Global poultry production continues to undergo significant intensification to meet the increasing demand for animal-derived proteins. Although substantial efforts have been made to reduce antimicrobial usage in this sector, these drugs remain extensively used in poultry production. Following administration, these compounds are biotransformed within the avian organism, leading to the formation of antimicrobial-derived metabolites. Some of these metabolites may persist in edible poultry-derived products, thereby raising important concerns for food safety. Hence, this review aimed to: 1) provide an overview of current trends in antimicrobial use (AMU) in poultry; 2) present the in-vivo studies investigating antimicrobial metabolism, including pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) insights, and 3) summarize future directions to characterize the role of antimicrobial-derived metabolites in the development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and in the safety of poultry products. While AMU in poultry production has been estimated in some countries, only 19 peer-reviewed studies worldwide, have focused on characterizing antimicrobial-derived metabolites in poultry since 1994. Most of these studies have focused on the metabolites of antimicrobials belonging to the tetracyclines and fluoroquinolones classes, with PK/PD parameters being characterized for a limited number of antimicrobials. Moreover, in the last 25 years, only two studies have characterized the antibacterial activity of antimicrobial-derived metabolites, likely due to the historical focus on parent compounds and the high cost of these molecules. As a future perspective, it is important to characterize the antibacterial activity, their role in AMR, and the persistence of antimicrobial-derived metabolites in poultry-derived products for food safety risk assessment.
Zekri et al. (Mon,) studied this question.