Effect Of Dietary Essential Oils Research Articles

Effect of dietary essential oil of oregano on performance parameters, gastrointestinal traits, blood lipid profile, and antioxidant capacity of laying hens during the pullet phase

Many benefits have been found in supplementing essential oils such as oregano oil (EOO) to poultry, including increased body weight gain, antioxidant activity, and better gastrointestinal morphology. However, few studies tested the influence of EOO supplementation on laying hens and reported conflicting results regarding its efficacy in improving their health and performance. Therefore, we aimed to explore the effects of dietary EOO on performance, gastrointestinal (GIT) traits, blood lipid, and antioxidant capacity in laying hens during the rearing phase. A total of 300-day-old Hy-line-Brown chicks were used, and treatment diets consisted of corn-soybean based either without (CON) or with EOO (Ecodiar®, 0.275 g/kg diet). Birds were randomized across treatments with five pens/treatment and 30-birds/pen. Pen weights and feed rejected were recorded every two weeks (1-17 weeks of age), to calculate daily feed intake (ADFI), body weight (BW), and daily weight gain (ADWG). At 11 and 14 weeks of age, blood samples were collected from 3 birds/pen and analyzed for blood lipids and antioxidant levels, and 5-birds/treatment were euthanized, and GIT traits were tested. Differences in measured parameters across weeks and between treatments were assessed using GLMM with Tukey’s Post hoc test applied to significant results in R 3.3.1 (α set at 0.05). Body weights at weeks 3, 11, 13, and 17 were significantly higher in the EOO group compared to the CON group (all P ≤ 0.05), ADWG was significantly higher in EOO birds compared to CON birds at 9 and 13 weeks old (all P ≤ 0.05), while no significant differences in ADFI were observed between treatments across weeks of the trials. At both 11 and 17 weeks old, triglyceride levels were significantly lower, while high-density-lipoprotein levels were higher in EOO (all P ≤ 0.05). Malondialdehyde levels were lower in the EOO group versus CON (p=0.01), while EOO birds had higher glutathione levels (p=0.01) than CON. Finally, at 12 weeks old, the weight of the entire GIT and empty gizzard were higher in the EOO group versus CON (all P ≤ 0.05), while liver and spleen weights were not significantly different between groups. In conclusion, dietary oregano supplementation exerted promoting effects on the performance of Hy-Line Brown pullets.

Dietary cinnamaldehyde with carvacrol or thymol improves the egg quality and intestinal health independent of gut microbiota in post-peak laying hens.

Essential oils have been proven to exert multiple effects on growth performance, production quality, and health status in poultry nutrition, which is dependent on the component and/or dose of essential oils. Diets with the optimal combination of essential oils might be able to improve the performance traits and welfare of laying hens. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary essential oils, which are composed of cinnamaldehyde with carvacrol or thymol, on performance, egg quality, and intestinal health in post-peak laying hens. A total of 384, 50-week-old Hy-line brown laying hens were randomly divided into three groups with 8 replicates of 16 birds each: (1) a basal diet (Ctrl), (2) a basal diet with 100 mg/kg of essential oils consisting of 4.5% cinnamaldehyde with 13.5% carvacrol (CAR+CIN), and (3) a basal diet containing 100 mg/kg of essential oils composed of 4.5% cinnamaldehyde with 13.5% thymol (THY+CIN). The CAR+CIN diet increased the feed consumption from 52 to 55 weeks more than the Ctrl and the THY+CIN diet. Compared with the Ctrl group, the addition of essential oils decreased the dirty egg rate (P = 0.07) in the whole trial period. Regarding egg quality, the birds that received the CAR+CIN and THY+CIN diets increased the eggshell strength (P = 0.099) or Haugh unit (HU, p = 0.03) at 54 weeks, respectively. Supplementation of both CAR+CIN and THY+CIN diets significantly increased the ratio of villus height to crypt depth in the duodenum through increasing villus height and decreasing crypt depth as well as upregulated the mRNA abundances of duodenal occluding and cadherin (P < 0.05). However, the treatment with dietary essential oils did not notably change the proportion of cecal microbiota and bacterial diversity. This study suggested that dietary supplementation of cinnamaldehyde with carvacrol or thymol, the active components of essential oils, could promote egg quality in post-peak laying hens, which might be associated with improved intestinal development and barrier.

