Effects of dietary graded levels of cinnamon essential oil and its combination with bamboo leaf flavonoid on immune function, antioxidative ability and intestinal microbiota of broilers

Cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum) Oil as a Potential Alternative to Antibiotics in Poultry

“…While serum malondialdehyde (MDA) level, cholesterol levels, total saturated fatty acid ratio and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activity were decreased significantly in CEO groups compared to the control and antibiotic groups. Similar findings were reported by Yang et al [53], who revealed that broilers feeding on diets mixed with different levels of CEO-alone (50, 100, 200, 400, or 800 mg of CEO/kg), or combined with bamboo leaf flavonoid (BLF) (100 mg CEO and 16.7 mg BLF/kg or 200 mg CEO/kg and 33.3 mg BLF/kg)-had significant impacts on liver MDA contents at 21 days old and serum IgM contents at 42 days old. Moreover, Torki et al [45] concluded that the supplementation combination of CEO and Zn to the diets of laying hens reared under cold stress conditions significantly reduced the serum levels of triglycerides and glucose and increased the plasma content of Zn compared with those fed the control diet.…”

“…The balance of intestinal microbiota (harmful and beneficial bacteria) is essential to get a healthy gut [59]. The potential effectiveness of CEO as a antimicrobial agent was studied by many researchers [47,53]. Most of the studies corroborated that CEO has a high level of antimicrobial activity and can be used as food biopreservative.…”

“…Most of the studies corroborated that CEO has a high level of antimicrobial activity and can be used as food biopreservative. Yang et al [53] indicated that broiler diets supplemented with CEO (100 mg/kg feed) significantly decreased cecal E. coli relative multiplicity and significantly increased cecal Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium relative multiplicity and concluded that CEO can be used as a potent alternative to antibiotics (aureomycin) as a way of improving the broilers' cecal microbiota. Similar actions for CEO on quails were repeated by Mehdipour and Afsharmanesh [47], who showed that the ileal coliforms count was decreased and the ileal Lactobacillus count was increased in quails fed cinnamon oil (200 ppm/kg diet) compared with the control, antibiotic (virginiamycin) and cinnamon powder groups.…”

The Effect of Administration of a Phytobiotic Containing Cinnamon Oil and Citric Acid on the Metabolism, Immunity, and Growth Performance of Broiler Chickens

“…The most beneficial results were obtained in the groups receiving the highest doses of the phytobiotic (0.1 and 0.25 mL/L), especially when it was administered continuously, i.e., from 1 to 42 days of rearing. An improvement in the intestinal histomorphology of chickens following the use of cinnamon preparations has also been reported by Wasman [26] (0.5 mL cinnamon oil/kg feed), by Chowdhury et al [27] (300 mg cinnamon bark oil on kg feed), by Yang et al [28] (100 mg cinnamon aldehyde per kg feed), and by Mahmoud et al [29] (dichloromethane extract of cinnamon in dose of 10 and 20 mg/kg/day). The inclusion of cinnamon oil in the diet in amounts 250 or 500 mg/kg feed improve the activity of antioxidant mechanisms in Japanese quails [30].…”

“…According to Reis et al [ 33 ], the main active substance in cinnamon oil, cinnamon aldehyde, can selectively inhibit the growth and development of both pathogenic and commensal intestinal bacteria, which may help to balance the microbial population and improve intestinal health. Yang et al [ 28 ], after administering cinnamon oil (100 mg/kg feed) to chickens, also observed an improvement in the intestinal microbiome, with a marked increase in the number of beneficial bacteria. A decrease in the number of coliforms in the intestinal contents following the use of cinnamon oil (25–100 µg/mL) has been reported by Gupta et al [ 34 ].…”