Feeding broilers with thyme essential oil loaded in chitosan nanoparticles: an efficient strategy for successful delivery

Abstract

1. The use of chitosan nanoparticles (CNPs) for the entrapment of active components has gained considerable interest in food and pharmaceutical industries due to its mucous adhesiveness, non-toxicity, biocompatibility and biodegradability. 2. This study aimed to investigate the usefulness of feeding encapsulated thyme essential oil (E-TEO) on performance, blood parameters, immunity and ileal microflora in broilers. 3. CNPs were prepared by using ionotropic gelation and structurally characterised by dynamic light scattering; scanning electron microscope and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The encapsulation efficiency percentage of TEO in CNPs and its in vitro release were determined using ultraviolet visible spectroscopy and dialysis method, respectively. 4. An in vivo experiment was conducted with five treatments of five replicates with ten chicks per pen. Dietary treatments consisted of an unsupplemented control diet, or supplemented with chlortetracycline (80 and 50 mg/kg during the starter and grower phase, respectively); CNPs (60 mg/kg); TEO (40 mg/kg diet) or E-TEO (60 mg/kg). 5. Results showed uniform distribution of nanoparticles with roughly spherical morphology, and the size of particles ranged from 30 to 100 nm. It was observed that 68.3% of TEO was encapsulated into CNPs, from which more than 90% was released within the first 96 h. Birds treated with antibiotic and E-TEO showed significantly (P < 0.05) higher body weight gain than the control and the other treatments were intermediate. Compared to the control group, adding of E-TEO into diet significantly (P < 0.05) improved feed conversion ratio at 42 days of age. Feeding birds with E-TEO significantly (P < 0.05) decreased the number of coliform and total aerobic bacteria compared to other treatments. Birds supplemented with E-TEO showed lower heterophile to lymphocyte ratio compared to birds that received TEO. 6. The results suggested that the entrapment of TEO in CNPs and its sustained release promoted broiler performance via the improvement of physiological status and modulating intestinal microbiota and therefore could be used as substitute for antibiotic growth promoter in broiler diets.

Essential Oils and Their Application in Food Safety

“…Several biopolymeric matrices viz. chitosan, dextran, starch, cellulose, and alginate have been used as a carrier agent for the encapsulation of EO owing to their biodegradable, biocompatible, and non-toxic nature (Hosseini and Meimandipour, 2018). Therefore, encapsulated EOs could be the best non-toxic and eco-friendly alternatives of synthetic preservatives for practical application in the field of agriculture and the food sector.…”

Comparison of Different Herbal Additives on Immune Response and Growth Performance of Broiler Chickens

“…Numerous mixtures of medicinal plants which are commercially available for the poultry industry claim to have bio-functional advantages regarding growth performance and immunocompetence. The results of recent research have shown that plant essential oils can be produced and added to the diet using micro and nanoencapsulation technologies at low and economic levels in order to allow slow release upon ingestion and have a direct effect on the target tissues (e.g., intestine) (Hosseini & Meimandipour, 2018;Amiri et al, 2020;Lee et al, 2020). Despite examining the effects of some of these products individually, there is no enough data to compare the effects of these new (micro or nano encapsulated) forms with common forms of herbal additives.…”

Maximum levels of cross‐contamination for 24 antimicrobial active substances in non‐target feed. Part 12: Tetracyclines: tetracycline, chlortetracycline, oxytetracycline, and doxycycline

“…In the study of Hosseini and Meimandipour ( 2018 ), a total of 250 one‐day‐old male Ross 308 chickens for fattening were allocated to five dietary treatments and distributed in five pens per treatment, in groups of ten birds per each pen. Two basal diets based on maize and soybean meal (starter 1−21 days and grower 22−42 days) were either not supplemented (control) or supplemented with different treatments.…”

“…( 2019a , 2020 ), 50 mg chlortetracycline/kg feed; Begin ( 1971 ), 50, 100 and 200 mg chlortetracycline/kg feed; Stutz and Lawton ( 1984 ), 55 mg chlortetracycline/kg feed; Han et al. ( 2012 ), Hosseini and Meimandipour ( 2018 ) and Li et al. ( 2007 ), 80 mg chlortetracycline/kg feed from day 1 to day 21 of age and then 50 mg chlortetracycline/kg feed from day 22 to day 42 of age; Alvares et al.…”