Effects of dietary essential oils in combination with butyrate on growth performance, intestinal microflora, blood parameters and meat composition of broiler chickens

Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of combined supplementation of plant essential oils with organic acids on broiler chicken growth performance, intestinal microflora, intestinal architecture, blood analysis parameters and meat composition. Three hundred eighty male one-day-old Ross-308 chicks were randomly allocated to four treatment groups with six replicated pens (15 chicks per pen). For a period of 45 days, control treatment (A) chicks were fed commercial typical maize and soybean meal-based rations in mash form, which contained no anticoccidials or antimicrobial growth promoters. The diets of the other treatments were further supplemented with: Treatment B with two herbal feed additives (“Phyto-CSC” at 1.0Â g/kg during days 1–45 and “AEN” at 0.5Â g/kg during days 39–45); Treatment C with an organic acid feed additive (“Butiphorce 1065” at 1.0Â g/kg during days 1–45); Treatment D with all three examined feed additives (“Phyto-CSC” at 1.0Â g/kg during days 1–45, “AEN” at 0.5Â g/kg during days 39–45 and “Butiphorce 1065” at 1.0Â g/kg during days 1–45). On day 45 tissue samples were collected for further analysis. Statistical analysis was performed by two-way ANOVA (Essential oil supplementation X Organic acid supplementation). Final body weights and feed conversion ratio did not differ (PÂ >Â 0.050) between the treatments. Interaction (PÂ =Â 0.036) was found for overall feed intake, which was highest for the combined supplementation. The combined use of the plant essential oils and organic acids significantly (PÂ <Â 0.05) modified the intestinal microbiota of the caecum ( Bifidobacter galinarum) and the jejunum (total aerobes; total anaerobes; Enterococcus durans; Lactobacillus salivarius). Essential oil supplementation increased the blood haemoglobin (PÂ <Â 0.001). Organic acid supplementation increased (PÂ =Â 0.001) thigh meat fat percentage and lowered (PÂ <Â 0.001) duodenum villus height, whereas interaction between the two feed additives was found on the jejunum architecture analysis for villus height and crypt depth.

Essential oils as growth-promoting additives on performance, nutrient digestibility, cecal microbes, and serum metabolites of broiler chickens: a meta-analysis.

ObjectiveThe purpose of this meta-analysis was to evaluate the effect of dietary essential oils (EOs) on productive performance, nutrient digestibility, and serum metabolite profiles of broiler chickens and to compare their effectiveness as growth-promoting additives against antibiotics.MethodsPeer-reviewed articles were retrieved from Web of Science, Science Direct, PubMed, and Google scholar and selected based on pre-determined criteria. A total of 41 articles containing 55 experiments with 163 treatment units were eligible for analyses. Data were subjected to a meta-analysis based on mixed model methodology considering the doses of EOs as fixed effects and the different studies as random effects.ResultsResults showed a linear increase (p<0.001) on body weight gain (BWG) where Antibiotics (FCR) and average daily feed intake decreased (p<0.001) linearly with an increasing dose of EOs. Positive effects were observed on the increased (p<0.01) digestibility of dry matter, crude protein, ether extract, and cecal Lactobacillus while Escherichia coli (E. coli) population in the cecum decreased (p<0.001) linearly. There was a quadratic effect on the weight of gizzard (p<0.01), spleen (p<0.05), bursa of fabricius (p<0.001), and liver (p< 0.10) while carcass, abdominal fat, and pancreas increased (p<0.01) linearly. The dose of EOs linearly increased high density lipoprotein, glucose, protein, and globulin concentrations (p<0.01). In comparison to control and antibiotics, all type of EOs significantly reduced (p<0.001) FCR and tended to increase (p<0.1) BWG and final body weight. Cinnamaldehyde-compound was the only EOs type showing a tendency to increase (p<0.1) carcass weight, albumin, and protein of serum metabolites while this EOs together with EOs-Blend 1 decreased (p<0.01) E. coli population. Low density lipoprotein concentration decreased (p<0.05) with antibiotics and carvacrol-based compound when compared to the control group.ConclusionThis evidence confirms that EOs are suitable to be used as growth promoters and their economical benefit appears to be promising.

