Effect of thymol and carvacrol feed supplementation on performance, antioxidant enzyme activities, fatty acid composition, digestive enzyme activities, and immune response in broiler chickens

Abstract

This trial was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary supplementation of phytogenic product containing an equal mixture of thymol and carvacrol at 4 levels (0, 60, 100, and 200 mg/kg of diet) on performance, antioxidant enzyme activities, fatty acid composition, digestive enzyme activities, and immune response in broiler chickens. Each of the 4 diets was fed to 5 replicates of 12 chicks each from d 0 to 42. The inclusion of thymol + carvacrol linearly decreased (P < 0.05) feed intake, but the highest (P < 0.05) BW gain (ADG) and feed efficiency was observed in broilers offered 200 mg/kg of phytogenic product. The phytogenic product linearly increased (P < 0.05) superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activities and decreased (P < 0.05) malondialdehyde level in thigh muscle at d 42 and serum and liver at d 24 and 42. Total saturated fatty acids were depressed (P < 0.05) and total polyunsaturated fatty acid and n-6 were linearly increased (P < 0.05) in serum and thigh by the inclusion of phytogenic product compared with the control diet. Supplementation with thymol + carvacrol also increased intestinal and pancreatic trypsin, lipase, and protease activities in 24-d-old (linear, P < 0.05) but not in 42-d-old birds. Thymol + carvacrol modified (linear, P < 0.05) immune response by increasing hypersensitivity response, total and IgG anti-sheep red blood cell titers, and decreasing heterophil to lymphocyte ratio compared with the control group. However, hematological parameters and lymphoid organ weight were not affected by thymol + carvacrol. Thus, feed supplementation with thymol + carvacrol enhanced performance, increased antioxidant enzyme activities, retarded lipid oxidation, enhanced digestive enzyme activities, and improved immune response of broilers.

Performance, egg quality, blood profile, immune function, and antioxidant enzyme activities in laying hens fed diets with thyme powder

“…Blood protein, albumin, urea, total cholesterol, IgG and IgA were significantly (P < 0.05) influenced by thyme supplementation, while HDL-cholesterol and IgM were not affected. Dietary supplementation of thyme exhibited a significantly positive impact on parameters related to immunity and lipid profile, which is in accordance with the findings of Hashemipour et al (2013).…”

“…The serum MDA concentration is an indicator for evaluating antioxidant systems. The same results were reported by Hashemipour et al (2013), Ashour et al (2014) and Alagawany et al (2015b), who noted that the intake of herbs or their ingredients resulted in an increase in serum antioxidant enzyme activities such as SOD and GSH-Px and in a decrease in the MDA concentration. SOD is a metalloprotein enzyme that mainly contributes to the antioxidant defense system.…”

“…From our findings, it can be stated that the use of thyme as a phytogenic feed additive could be applied in the future to improve the nutritional and economical aspects of poultry breeding. It is suggested that the high biological activity of thyme as a natural antioxidant is attributed to the presence of phenolic hydroxyl groups that serve as a hydrogen donor to the proxy radicals produced in the first stage of lipid oxidation, thus inhibiting the formation of hydroxyl peroxide (Hashemipour et al, 2013). Botsoglou et al (1997) demonstrated that use of 30 g · kg -1 of thyme delayed lipid oxidation of eggs stored in a refrigerator.…”

“…It is likely that a lower dose of natural phytogenic feed additives maybe needed to stimulate the humoral immune response. Previous studies showed that thyme and its ingredients could activate immune functions such as lymphocyte proliferation, phagocytosis, and red and white blood cell counts and haemoglobin levels (Hashemipour et al, 2013). …”

Intestinal and liver morphometry of the Yellow Tail Tetra (Astyanax altiparanae) fed with oregano oil

“…One of the essential oils that has a great potential for use as a growth promoter in animal diets is oregano oil (Fukayama et al 2005), due to its antibacterial (Burt and Reinders 2003, Souza et al 2006, Oliveira et al 2009), antifungal (Sartoratto et al 2004, Cleff et al 2010), antioxidant (Zheng et al 2009), anti-infl ammatory (Ocaña-Fuentes et al 2010), anthelminthic (Force et al 2000 and pro-digestive (Basmacioğlu Malayoğlu et al 2010, Hashemipour et al 2013 properties. The oregano essential oil contains over 34 active compounds, and their properties are attributed to the presence of the main components: carvacrol, thymol, and their precursors γ-terpinene and ρ-cymene (Bampidis et al 2005).…”