**3. Antibiotics alternatives used in poultry production in Sub Saharan Africa**

Some of the reasons for the use of antibiotics alternative in poultry production are the toxic effect of antibiotics to humans who consume the poultry products from poultry raised with synthetic antibiotics, the problem of resistance to synthetic antibiotics by target parasites as well as the high cost of these antibiotics. However,

### *Antibiotics Alternatives in Poultry Production in Sub-Sahara Africa DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.109907*

antibiotics alternatives are natural products that are cheap and environmentally friendly [6, 7] has reported the use of probiotics and prebiotics, extracts of plants, neutraceuticals like copper and zinc of antimicrobial peptides, antibiotics from chicken egg yolk, medium fatty acids, rare earth elements as antibiotics alternatives. Indigenous medicine is now recognized worldwide both by the rural populace and the urban elite as an important healthcare resource [8]. According to [8] a total of at least 35,000 plants species are widely used for medicinal purposes in Sub-Saharan Africa with some level of success which however needs to be standardized and improved upon using more scientific principles.
