Essential Oil Delivery Route: Effect on Broiler Chicken's Growth Performance, Blood Biochemistry, Intestinal Morphology, Immune, and Antioxidant Status.

Samson Oladokun,Bruce Rathgeber,Janice Macisaac,Deborah Adewole

doi:10.3390/ani11123386

Samson Oladokun, Bruce Rathgeber + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11123386

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Abstract

Simple SummaryMuch research is devoted to the search for potent alternatives to antibiotic growth promoters in the poultry industry. It is hypothesized that the efficacy of potential alternatives could be influenced by their type and the delivery strategy utilized. Consequently, this study evaluated the efficacy of a commercial essential oil blend across different delivery routes as a potent alternative to in-feed antibiotics in broiler chickens using selected biochemical, immune, and performance parameters. The results provide evidence that the successive delivery of essential oils via in ovo and in-water routes in broiler chickens offers the potential to improve broiler chicken biochemical and antioxidant status. However, the in ovo delivery of essential oil at 0.2 mL dosage (saline + essential oil, dilution ratio—2:1) suffers the limitations of reduced hatchability.This study evaluated the effect of an essential oil blend and its delivery routes on broiler chicken growth performance, blood biochemistry, intestinal morphology, and immune and antioxidant status. Eggs were incubated and allotted to 3 groups: non-injected group, in ovo saline group, and in ovo essential oil group. On day 18 of incubation, essential oil in saline or saline alone was injected into the amnion. At hatch, chicks were assigned to post-hatch treatment combinations (1) in ovo essential oil + in-water essential oil (in ovo + in-water EO); (2) in ovo essential oil (in ovo EO); (3) in ovo saline; (4) in-water essential oil; (5) in-feed antibiotics (Bacitracin methylene disalicylate) and (6) a negative control (NC; corn-wheat-soybean diet) in 8 replicate cages (6 birds/cage) and raised for 28 day. The in ovo EO group reduced (p < 0.05) chick length and hatchability, all groups recorded no difference in growth performance at 0–28 day. The in ovo + in-water EO treatment reduced (p < 0.05) blood creatine kinase and aspartate aminotransferase levels whilst increasing (p < 0.05) total antioxidant capacity in birds. The in ovo + in-water delivery of EO might represent a potential antibiotic reduction strategy for the poultry industry but more research is needed to address the concern of reduced hatchability.

Highlights

The poultry meat industry is growing fast and is the cheapest source of animal protein for humans [1]
The continuous use of antibiotic growth promoters (AGPs) in the poultry industry has come under scrutiny due to public health concerns bordering on the emergence of antibiotic resistance [4]
The in ovo essential oil treatment recorded an 18.1 and 19.5% reduction in hatchability compared to the non-injected and in ovo saline treatment, respectively

Summary

Introduction

The poultry meat industry is growing fast and is the cheapest source of animal protein for humans [1]. This substantive growth in the poultry industry has, over the years, been facilitated by the sub-therapeutic use of antibiotic growth promoters (AGPs) [2]. The supplementation of AGPs at sub-therapeutic levels is broadly used to improve the growth rate, feed efficiency, and reduce morbidity and mortality in poultry birds [3]. The continuous use of AGPs in the poultry industry has come under scrutiny due to public health concerns bordering on the emergence of antibiotic resistance [4]. The European Union (EU) banned AGPs as far back as

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