# Antioxidant and Antimicrobial Properties of Selected Phytogenics for Sustainable Poultry Production
## 1 Introduction  
Poultry is a major contributor to human nutrition through the provision of high-quality protein, lipids, and other nutrients. However, the future of the South African poultry industry is faced with a lot of uncertainties and sustainability challenges owing to the unsustainability and high market cost of some conventional feed ingredients, including synthetic antibiotics. Thus, to deliver sustainable production systems, phytogenic products can be used to enrich poultry diets with nutrients and bioactive compounds (phytochemicals). These phytogenics are naturally endowed with a milieu of bioactive chemicals that account for their antioxidant and antimicrobial activities in poultry. Most of these phytochemicals are components of essential oils, which include carvacrol, capsaicin, cineole, cinnaldehyde, eugenol, flavonoids, isoflav, polyphenols, resveratrol, thymol, and many others that are well known for their potent antioxidant and antimicrobial properties [1, 2]. Consequently, dietary supplementation with plant essential oils ortheir botanical components has the potential to boost the birds' antioxidant and antimicrobial systems, thus improving feed utilization, growth performance, and meat quality and stability. Some studies have demonstrated positive effects of phytogenic products on antioxidant systems that are critical for the protection of birds from the negative effects of lipid peroxidation [3; 4]. However, in a few instances, phytogenic feed additives have been unable to prevent meat lipid peroxidation in chickens [5]. Another demonstrable benefit of phytogenic bioactive compounds in poultry diets is their ability to improve the quality and shelf-life of poultry meat through their ability to modify its fatty acid composition [6; 7]. The fatty acid composition of meat is an important quality parameter in this era of prevalent non-communicable chronic metabolic diseases afflicting humanity in southern Africa [8] and globally [4]. On the other hand, [PERSON] et al. [9] reported that phytogenics used as natural antimicrobial growth promoters act as biochemical elements of numerous pathways involved in growth, development, and health, where they participate in the modulation of physiological and immunological processes in poultry. Through these pathways, phytochemicals exhibit various antimicrobial activities [10]. This paper, therefore, presents a review of the antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of phytogenic products used in poultry production. It further presents an overview of selected plant sources of beneficial compounds and their contribution to food and nutrition security and sustainable poultry production. We also explore the challenges and possible solutions surrounding their use in practical poultry diets. Unlike existing reviews on this topic, this offering provides the reader with broader perspectives on the utility of phytogenics as mitigators of contemporary economic, environmental, and social challenges that face poultry producers. This review not only characterizes the beneficial compounds and their modes of action but also addresses how they impact the entire poultry production chain and associated sustainability hurdles.