Potential of a mixture of eugenol and garlic tincture to improve performance and intestinal health in broilers under necrotic enteritis challenge

Effect of an Alliaceae Encapsulated Extract on Growth Performance, Gut Health, and Intestinal Microbiota in Broiler Chickens Challenged with Eimeria spp

This study analyzed the effects of an Alliaceae encapsulated extract (AE-e) on daily gain (ADG), feed intake (ADFI), feed conversion ratio (FCR), oocysts per gram of feces (OPG), intestinal lesion (LS), and microbiota composition in broilers challenged with Eimeria spp. A total of 4800 one day Cobb-500 were allotted into 10 treatment groups with 12 replicates of 40 birds in a 2 × 4 + 2 factorial arrangement. The first factor was non-challenged (NC) or challenged (C), the second was four levels of AE-e added in the basal diet, 0 (AE0), 250 (AE250), 500 (AE500), and 750 mg·kg-1 (AE750), plus two ionophore controls, non-challenged (NC-Ion) and challenged (C-Ion). No interactions were observed between factors (NC0, NC250, NC500, NC750, C0, C250, C500, and C750), while C-Ion improved FCR at 21 d. The challenge affected negatively ADG and FCR and promoted enteropathogens in cecum. AE750 improved FCR in the finisher and cumulative phases, while C-Ion had fewer total OPG than C0 and C250. Likewise, at 21d, C250, C500, and C-Ion had fewer LS than C0, while at 28 d, C750 showed lower than C-Ion. In the cecum microbiota, C500 had more Ruminococcus, Firmicutes b, and Intestinimonas than C-Ion. In summary, AE-e showed beneficial results in broilers infected with Eimeria spp.

Anticoccidial effects of tannin-based herbal formulation (Artemisia annua, Quercus infectoria, and Allium sativum) against coccidiosis in broilers

Background

Avian coccidiosis is considered among the infectious disease of high cost in the poultry industry. Herbal extracts are safe and reliable substitute anticoccidial drugs for chemical feed additives as they do not sequel to drug resistance and tissue remnants.

Objective

The current study aimed to assess the anticoccidial effect of an herbal complex of 3 plants (Artemisia annua, Quercus infectoria, and Allium sativum) in broiler chickens compared to toltrazuril anticoccidial.

Methods

This experiment used one hundred twenty broiler chickens and divided them into four equally numbered groups. All the groups, except group (D), were experimentally infected with mixed Eimeria spp. (E. tenella, E. maxima, E. necatrix and E. brunetti) on day 14. Group (A) was treated with a herbal mixture, containing 75% Quercus infectoria with a minimum of 30% total tannin, 16% Artemisia annua with a minimum of 0.02% artemisinin, and 9% Allium sativum with a minimum of 0.4% total phenol contents. Group (B) was treated with toltrazuril. Group (C) did not have any treatment. Group (D) was healthy all the experiment period as a negative control group. During a 42-day breeding period, the study examined clinical signs, weight gains, feed conversion ratio, lesions scoring, casualties, and the number of oocysts in different bird groups.

Results

Group (D) showed the most significant weight gain, indicating the economic damage caused by coccidiosis. The best feed conversion ratio was observed in the unchallenged group, and coccidiosis negatively affected it in other groups. Clinical signs of dysentery, diarrhea, and lethargy were seen post-challenge but improved with treatment. Group (D) showed no losses; others had casualties and coccidiosis lesions. Lesion scores were lowest in the group (D), and the herbal mixture improved performance. The herbal mixture and toltrazuril reduced oocyst counts in feces earlier than the untreated group.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the anticoccidial activity of the mentioned herbal complex recommends its use as an alternative anticoccidial agent to chemotherapeutic drugs for controlling coccidiosis.

