Microencapsulated carvacrol and cinnamaldehyde replace growth-promoting antibiotics: Effect on performance and meat quality in broiler chickens.

Gilnei E Bosetti,Edemar Aniecevski,Letieri Griebler,Gabriel Rossatto,Alicia D Santo,Felipe Leite,Fernanda D.A Valentini,Heloísa Pagnussatt,Marcel M Boiago,Caroline S Facchi,Tiago G Petrolli,Cintiamara Baggio

doi:10.1590/0001-3765202020200343

Abstract

The aim was to evaluate the use of mixture of microencapsulated carvacrol and cinnamaldehyde as a replacement for growth-promoting antibiotics in broiler diets on performance, intestinal quality, organ development, carcass yields and cuts, and meat quality. In the trial were used 600 male chicks, allocated in a completely randomized design, with five treatments and eight replicates of 15 birds, reared up to 41 days of age. The treatments were: Negative Control (NC), Positive Control (PC) 30 mg/kg of virginiamycin, NC+100 mg/kg of essential oils, NC+200 mg/kg of essential oils and NC+400 mg/kg of essential oils. Essential oils were composed by a micro-encapsulated blend, with of 60% cinnamaldehyde, 30% carvacrol and 10% carrier. Birds received essential oils achieved performance equivalent to those birds received PC diets, having better development than NC broilers. No differences were found on relative organ weight, intestinal mucosa and meat quality parameters, however, higher villus:cript ratio was found in PC, NC+200 and NC+400 groups. Meat crude protein and yellowness were influenced by inclusion of carvacrol and cinnamaldehyde. It was concluded microencapsulated carvacrol and cinnamaldehyde can replace growth-promoting antibiotic in broiler diets, ensuring performance, intestinal integrity and broiler meat quality.

Highlights

The broiler meat production has grown substantially in recent decades, especially due to the intensive production systems, improving its importance for the global animal protein production and economy
Inclusion of essential oils improved performance of birds when we compared broilers consuming Negative Control (NC) diet, and essential oils may substitute for growth-promoting antibiotics without loss of performance
As substitutes for antibioticbased growth promoters, carvacrol and cinnamaldehyde have been analyzed in several studies (Petrolli et al 2012, Alarcon 2017, Reis et al 2018, Galli et al 2020), yielding conflicting results

Summary

Introduction

The broiler meat production has grown substantially in recent decades, especially due to the intensive production systems, improving its importance for the global animal protein production and economy. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO 2017) estimates that, by 2022, chicken meat will be the most consumed animal protein worldwide. The increase in the consumption of chicken meat is directly associated with consumer preference for healthier eating habits and with increased health and life expectancy (FAO 2017). Petracci et al (2015) stated that the increase in the consumption of chicken meat is associated with its low cost as well as its nutritional profile. To find the demand for chicken meat production, improvements in nutrition and sanitation are necessary, and the continuous use of antibiotics as growth promoters has been a tool of constant use, to maintain expected zootechnical indexes.

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