Dietary Catharanthus roseus modulates intestinal microarchitecture in broilers

S Yasmin,H Rehman,S.K Tahir,S.I Nagra,K.A Majeed,M.A Rashid,M Numan,H Zaneb,R Mustafa,M.S Yousaf

doi:10.4314/sajas.v51i4.9

Abstract

The study evaluated the efficacy of ethanolic extracts of Catharanthus roseus (C. roseus) in altering growth performance, viscera development and intestinal microarchitecture in broilers. Day-old broiler chicks (n = 175) were randomly divided into seven groups (n = 25/group) with 5 replicates (n = 5). The chicks in the control groups were fed a corn-soya-based basal diet, whereas groups 2 - 4 had the same basal diets supplemented with 0.05%, 0.1%, and 0.2% ethanolic leaf extracts (ELE), respectively. Chicks in groups 5 - 7 were fed the basal diet supplemented with 0.05%, 0.1%, and 0.2% ethanolic root extracts (ERE) of C. roseus, respectively. The growth performance and feed conversion ratio remained unchanged, but feed consumption of birds supplemented with 0.1% ERE increased in weeks 1 and 3. The relative length of the small intestine was lower in the 0.05% ERE group compared with the control. Villus height, width, surface area, and lamina propria thickness were higher in the 0.1% ERE group in all three segments of the small intestine than in the control. Broilers supplemented with 0.1% ERE performed better in terms of feed consumption and improved intestinal microarchitecture of the small intestine.

Highlights

The efficiency of antibiotics in poultry and livestock production resulted in extensive use of these synthetic substances
Growth performance (Table 2), feed consumption (Table 3), and Feed conversion ratio (FCR) (Table 4) were similar among all groups throughout the experiment. These results agree with studies in which supplementation of C. roseus, phytobiotics and essential oils showed no observable changes in the growth performance of broilers (Yasmin, 2013; Ahsan et al, 2018)
The current results agree with those of others who observed that supplementation of C. roseus extract, phytobiotics, and essential oils caused an increase in villus height (VH)/crypt depth (CD) compared with the control birds (Anwar, 2013; Kiczorowska et al, 2016)

Summary

Introduction

The efficiency of antibiotics in poultry and livestock production resulted in extensive use of these synthetic substances. Phytobiotics possess a broad variety of functions in poultry and livestock nutrition, which include feed intake stimulation and antimicrobial, coccidiostatic, anthelmintic and immunostimulating properties (Grashorn, 2010) and have gained interest as an alternative to AGPs in broiler production Information about their modes of action and application is still limited (Windisch et al, 2008). Anthocyanins, colored water-soluble glycosylated pigments belonging to the phenolic group, are effective against the lecithin-liposome system and low-density lipoproteins (Garcia et al, 2007) Based on these properties, it was hypothesized that ethanolic extracts of the leaf and root of C. roseus could be an alternative to the AGPs and would enhance the production potential of broilers. The present research was designed to examine the potential use of ethanolic extracts of C. roseus leaves and roots as phytobiotic growth promoters on the production performance, viscera development, and microarchitecture of the intestinal tract in broilers

Materials and Methods

Results and Discussion

Conclusion