Department of Food Safety and Technology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef, 62511, Egypt.
Department of Nutrition and Clinical Nutrition, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef, 62511, Egypt.
BMC Vet Res. 2024 Jun 22;20(1):269. doi: 10.1186/s12917-024-04101-z.
This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of thyme, ginger, and their nano-particles, as alternatives to antibiotic growth promotors (AGP), on productive performance, carcass traits, meat quality and gut health of broiler chickens. A total of 270 one-day-old broiler chicks were randomly distributed into 6 groups, each consisting of 3 replicates (n = 15 chicks/replicate). The birds in group 1 were fed the control diet which contained neither antibiotic growth promotors nor phytogenic feed additives (PFA). Birds in group 2 were fed diets containing 0.05% of AGP (Bacitracin methylene disalicylate). Chicks in group 3 and 4 were fed diets supplemented with 1.0% of thyme and ginger, respectively, whereas birds in group 5 and 6 were offered diets including 0.10% of nano-thyme and nano-ginger, respectively. The experiment lasted for 35 days. It was found that thyme and ginger with their nano-products, like the antibiotic, improved the body weight, weight gain and feed conversion rate of birds. The effect of ginger and nano-ginger on body weight and weight gain was greater than other treatments. During the overall feeding period, the feed cost of production was the highest in antibiotic group, but was the lowest in ginger and nano-ginger treatments. There was no effect of dietary treatments on carcass yield or organs weight except bursa of Fabricius and abdominal fat. Thyme, ginger and their nano-composites increased the weight of bursa and reduced the abdominal fat amount. The phytogenic additives and their nano-particles improved the colour, water holding capacity, and flavor of meat. Moreover, these additives reduced the total intestinal bacterial count as well as the total aerobic mesophilic count of meat. The effect of PFA and their nano-particles on the bacterial count was similar to that of antibiotic. In conclusion, thyme and ginger with their nano- particles can be considered as promising agents in feeding of broilers to improve the growth performance, gut health and meat quality. Moreover, these additives can be used as alternatives to AGP to overcome its health hazards and the high cost. The nanotechnology of herbal plants enables them to be added in smaller amounts in poultry diets with producing the same effect of raw ingredients, and this could be due to the higher bioavailability.
本研究旨在评估百里香、生姜及其纳米粒子作为抗生素生长促进剂（AGP）替代品对肉鸡生产性能、胴体特性、肉质和肠道健康的影响。总共 270 只 1 日龄肉鸡随机分为 6 组，每组 3 个重复（n=15 只/重复）。第 1 组鸡饲喂不含抗生素生长促进剂和植物源饲料添加剂（PFA）的对照日粮。第 2 组鸡饲喂含 0.05% AGP（杆菌肽甲烯二水杨酸盐）的日粮。第 3 组和第 4 组鸡分别饲喂添加 1.0%百里香和生姜的日粮，第 5 组和第 6 组鸡饲喂添加 0.10%纳米百里香和纳米生姜的日粮。试验持续 35 天。结果表明，与抗生素相比，百里香和生姜及其纳米产品提高了鸡的体重、增重和饲料转化率。生姜和纳米生姜对体重和增重的影响大于其他处理。在整个饲养期内，抗生素组的饲料生产成本最高，但生姜和纳米生姜处理组的饲料生产成本最低。日粮处理对胴体产率或器官重量没有影响，除法氏囊和腹部脂肪外。百里香、生姜及其纳米复合材料增加了法氏囊的重量，减少了腹部脂肪的含量。植物源添加剂及其纳米粒子改善了肉的颜色、持水力和风味。此外，这些添加剂降低了肉中总肠道细菌计数和总需氧嗜温菌计数。PFA 和它们的纳米粒子对细菌计数的影响与抗生素相似。总之，百里香和生姜及其纳米粒子可以作为肉鸡饲料的有前途的添加剂，以提高生长性能、肠道健康和肉质。此外，这些添加剂可以替代 AGP，以克服其健康危害和高成本。植物纳米技术使它们能够以较小的量添加到家禽饲料中，产生与原料相同的效果，这可能是由于生物利用度更高。
