Combinatorial Effect of Dietary Oregano Extracts and 3,4,5-Trihydroxy Benzoic Acid on Growth Performance and Elimination of Coccidiosis in Broiler Chickens

Abstract

We aimed to compare the combinatorial effect of 3,4,5-trihydroxybenzoic acid (THB) and oregano extracts (OE) with THB alone on the growth performance and elimination of deleterious effects in coccidiosis-infected broilers. A total of 210 one-day-old broilers were randomly assigned to one of five dietary treatments, with six replicates each, for 35 days. Dietary treatments were: 1) non-challenged, non-treated (NC); 2) challenged, non-treated (PC); 3) PC+ Salinomycin (0.05 g/kg; AB); 4) PC+THB (0.1 g/kg; THB); and 5) PC+THB+OE (0.1 g/kg; COM). On day 14, all groups except for NC were challenged with a 10-fold dose of Livacox ® T anticoccidial vaccine to induce mild coccidiosis. All treatments significantly improved ( P <0.05) body weight, average daily gain, and average daily feed intake, compared to PC, on days 21, 28, and 35. However, all treatments significantly reduced ( P <0.05) the feed conversion ratio of PC by more than 14.60% on day 35, 11.76% during growing period, and 10.36% through the entire period. Broilers receiving anticoccidial treatments had 54.23% and 51.86% lower lesion scores ( P <0.05) at 4 and 7 days post-infection, respectively, compared to PC. Additionally, the villus height of COM was significantly longer ( P < 0.05) than that of THB. Although the molecular action of COM remains unclear, OE addition to THB reduced the shedding of oocysts better than THB alone ( P <0.05, 9-11 days post-infection). Most importantly, COM effectively minimized the mortality of challenged birds from as high as 11.90% (PC) to 0%, a level similar to NC and AB, while THB maintained a mortality of 2.38%. In conclusion, the anticoccidial effect of THB can be enhanced by the addition of OE for better animal performance and the elimination of deleterious effects from coccidiosis-infected broilers for 35 days.

Effects of dietary essential oil supplementation on growth performance, carcass yield, meat quality, and intestinal tight junctions of broilers with or without Eimeria challenge

“…Then, a higher oocyst output, a depressed growth rate, and a lower carcass yield were observed in those extra-challenged broilers at 18 d of age. These results agreed with previous studies ( Abdelhady et al, 2021 ; Nawarathne et al, 2022 ). Furthermore, the current study indicated that the coccidial challenge at an early age has a detrimental effect on meat quality at a later age (color, pH, protein content, cook loss).…”

“…Our data indicated that both oregano oil and clove oil improved broiler growth performance including weigh gain and feed conversion ability, which was consistent with previous studies ( Nawarathne et al, 2022 ; Zaazaa et al, 2022 ; Youssefi et al, 2023 ). Although broilers are considered to have less sense of taste than other mammalian production animals due to the shortage of sweet sensing gene T1R2 ( Shi and Zhang, 2006 ), essential oils could improve broiler nutrient utilization through other mechanisms.…”

Efficacy and Optimal Feeding Level of Rumex Nervosus Leaves on Blood Biochemistry, Carcass Characteristics, Productivity Indices, and Anticoccidial Indicators of Broiler Chickens Infected or Not Infected with Eimeria Tenella

“…Supplementing poultry feed with natural products containing bioactive components has shown promising results (Alagawany et al, 2019;Gado et al, 2019;El-Hack et al, 2020;Liu et al, 2022). The coccidial inhibitory effect of 3,4,5-trihydroxybenzoic acid can be enhanced by the addition of oregano extracts to improve animal performance and eliminate adverse effects in coccidiosis-infected broilers for 34 days (Nawarathne et al, 2022). Several of the approximately 200 species of the genus Rumex are considered good sources of traditional medicines for the treatment of inflammation, cancer, and various bacterial infections due to bioactive compounds, particularly quercetin 3-O-glucoside, nepodin, emodin, trans-resveratrol, and torachryson (Vasas et al, 2015).…”