A Pilot Study on the Effect of Thyme Microemulsion Compared with Antibiotic as Treatment of Salmonella Enteritidis in Broiler

Abstract

Multidrug resistance poses a global threat to the poultry industry and public health, so the direction towards eliminating the use of antibiotics and finding alternatives is a vital step to solve this problem. Thyme microemulsion (10% oil/water) had nanodrop size 28.65 ± 0.89 nm, with a polydispersity index (PDI) of 0.28 with greater homogeneity. It showed IC50 > 100 ug/ml on cytotoxicity assay and 14 active components by GC-Mass. The study was carried out using 210 Cobb chicks divided into fourteen groups. The infected groups were challenged using two Salmonella Enteritidis multidrug resistance (MDR) and Salmonella Enteritidis sensitive strains to the sulpha-trimethoprim antibiotic. The challenged inoculum was 1 × 109 CFU of Salmonella Enteritidis by oral route. The MIC treatments doses were 1 ml/liter water for thyme oil and thyme microemulsion and 33.34 mg/kg b.wt sulfadiazine for 5 days. The results showed that both thymol oil (0.1%) and microemulsion (0.01%) are able to decrease the count of Salmonella Enteritidis in cecal content and fecal dropping and the mortality rates after five days of treatment. In addition, thyme oil and microemulsion had no pathological alteration on chickens’ tissues that were collected two weeks after giving the treatment. By the robust HPLC method, the SDZ and TMP residues in tissues of infected groups treated with Cotrimazine® + thyme oil microemulsion had a slight significant economic impact ( P < 0.05 ) compared to Cotrimazine® alone. In conclusion, thymol oil and microemulsion could be an alternative economic choice for multidrug resistance Salmonella Enteritidis treatment in poultry farms.

Current and future interventions for improving poultry health and poultry food safety and security: A comprehensive review

“…In other work, thymol oil and thymol microemulsions were studied for their efficacy in controlling Salmonella Enteritidis infection alone and in combination with sulfatrimethoprim antibiotics in broiler chickens (Hamed et al., 2022). In that study, 210 Cobb chickens were divided into 14 groups.…”

Phytochemicals as Alternatives to Antibiotics in Animal Production

“…This will result in increased weight gain, feed intake, and a better feed conversion ratio [85]. In numerous studies, thyme oil has proven its antibacterial effect, even for multidrug-resistant strains of Salmonella, E. coli, Listeria, or Campylobacter [86,87]. The treatment with thymol oil determines the improvement of the general condition of the animals, through the bacterial balance established at the intestinal level.…”

A Focused Insight into Thyme: Biological, Chemical, and Therapeutic Properties of an Indigenous Mediterranean Herb

“…The nano-emulgel revealed bacteriostatic and biofilm inhibition properties, and improved skin histological structures in rat models, indicating potential for a bacteriostatic action and non-antibiotic microbial pathway inhibition as a topical clinical alternative to available agents [ 105 ]. Prepared as a microemulsion, and recently in 2022, thyme oil proved to be a successful alternative economic choice for multidrug resistant Salmonella Enteritidis treatment in poultry farms, decreasing the fecal content and mortality rate due to this pathogen [ 106 ].…”