Effects of nutrition on main components of sheep milk

Abstract Nutrition markedly affects sheep milk composition and can be used to improve its suitability as food for humans. The effect of nutrition on sheep milk fat quality has been covered by many reviews. In contrast, nutrition and genetics interact on sheep milk protein. Milk true protein, whose mammary synthesis is under high genetic control, is much less affected than milk fat by nutritional management of the animals, whereas the non-protein nitrogen fraction of milk is largely affected by nutritional factors. Indeed, dietary-protein solubility and degradability and energy availability at rumen level can largely affect this fraction, especially milk urea. The latter is an excellent predictor of the protein nutritional status of sheep, based on the extent of nitrogen excretions through urine. Milk urea concentration is also an indicator of protein excesses and shortages associated with negative effects on the health, reproductive performance and immunocompetence of dairy ewes. Interestingly, milk urea concentration is inversely associated with somatic cell count (SCC) in sheep and cows. Nutritional errors can predispose the mammary gland to inflammations and, therefore, to a higher probability of mastitis occurrence, with a consequent increase in SCC in sheep milk. Moreover, specific dietary deficiencies in minerals (e.g. Se, Zn, Mn, and Fe) and vitamins (e.g. vitamin A, beta-carotene, and vitamin C) have also been associated with the health status of the mammary gland and SCC in milk. Recently, beneficial effects of dietary essential oils on SCC of sheep milk have been suggested. The nutrition as source of toxicants that could be transferred in sheep milk, will be updated and discussed. In conclusion, this review highlights that appropriate nutritional management can improve the composition of sheep milk, especially FA profile, and, to a certain extent, some milk compounds can be used to monitor the nutritional balance and health status of the animals.

Intestinal Microbiome-Metabolome Responses to Essential Oils in Piglets.

This study investigated the effects of dietary essential oils (EOs) on intestinal microbial composition and metabolic profiles in weaned piglets. The piglets were fed the same basal diet supplemented with EOs (EO) or without EOs (Con) in the current study. The results showed that the body weight gain was significantly increased, while the diarrhea incidence was significantly reduced in the EO group. In addition, EOs could modify the intestinal microbial composition of weaned piglets. The relative abundances of some beneficial bacterial species such as Bacilli, Lactobacillales, Streptococcaceae, and Veillonellaceae were significantly increased in the EO group. Metabolomics analysis indicated that protein biosynthesis, amino acid metabolism, and lipid metabolism were enriched in the EO group. And correlation analysis demonstrated that some gut bacterial genera were highly correlated with altered gut microbiota-related metabolites. Taken together, this study indicated that dietary EOs not only altered microbial composition and function but modulated the microbial metabolic profiles in the colon, which might help us understand EOs’ beneficial effects on intestinal health of weaned piglets.

Effects of feeding diets containing essential oils and betaine to heat-stressed growing-finishing pigs

ABSTRACTThis study was to evaluate the effects of dietary essential oils (EO) and betaine on growth performance, nutrient digestibility and serum hormones in growing-finishing pigs under heat stress conditions. A total of 96 crossed pigs [(Landrace × Yorkshire) × Duroc] with an initial body weight (BW) of 24.7 ± 0.27 kg were used in an 18-week trial. Pigs were randomly allocated to four treatments according to BW and gender. There were six replication pens in each treatment, with four pigs (two barrows and two gilts) per pen. Treatment groups were: (1) control group (CON), basal diet + 23°C for 24 h; (2) heat stress group (HC) with basal diet + 37°C for 9 h, 23°C for 15 h; (3) group HEO, HC with 0.01% EO; (4) group HBE, HC with 0.1% betaine. During the overall period, groups HEO and HBE had higher (p < 0.05) average daily gain than group HC. At week 6, group HC had a lower apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) of dry matter (DM) (p < 0.05), but at week 12, this group had lower ATTD of DM, nitrogen and gross energy than group HEO (p < 0.05). At week 12 and 18, dietary EO decreased (p < 0.05) serum cortisol and norepinephrine concentration. At week 18, dietary EO and betaine decreased (p < 0.05) epinephrine concentration. Conclusively, dietary EO may be a potential nutritional strategy to alleviate heat stress in growing-finishing pigs.

Effects of black seed (Nigella sativa), ginger (Zingiber officinale) and cone flower (Echinacea angustifolia) on the immune system of rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss

ABSTRACT This study was carried out to evaluate the effects of dietary essential oils of ginger (Zingiber officinale), black seed (Nigella sativa) and cone flower (Echinacea angustifolia) on the immune system of cultured rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss. A total of 360 fish were divided into 4 groups and 3 replicates each containing 30 fish. The fish were fed for 21 days with 1% of the herbal essential oils and with unsupplemented diet as the control group. Haematological and immune parameters including serum lysozyme, number of phagocytic bacteria, Hb, PCV, MCV, MCH, MCHC, number of RBC and WBC were studied. Treatments recorded enhancement in immune parameters compared to the control group. Significantly higher serum lysozyme level and phagocytic germs were detected in the groups fed black seed, ginger and cone flower (P&lt;0.05). However, no significant difference was found in RBC, Hb, PCV, MCV, MCH and MCHC of fish fed the diets containing essential oils and the control group (P&gt;0.05). The results of this study demonstrated that essential oils might strengthen the non-specific immunity of rainbow trout.

