Desert Research Center, Mataria, Cairo, Egypt.
Application Department, Nuclear Research Center, Atomic Energy Authority, 13759, Abu-Zaabal, Egypt.
BMC Vet Res. 2022 Dec 12;18(1):430. doi: 10.1186/s12917-022-03530-y.
Natural feed additives play an important role in poultry production due to their safety and potential properties as an antioxidant and antimicrobial, as well as a growth stimulant. The present research was designed to assess the influence of dietary supplementation of either garlic, lemon essential oil, or their mixture on performance, nutrient digestibility, plasma constituents, immunity, and oxidative status, as well as intestinal development assessed by microbiota-histomorphology development in broilers under environmental heat stress.
A total of 480 broiler chicks (Ross 308) at one-day-old were randomly divided into four groups (120 chicks/ group). The control group received the basal diet (CON), while the other three groups received the basal diet supplemented with 200 mg/kg garlic essential oil (GEO), 200 mg/kg lemon essential oil (LEO), and their mixture (GLO) 200 mg/kg diet, respectively for 35 days.
The obtained results revealed that broilers fed essential oils as a mixture or individually had an improvement in average body weight, feed conversion ratio, carcass dressing, and an increase in digestive enzymes activities compared to the control group, furthermore, there was a reduction in the mortality rate and abdominal fat content. Adding essential oils as a mixture or individually led to a decrease in (P < 0.05) blood plasma triglycerides, cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, and an increase in high-density lipoprotein. Broilers fed diets supplemented with essential oils as a mixture or individually had higher values of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase; while plasma malondialdehyde was lower (P < 0.05) compared to the control diet. Moreover, there was a significant enhancement in intestinal microbial content, and intestinal histological status of chickens fed with essential oils.
Conclusively, including the mixture of essential oils improved performance, nutrient digestibility, and digestive enzymes activities. It also enhanced immunity, antioxidant state, and lipid profile, and gut microbiota- histomorphology in broilers. It was proposed that the broilers diet be supplemented with a mixture of essential oils to a mitigation of the effects of heat stress.
天然饲料添加剂因其安全性以及作为抗氧化剂和抗菌剂以及生长刺激剂的潜在特性，在禽类生产中发挥着重要作用。本研究旨在评估日粮中添加大蒜、柠檬精油或其混合物对肉鸡在环境热应激下的生产性能、养分消化率、血浆成分、免疫和氧化状态以及肠道发育（通过微生物群-组织形态发育评估）的影响。
将 480 只 1 日龄的肉鸡（罗斯 308）随机分为 4 组（每组 120 只鸡）。对照组接受基础日粮（CON），而其他 3 组分别接受添加 200mg/kg 大蒜精油（GEO）、200mg/kg 柠檬精油（LEO）和混合物（GLO）200mg/kg 日粮的基础日粮，共 35 天。
结果表明，与对照组相比，日粮中添加精油混合物或单独添加精油的肉鸡平均体重、饲料转化率、屠体率和消化酶活性提高，死亡率和腹脂含量降低。添加精油混合物或单独添加精油可降低（P<0.05）血浆甘油三酯、胆固醇、低密度脂蛋白，增加高密度脂蛋白。日粮中添加精油混合物或单独添加精油的肉鸡超氧化物歧化酶和谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶活性较高，血浆丙二醛含量较低（P<0.05）。此外，与对照组相比，添加精油混合物或单独添加精油的肉鸡肠道微生物含量和肠道组织学状态显著提高。
总之，添加精油混合物可提高肉鸡的生产性能、养分消化率和消化酶活性。它还增强了免疫力、抗氧化状态和脂质谱，以及肠道微生物-组织形态。建议在肉鸡日粮中添加精油混合物，以减轻热应激的影响。
