State Key Laboratory of Livestock and Poultry Breeding, Key Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feed Science in South China, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Animal Breeding and Nutrition, Guangdong Public Laboratory of Animal Breeding and Nutrition, Institute of Animal Science, Guangdong Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Guangzhou, China.
Department of Animal Production, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt.
J Anim Sci. 2021 Feb 1;99(2). doi: 10.1093/jas/skab033.
Essential oils are plant-derived aromatic volatile oils, and they contain bioactive compounds that have been shown to improve poultry nutrition. In this study, we investigated the effects of oregano essential oil (OEO) on intestinal antioxidative capacity, immunity, and gut microbiota of young yellow-feathered chickens. A total of nine hundred and sixty 1-d-old female Qingyuan partridge chickens were randomly allocated to four treatment groups with six replicates of 40 birds each, and the feeding trial was lasted for 30 d. The controls were fed on a basal diet without in-feed antibiotics; the birds in the antibiotic group were fed the basal diet supplemented with 20 mg/kg virginiamycin; the remaining birds were fed the basal diet containing 150 or 300 mg/kg OEO, respectively. Dietary supplementation with 150 or 300 mg/kg OEO increased average daily feed intake (P = 0.057) and average daily gain (P < 0.05). The activities of glutathione peroxidase and total antioxidative capacity in plasma, jejuna, and ileal mucosa were increased by OEO supplementation (P < 0.05), with a trend of lower jejunal content of malonaldehyde (P = 0.062). Moreover, dietary OEO increased the content of secretory immunoglobulin A (P = 0.078) and the relative expression of Claudin 1, Mucin 2, and Avain beta-defensin 1 in ileum (P < 0.05). Sequencing data of 16S rRNA indicated that dietary OEO increased the relative abundance of Firmicutes phylum, and Clostridium and Lactobacillus genera, and decreasing that of Romboutsia. Functional analyses indicated that microbial amino sugar and nucleotide sugar metabolism, replication, and repair systems were higher in OEO groups than those of controls and antibiotic treatment. In conclusion, dietary supplementation with OEO enhanced growth performance, alleviated local oxidative stress in intestine, improved production of natural antibodies, and favorably modulated intestinal microbiota composition.
精油是植物衍生的芳香挥发性油，其中含有生物活性化合物，已被证明可改善家禽营养。在这项研究中，我们研究了牛至精油（OEO）对雏黄羽鸡肠道抗氧化能力、免疫力和肠道微生物群的影响。总共 960 只 1 日龄雌性清远麻鸡被随机分配到四个处理组，每组 6 个重复，每个重复 40 只鸡，饲养试验持续 30 天。对照组饲喂不含饲料抗生素的基础日粮；抗生素组的鸡饲喂基础日粮，添加 20mg/kg 维吉尼亚霉素；其余鸡分别饲喂含有 150 或 300mg/kg OEO 的基础日粮。日粮添加 150 或 300mg/kg OEO 可提高平均日采食量（P=0.057）和平均日增重（P<0.05）。OEO 补充剂可提高血浆、空肠和回肠黏膜中谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶和总抗氧化能力的活性（P<0.05），并呈降低空肠丙二醛含量的趋势（P=0.062）。此外，日粮 OEO 增加了分泌型免疫球蛋白 A 的含量（P=0.078）和回肠 Claudin 1、Mucin 2 和 Avain beta-defensin 1 的相对表达（P<0.05）。16S rRNA 测序数据表明，日粮 OEO 增加了厚壁菌门、梭菌属和乳酸杆菌属的相对丰度，降低了 Romboutsia 的相对丰度。功能分析表明，OEO 组的微生物氨基酸糖和核苷酸糖代谢、复制和修复系统高于对照组和抗生素处理组。总之，日粮添加 OEO 可提高生长性能，减轻肠道局部氧化应激，提高天然抗体的产生，并有利于调节肠道微生物群组成。
