Ashour Elwy A, Aldhalmi Ahmed K, Elolimy Ahmed A, Madkour Mahmoud, Elsherbeni Ahmed I, Alqhtani Abdulmohsen H, Khan Ibrar Muhammad, Swelum Ayman A
Poultry Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44511, Egypt.
College of Pharmacy, Al-Mustaqbal University, 51001 Babylon, Iraq.
Poult Sci. 2025 Feb;104(2):104689. doi: 10.1016/j.psj.2024.104689. Epub 2024 Dec 17.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of thyme powder (TP), garlic powder (GP), and their combination as natural alternatives to antibiotics on broiler growth performance, blood indices, and carcass characteristics. A completely randomized design was used, with four experimental groups consisting of 264 one-day-old Ross 308 broiler chicks (45.27±0.5 g). Each group received different levels of TP and GP in the diet as follows: a control group (basal diet with no additives), 2 g of GP/kg, 2 g of TP/kg, and a mixture treatment (1 g of GP/kg + 1 g of TP/kg). Each treatment included six replicates, with eleven unsexed chicks per replicate. The results showed that supplementation with TP, GP, and their combination significantly improved feed intake (FI), feed conversion ratio (FCR), and overall growth performance compared to the untreated group (UG). The different additives also significantly (P≤0.05) enhanced carcass characteristics, particularly carcass yield and heart weight, both in absolute and relative terms. Furthermore, the treatments significantly (P≤0.05) affected blood indices, leading to notable improvements in immune and antioxidant parameters, including increased levels of immunoglobulin Y (IgY), immunoglobulin M (IgM), and superoxide dismutase (SOD), as well as decreased levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), a marker of oxidative stress. These changes suggest that the supplemented groups had enhanced immunity and a better oxidative balance, contributing to improved overall health. Notably, the combined treatment of TP and GP (1% each) exhibited a synergistic effect, yielding benefits comparable to or even surpassing those of the individual TP or GP treatments. These findings support the potential of combining these natural additives to achieve a balanced improvement in growth, feed efficiency, and health status. In conclusion, supplementation with thyme powder, garlic powder, or a combination of both at appropriate levels (2% GP, 2% TP, or 1% each) can serve as an effective alternative to antibiotics, improving broiler growth performance, carcass quality, and health by enhancing immune responses and antioxidant status.
本研究的目的是评估百里香粉（TP）、大蒜粉（GP）及其组合作为抗生素的天然替代品对肉鸡生长性能、血液指标和胴体特性的影响。采用完全随机设计，四个实验组由264只1日龄罗斯308肉鸡雏鸡（45.27±0.5克）组成。每组在日粮中接受不同水平的TP和GP，如下：对照组（无添加剂的基础日粮）、2克GP/千克、2克TP/千克以及混合处理组（1克GP/千克 + 1克TP/千克）。每个处理包括六个重复，每个重复有11只未分性别的雏鸡。结果表明，与未处理组（UG）相比，添加TP、GP及其组合显著提高了采食量（FI）、饲料转化率（FCR）和整体生长性能。不同添加剂在绝对和相对方面也显著（P≤0.05）改善了胴体特性，特别是胴体产量和心脏重量。此外，这些处理显著（P≤0.05）影响了血液指标，使免疫和抗氧化参数得到显著改善，包括免疫球蛋白Y（IgY）、免疫球蛋白M（IgM）和超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）水平升高，以及氧化应激标志物丙二醛（MDA）水平降低。这些变化表明，添加组的免疫力增强，氧化平衡更好，有助于整体健康状况的改善。值得注意的是，TP和GP的联合处理（各1%）表现出协同效应，产生的益处与单独使用TP或GP处理相当甚至超过。这些发现支持了将这些天然添加剂组合使用以实现生长、饲料效率和健康状况平衡改善的潜力。总之，在适当水平（2% GP、2% TP或各1%）添加百里香粉、大蒜粉或两者组合可作为抗生素的有效替代品，通过增强免疫反应和抗氧化状态来提高肉鸡生长性能、胴体质量和健康水平。