Effect of dietary essential oils of clove basil and ginger on Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) following challenge with Streptococcus agalactiae

Nile tilapia is the most farmed freshwater fish, however disease outbreaks are the main cause of losses in the production. Active compounds from plants are an alternative to synthetic chemicals to enhance growth and disease resistance. This study aimed to verify the effects of dietary supplementation with essential oils of clove basil (Ocimum gratissimum) and ginger (Zingiber officinale) on tilapia, regarding growth, hemato-immunological parameters and survival to challenge with S. agalactiae. Juveniles fed for 55days with supplemented diets (0.5%, 1.0% and 1.5%) were challenged by gavage with S. agalactiae and monitored for 10days. At 35 and 55days of supplementation and 10days after infection, blood was collected for hemato-immunological assays. For growth parameters, fish were weighed every 10days. Clove basil at 0.5% significantly improved (p<0.05) feed conversion ratio (1.34±0.13 in control, with final weight of 19.25±2.38). At 55days, neutrophils were higher in fish fed ginger 1.0% (p<0.05) compared to ginger 0.5% and 1.5%. Ten days after infection, there were significant differences in thrombocytes, total leukocytes, lymphocytes and neutrophils. Except for 1.5% ginger, all supplemented diets showed increased phagocytic activity (p<0.05). After challenge, the only group with 100% relative survival was 0.5% ginger, while control had 2.86% mortality. Dietary supplementation with essential oils was useful for improving growth, immune responses and disease resistance. Statement of relevanceThis study reports the use of natural compounds for prophylactic purposes as an alternative to chemical antibiotics, whose hazardous consequences regarding environmental and health questions have been reported. Streptococcus agalactiae is a highly pathogenic and potentially zoonotic bacteria affecting farmed tilapia. The tested compounds proved to enhance the growth and immune response of fish against S. agalactiae.

Effects of dietary essential oils on productive performance, blood lipid profile, enzyme activity and immunological response of broiler chickens

Due to an error in the units of measurement, this article was corrected and published online with the DOI: 10.1399/eps.2016.146.CORR. We ask for your attention.

Evaluation of the effects of essential oil extracted from sweet orange peel (Citrus sinensis) on growth rate of tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus) and possible disease resistance against Streptococcus iniae

Abstract The study was performed to determine the effect of dietary essential oil (citrus EO) extracted from sweet orange peel (Citrus sinensis) on growth performance, blood parameters and resistance against the Streptococcus iniae in Mozambique tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus). Fish were divided into 4 groups and fed for 90 days with four experimental diets (3 supplemented diets with 0.1%, 0.3%, and 0.5% of citrus EO and a control group). Then the main immune parameters such as lysozyme and myeloperoxidase activity, hematological and biochemical variables (i.e., hemoglobin, hematocrit levels, erythrocyte indices, serum total protein, glucose, albumin, globulin, cholesterol and triglyceride) were investigated. Results of this study showed that for tilapia fed with citrus EO all parameters were significantly higher than the control group. Moreover, addition of citrus EO into diets reduced fish mortality after S. iniae infection. It can be concluded that citrus EO can act as a growth promoter, increase immunity and also improve disease resistance to S. iniae infection in tilapia. Thus it can be used as an antibiotics replacer for controlling diseases in tilapia feed.

Effect of Dietary Essential Oils on Growth, Feed Utilization and Meat Yields of White Leg Shrimp L. vannamei

Effect of dietary essential oils on growth, feed utilization and meat yields of white leg shrimp L. vannamei was investigated. White shrimp fry weighing 0.62 g were kept in one of 12 tanks (75 head/500 L holding tank) in a closed recirculation system. Four experimental diets, a commercial diet (control), phytoncide oil (PO), oregano oil (OO) and fermented garlic liquid (GL) were fed for 16 weeks. The mean water quality values for the whole experimental period were 27.8±1°C, 7.6±0.3, 15.5±0.3 g/L and 6.1 ±0.3 mg/L for water temperature, pH, salinity and dissolved oxygen, respectively. At the end of the trial, 10 shrimp per tank were randomly sampled and meat yields (%) were evaluated after peeling the shell and removing the head. After a 16 week feeding trial, final weight of shrimp ranged from 21.9 g to 23.6 g. Feed conversion was not significantly different among groups (p>0.05), which was the lowest (1.95) in the control and highest (2.30) in the PO. Specific growth rate was also not significantly different (p>0.05) and ranged from 3.18% to 3.25%. Average daily gain of 0.2 g was obtained in all treatments. Mortality varied from 35.1% for control to 44.9% for OO. Meat yields maintained constant at 52.1% for control to 53.0% for PO. The study suggested that natural essential oils could not exert any improvement in growth performance, mortality and meat yields of white leg shrimp. (Key Words : White Shrimp (L. vannamei), Essential Oils, Growth, Mortality, Meat Yields)