Xylanase and beta-glucanase improve performance parameters and footpad dermatitis and modulate intestinal microbiota in broilers under an Eimeria challenge

Coccidiosis is an enteric disease of poultry worldwide that compromises gut health and growth performance. The current research investigated the effects of 2 doses of a multienzyme preparation on broilers' performance, gut health, and footpad dermatitis (FPD) under an Eimeria challenge. A total of 512 mixed-sex day-old chicks (Cobb 500) were randomly allocated to 4 treatments of 8 replicates. Treatments were: 1) nonchallenged control (NC); 2) NC + Eimeria challenge (CC); 3) CC + recommended level of xylanase and glucanase (XG, 100 g/t feed [on top]); 4) CC + double XG (2XG, 200 g/t feed). Eimeria spp. vaccine strains were gavaged on d 9 to induce coccidiosis in chickens. Performance parameters were evaluated during starter, grower, and finisher phases, and 4 birds per pen were euthanized on d 16 for sampling, FPD was scored on d 35, and litter moisture was analyzed on d 17 and 35. The data were analyzed using 1-way ANOVA with Tukey's test to separate means, and Kruskal-Wallis test was used for non-normally distributed parameters. The results showed that the Eimeria challenge was successful based on reduced weight gain and feed intake during grower phase, and higher FITC-d concentration, lesion score (female), and oocyst counts (d 14) in CC group compared to N.C. group, while XG and 2XG increased (P < 0.001) weight gain and improved FCR compared to CC and NC groups during finisher phase. The addition of X.G. and 2XG decreased litter moisture (P = 0.003) and FPD (P < 0.001) in challenged broilers compared to the N.C. group (d 35). Supplementing XG and 2XG reestablished the population of Lactobacillus in the cecum of challenged birds to an intermediate level between the NC and CC groups (P > 0.05). The inclusion of XG tended to increase the expression of Junctional adhesion molecule 2 (JAM2), which was not different from CC and NC groups (P > 0.05). In conclusion, the combination of xylanase and glucanase (Natugrain TS) improved the performance and modulated jejunal microbiota of broilers under mild Eimeria challenge.

Application of Eugenol in Poultry to Control Salmonella Colonization and Spread

The poultry sector is an essential component of agriculture that has experienced unprecedented growth during the last few decades. It is especially true for the United States, where the average intake of chicken meat increased from 10 pounds (4.5 kg) per person in 1940 to 65.2 pounds (29.6 kg) per person in 2018, while the country produced 113 billion eggs in 2019 alone. Besides providing nutrition and contributing significantly to the economy, chicken is also a natural reservoir of Salmonella, which is responsible for salmonellosis in humans, one of the significant foodborne illnesses around the globe. The increasing use of chicken manure and antibiotics increases the spread of Salmonella and selects for multi-drug resistant strains. Various plant extracts, primarily essential oils, have been investigated for their antimicrobial activities. The multiple ways through which these plant-derived compounds exert their antimicrobial effects make the development of resistance against them unlikely. Eugenol, an aromatic oil primarily found in clove and cinnamon, has shown antimicrobial activities against various pathogenic bacteria. A few reports have also highlighted the anti-Salmonella effects of eugenol in chicken, especially in reducing the colonization by Salmonella Enteritidis and Salmonella Typhimurium, the primary Salmonella species responsible for human salmonellosis. Besides limiting Salmonella infection in chicken, the supplementation of eugenol also significantly improves intestinal health, improving overall well-being. In this review, we highlight the rising incidences of salmonellosis worldwide and the factors increasing its prevalence. We then propose the usage of eugenol as a natural feed supplement for containing Salmonella in chicken.

Spray-dried porcine plasma enhances feed efficiency, intestinal integrity, and immune response of broilers challenged with necrotic enteritis

