The diet of animals is undoubtedly a fundamental factor, perhaps the most important one, that affects their breeding. This is because, apart from playing a primary role in the expression of the genetic potential of animals, it also greatly affects, more than any other factor, the cost and quality of the animal products produced.

This book examines the factors that influence, control, or regulate animal productivity, so that their utilization can lead to increased animal production, improved quality of animal products, and reduced production costs. Additionally, the book aims to produce animal products by adding natural substances to their diet that do not have adverse effects on the consumer, thus limiting the use of synthetic additives, with the ultimate goal of ensuring balance between the animal, the producer, the consumer, and the entire ecosystem.

This book is initially aimed at students of the Veterinary School of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, as well as undergraduate and postgraduate students studying the science of animal production, with the goal of transmitting modern basic concepts and knowledge related to the Science of Animal Nutrition. However, we believe that it can also be useful for anyone involved in the field of Nutrition.

The content of the book is divided into five chapters. The first chapter deals with the composition of animal feed and body, the second chapter focuses on the nutrients in feed, the third chapter discusses digestion, absorption, and digestibility of feed, the fourth chapter explores the energy of feed and its significance in animal nutrition, and the fifth chapter covers the additives in animal feed.

At the end, the relevant Greek and foreign-language bibliography is provided, which served as the main source of information for the writing of this book and to which the reader can refer for further information.

(from the book's preface)