Inhibitory Effects of Dietary Caraway Essential Oils on 1,2-Dimethylhydrazine-Induced Colon Carcinogenesis is Mediated by Liver Xenobiotic Metabolizing Enzymes

The effects of dietary essential oils prepared from caraway seeds on colon carcinogenesis induced by 1,2-dimethylhydrazine (DMH) in rats has been studied. The number of aberrant crypt foci (ACF) and aberrant crypt (AC) induced by DMH were found to be significantly inhibited in colon of rats treated with essential oils in diet (0.01 and 0.1%). To find out the mechanism(s) by which the essential oils reduced colon premalignancies, plasma, liver, and colon tissues were collected and analyzed for parameters related to oxidative stress and xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes. Lack of influence of caraway extracts on hepatic lipid peroxidation products, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP) may suggest that the oils do not interfere with these factors. However, it was clearly shown that DMH-related changes in hepatic and colonic cytochrome P4501A1 (CYP1A1) and glutathione S-transferae (GST) activities were recovered in liver but not in colon tissue in animals treated with caraway oil preparations. In conclusion, histopathological and biochemical data clearly showed that inhibition of colon premalignant lesions induced by DMH is mediated by interference of caraway oil components in the activities of the main hepatic xenobiotic metabolizing enzymes.

Effect of Dietary Essential Oils and/or Humic Acids on Broiler Performance, Microbial Population of Intestinal Content and Antibody Titres in the Summer Season

This study was conducted to observe the effect of essantial oils and/or humic acids in broilers reared farm condition (without suitable techical equipment) during summer season. A total of two hundred male chicks broilers (Ross-308) aged one day were weighed and randomly allocated to five treatment groups each containing 40 chicks. Each grop was divided into four replicate. Chicks were assigned to the basal diet (CON) and the basal diet supplemented with 250 ppm antibiotic (ANTI), 1000 ppm essential oils (EO), 1500 ppm humic acids (H) and combination of same levels of EO plus humic acids (EO+H) diet until 42 days of age, respectively. The colony forming units (CFU) of Escherichia coli in the digesta of birds fed either the diet supplemented antibiotic and the diet supplemented with essential oils and/or humic acids were significantly lower than in those given control. However, inclusion of essential oil and/or humic acids increased the CFU of Lactobacilli compare to those antibiotic supplementing. Antibody titres against Newcastle Disease Virus (NDV) were tending to numerically increase in all supplemental diets. At the end of the experiment, essential oils and/or humic acids did not show favorable effect in animal performance. Supplements did not alter the carcass traits.

Investigations on the Effects of Dietary Essential Oils and Different Husbandry Conditions on the Gut Ecology in Piglets after Weaning

Essential oils (EO) are being considered as possible alternatives to in-feed antibiotic growth promoters in pig nutrition. The effects of an EO mixture consisting of limonene, eugenol and pinene (10.0, 2.0, and 4.8 mg/kg diet, resp.) on gut physiology and ecology were studied in piglets. The experiment was conducted at low (commercial farm) and high hygienic conditions (experimental farm), to elucidate interactions between EO supplementation and husbandry methods. Piglets were weaned at 28 days of age, when they were offered either a control diet (C) or C with EO. Four piglets were sacrificed in each group on day 29, 30, 33 and 39. Digesta from the third distal part of the small intestine and from the colon were sampled and analysed for pH, dry matter, lactic acid, short chain fatty acids and ammonia concentrations. Enterobacteria, enterococci, lactobacilli and yeast counts were obtained by plating. Genomic DNA was extracted from digesta and polymerase chain reaction—denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis was performed. Individual microbial communities were identified at each farm. Age affected the intestinal parameters. No effects of the EO with exception for a significant reduction in colon bacterial diversity at 39 days of age could be recorded at experimental farm.