The silver nanoparticle can improve the adaptive immune system, egg hatchability, and stimulated the hydroxylapatite formation. A silver nanoparticle can aid quick wound, surgical wound, and burning healing. Silver nanoparticle has the ability to improve the efficiency of established drug even at the lower doses of such drugs. Nanoparticles can be applied in biosecurity measure in farms in dips, to fumigate incubators, sterilize brooder houses and cages. The ability of silver nanoparticle to bypass placenta barrier suggests that with proper monitoring it could be in fetal programming for drug and nutrient delivery. Nevertheless, despite the potentials of silver nanoparticle, it could cause a shift in gut microbes, affect absorption of some minerals such as K and Fe, and cause sperm anomalies, affect sperm motility and speed. Thus, silver nanoparticle has excellent potentials for various veterinary applications, but there is a need for further field trials.