Punjab develops poultry supplement from kinnow peels

The Punjabi University in Patiala and state-run Punjab Agro in a joint collaboration on Thursday announced to develop poultry feed LimoPan, which is a bioengineered nutraceutical derived from kinnow peels.

It is a feed supplement with the ability to replace the use of antibiotics in poultry feed.

Punjab Agro Managing Director Manjit Singh Brar said the efforts of the university and Punjab would pave the way for future industry-academia partnerships.

Punjab Agro has funded the R&D and provided significant inputs in the application of this product.

An official statement said the unbridled use of antibiotics in poultry feed is one of the reasons that has been attributed to causing antibiotic resistance in humans, as humans become passive consumers through residues that remain in poultry.

The product utilises the antimicrobial potential of phytoconstituents present in the peels of kinnows and Punjab being the leading producer of kinnow processes, thereby generating a large quantity of peel.

It said this technology sets an example of sustainable utilisation of horticulture waste by converting it into a value-added product.

Minni Singh, Associate Professor with the Department of Biotechnology at Punjabi University, said she and her team used nanotechnology to develop the formulation, which has taken nine years of R&D.

The safety of the product has been ascertained by the National Toxicology Centre at NIPER.