Barati Shima, Ghazanfari Shokoufe, Karimi Torshizi Mohammad Amir, Khani Kambiz
Department of Livestock and Poultry Sciences, Faculty of Agricultural Technology (Aburaihan), University of Tehran, Pakdasht, Tehran, Iran, 3391653755.
Department of Poultry Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran.
J Therm Biol. 2025 Apr;129:104116. doi: 10.1016/j.jtherbio.2025.104116. Epub 2025 Apr 26.
This study investigated the effects of thyme and peppermint extract sprays on eggs, emphasizing their antioxidant properties and impact on poultry embryo growth. Key evaluated traits included embryonic quality, hatchling metrics, yolk sac residue, intestinal morphology, and broiler performance during the first week, alongside blood stress indicators. A 5 × 2 factorial experiment was conducted on 1500 eggs treated with ascorbic acid, peppermint extract, thyme extract, distilled water, or no spray, under both normal and heat stress conditions. The results revealed that thyme and peppermint sprays significantly increased egg weight and reduced water loss. Peppermint extract increased yolk sac weight on day 18 (P < 0.05), while thyme extract decreased embryonic mortality under normal temperatures. However, peppermint extract and ascorbic acid negatively affected mortality and incubation time, respectively (P < 0.05). Thyme extract reduced the yolk sac-to-chick weight ratio in hatched chicks under normal conditions. Under heat stress, untreated chicks had higher body surface temperatures compared to those treated with ascorbic acid (P < 0.05). Thyme extract reduced cortisol levels and white blood cell counts under heat stress compared to peppermint extract (P < 0.05). Thyme extract also improved intestinal morphology in heat-stressed chicks, increasing villus height and the villus-to-crypt depth ratio. Peppermint under heat stress and ascorbic acid under normal conditions increased crypt depth, while ascorbic acid under heat stress improved villus width. Thyme extract additionally increased goblet cell numbers compared to distilled water (P < 0.05). Forty-eight hours post-hatch, heat stress elevated chicks' body temperatures, while thyme extract sprays significantly reduced them (P < 0.05). Chicks sprayed with distilled water under heat stress showed the highest weight gain. In conclusion, thyme extract spray is an effective intervention for improving hatchability, yolk sac absorption, intestinal morphology, and reducing cortisol levels under heat stress, offering practical applications for enhancing poultry production efficiency and health.
本研究调查了百里香和薄荷提取物喷雾对鸡蛋的影响，重点关注其抗氧化特性以及对家禽胚胎生长的影响。关键评估指标包括胚胎质量、雏鸡指标、卵黄囊残留、肠道形态以及第一周内肉鸡的性能，同时还有血液应激指标。在正常和热应激条件下，对1500枚分别用抗坏血酸、薄荷提取物、百里香提取物、蒸馏水处理或不进行喷雾处理的鸡蛋进行了一项5×2析因实验。结果显示，百里香和薄荷喷雾显著增加了蛋重并减少了水分流失。薄荷提取物在第18天增加了卵黄囊重量（P<0.05），而百里香提取物在常温下降低了胚胎死亡率。然而，薄荷提取物和抗坏血酸分别对死亡率和孵化时间产生了负面影响（P<0.05）。百里香提取物在正常条件下降低了出壳雏鸡的卵黄囊与雏鸡体重比。在热应激条件下，未处理的雏鸡体表温度高于用抗坏血酸处理的雏鸡（P<0.05）。与薄荷提取物相比，百里香提取物在热应激下降低了皮质醇水平和白细胞计数（P<0.05）。百里香提取物还改善了热应激雏鸡的肠道形态，增加了绒毛高度和绒毛与隐窝深度比。热应激下的薄荷和正常条件下的抗坏血酸增加了隐窝深度，而热应激下的抗坏血酸改善了绒毛宽度。与蒸馏水相比，百里香提取物还增加了杯状细胞数量（P<0.05）。出壳后48小时，热应激使雏鸡体温升高，而百里香提取物喷雾显著降低了体温（P<0.05）。热应激下用蒸馏水喷雾的雏鸡体重增加最多。总之，百里香提取物喷雾是一种有效的干预措施，可提高孵化率、促进卵黄囊吸收、改善肠道形态并降低热应激下的皮质醇水平，为提高家禽生产效率和健康状况提供了实际应用价值。