Re-emergence of enteric diseases in the postantibiotic era has imposed severe loss to the poultry industry leading to the urgent need for appropriate additives to maintain gut health. Recently, more attention has been paid to animal plasma due to its high concentrations of active components such as albumins and globulins. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of spray-dried porcine plasma (SDP) supplementation during the starter phase (d 0-10) on growth performance, intestine health, and immune response of broilers under necrotic enteritis (NE) challenge. A total of 720 day-old male broiler parental line chicks (Ross 308) were randomly assigned to a 2 (NE challenge: no, yes) × 2 (SDP: 0, 2%) factorial arrangement with 12 replications of 15 chicks each. To induce NE, birds were inoculated with live Eimeria vaccine on d 9 and Clostridium perfringens on d 14. The body weight of birds and feed consumption were measured per pen on d 8, 10, 24, and 29 to calculate performance parameters. On d 16, three birds per pen were sampled to analyse the intestinal lesion score, gut permeability, villi morphology, relative weight of organs, and immune response. Results showed that SDP improved (P < 0.001) FCR in the pre-challenge phase (d 0-8). The results indicated that supplementing SDP lowered (P < 0.01) FCR at the end of the experiment (d 29). Dietary SDP decreased (P < 0.05) the concentration of FITC-d in serum samples of challenged broilers, although it did not affect the intestinal morphology and lesion score. Birds fed with SDP had a higher (P < 0.05) relative weight of bursa (g/kg live body weight) compared to non-supplemented birds. Supplementing SDP reduced the concentration of interleukin-6 (P < 0.05) and α-1 acid glycoprotein (P = 0.051) in serum samples of broilers. In conclusion, supplementation of SDP in the starter phase enhanced feed efficiency and gut integrity in NE challenged broilers, possibly through manipulating the immune response, while further studies targeting intestinal microflora and key genes are required to explore the mode of action.

Dietary Eugenol Nanoemulsion Potentiated Performance of Broiler Chickens: Orchestration of Digestive Enzymes, Intestinal Barrier Functions and Cytokines Related Gene Expression With a Consequence of Attenuating the Severity of E. coli O78 Infection

Recently, the use of essential oils (EOs) or their bioactive compounds encapsulated by nanoparticles as alternative supplements for in-feed antimicrobials is gaining attention, especially in organic poultry production. Focusing on eugenol, its incorporation into the nanoformulation is a novel strategy to improve its stability and bioavailability and thus augment its growth-boosting and antimicrobial activities. Therefore, we explored eugenol nanoemulsion activities in modulating growth, digestive and gut barrier functions, immunity, cecal microbiota, and broilers response to avian pathogenic E. coli challenge (APEC) O78. A total of 1,000 one-day-old broiler chicks were allocated into five groups; negative control (NC, fed basal diet), positive control (PC), and 100, 250, and 400 mg/kg eugenol nanoemulsion supplemented groups. All groups except NC were challenged with APEC O78 at 14 days of age. The results showed that birds fed eugenol nanoemulsion displayed higher BWG, FI, and survivability and most improved FCR over the whole rearing period. Birds fed 400 mg/kg of eugenol nanoemulsion sustained a higher growth rate (24% vs. PC) after infection. Likely, the expression of digestive enzymes' genes (AMY2A, CCK, CELA1, and PNLIP) was more prominently upregulated and unaffected by APEC O78 challenge in the group fed eugenol nanoemulsion at the level of 400 mg/kg. Enhanced gut barrier integrity was sustained post-challenge in the group supplemented with higher levels of eugenol nanoemulsion as evidenced by the overexpression of cathelicidins-2, β-defensin-1, MUC-2, JAM-2, occludin, CLDN-1, and FABP-2 genes. A distinct modulatory effect of dietary eugenol nanoemulsion was observed on cytokine genes (IL-1β, TNF-α, IL-6, IL-8, and IL-10) expression with a prominent reduction in the excessive inflammatory reactions post-challenge. Supplementing eugenol nanoemulsion increased the relative cecal abundance of Lactobacillus species and reduced Enterobacteriaceae and Bacteriods counts. Notably, a prominent reduction in APEC O78 loads with downregulation of papC, iroN, iutA, and iss virulence genes and detrimental modifications in E. coli morphological features were noticed in the 400 mg/kg eugenol nanoemulsion group at the 3rd-week post-challenge. Collectively, we recommend the use of eugenol nanoemulsion as a prospective targeted delivery approach for achieving maximum broilers growth and protection against APEC O78 infection.