Orange essential oil in the diet of broilers: performance, organ biometrics, bone characteristics, and intestinal morphometry

Christiane Silva Souza,Amália Saturnino Chaves,Cibele Silva Minafra,Lucas Rodrigo Justino,Marcos Fabio De Lima,Flávio Medeiros Vieites,Cristina Amorim Ribeiro De Lima

doi:10.37496/rbz5020200097

Abstract

Growth performance, organ biometrics, bone characteristics, and intestinal morphometry were evaluated in broilers fed a diet containing orange (Citrus sinensis L.) essential oil. A completely randomized design was used, with five treatments with orange essential oil (0, 100, 200, 300, and 400 mg kg−1 diet) and six replications with 20 birds per experimental unit. In the pre-starter phase, feed intake and weight gain of all birds linearly increased, while feed conversion decreased with the addition of orange essential oil [...]

Highlights

The animal production industry has undergone countless and significant changes in recent years
This study aimed to evaluate productive performance, organ biometrics, bone characteristics, and morphometry of the intestine of broilers fed a diet containing orange essential oil (Citrus sinensis L.)
Feed conversion ratio was reduced with the addition of orange oil in rations, which indicates the beneficial effect of the additive

Summary

Introduction

The animal production industry has undergone countless and significant changes in recent years. There is an increasing concern with issues of food security for consumption, food impacts for human health, and bacterial resistance to the antimicrobials used as feed additives. Phytogenic additives are substances derived from medicinal plants or spices, such as essential oils, which have positive effects on production and health of animals. Beneficial results of phytogenic additives are attributed to the presence of diverse classes of active substances conferring antimicrobial actions and stimulus to digestion and promoting production of endogenous enzymes in animals (Erhan and Bölükbaşi Aktaş, 2017; Aydin et al, 2018; Seidavi et al, 2020; Sevim et al, 2020). There is evidence that essential oils can impact pathogen concentrations in the intestine and improve feed digestibility (Micciche et al, 2019)

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