Effects of phytogenic feed additive on growth performance, digestibility, blood metabolites, intestinal microbiota, meat color and relative organ weight after oral challenge with Clostridium perfringens in broilers

Performance, blood parameters, and carcass yield of broiler chickens supplemented with Mexican oregano oil

“…Feed efficiency values of antibiotic and oregano oil treatment groups were not statistically different, which were different from control. These results coincide partially with Cho et al (2014), who found improved feed efficiency with the addition of phytogenic additives (250 mg kg -1 ; oregano, cinnamaldehyde, carvacrol, yucca extract, and a herb mix) compared with a commercial antibiotic (10 mg kg -1 of avilamycin) and the control with no additives. Hong et al (2012) found similar results when an essential oil mix (125 ppm including essential oil from oregano, anise, and citrus peel) was included in the diet.…”

“…In the current study, at 42 days, significant statistical differences were found in CHOL, HDL, and LDL (P<0.05) but not in triglycerides and VLDL (P>0.05) ( Table 4 Cho et al (2014), although their results on CHOL were lower compared with the results obtained in this study with Mexican oregano oil, in which oregano oil treatment increased the total CHOL (P<0.05) as well as HDL (P<0.05). These results partially agree with Hong et al (2012), who found that essential oils reduced total CHOL, decreased VLDL, and increased HDL.…”

“…The influence of MOO was notable at 35 and 42 days, at which times, BW in the group treated with Mexican oregano was higher than in the antibiotic treatment group and the control group. Similar effects were found by Cho et al (2014) when phytogenic additives were included in the diet of chickens. Other studies showed improvements in BW at 21 and 42 days when the chickens were fed peppermint, thyme leaves, and thymol with cinnamaldehyde or carvacrol (Ocak et al, 2008;Tiihonen et al, 2010;Mohiti-Asli and Ghanaatparast-Rashti, 2015;Hashemipour et al, 2016).…”

“…Feed and water were offered ad libitum. Broilers were managed according the methodology of Cho et al (2014): room temperature began at 33 °C from day 0 to 3 and was reduced gradually to 24 °C until the end of the experiment. Relative humidity fluctuated by 50%, while the lighting regimen consisted of 23 h of light and 1 h of dark.…”

“…However, the European Union has banned antibiotic use in animal feed production out of concerns for bacterial resistance and hazards to public health (Hong et al, 2012). The ban has prompted researchers to study natural additives for growth promoter, antibiotic, and antioxidant properties in animal production (Adil et al, 2011;Hong et al, 2012;Cho et al, 2014;Park et al, 2014;Mohiti-Asli and Ghanaatparast-Rashti, 2015;Hashemipour et al, 2016). Hippenstiel et al (2011) stated that oregano essential oil (OEO) has antimicrobial and antioxidant properties and stimulate the secretion of digestive enzymes.…”