During the last decades, antibiotic growth promoters
Bamboo vinegar (BV), which has been traditionally
employed for centuries in Eastern medicine, is a naturally
derived liquid obtained from the condensation occurring
during the production of bamboo charcoal. It is composed
principally of more than 200 chemical components, with
acetic acid (about 60%) being the main one (Mu et al.,
2004). Akakabe et al. (2006) confirmed that BV, with a
pH of 2.5–2.8, can function as insecticide, bactericide and
deodorant for treating malodor from pets. Baimark and
Niamsa (2009) also proposed that BV had a higher antifungal
efficiency than acetic acid and formic acid in vitro, and
suggested that the phenolic compound found in BV might evidence some antifungal effects as well. However, to the
best of our knowledge, the applications of BV in animals
have not been vigorously investigated, and only Kook et al.
(2002a, b) suggested that supplementation with BV and BV
liquids could improve the growth performance of ducks
and pigs, respectively.