effects of thyme, garlic, echinacea and galbanum on performance, cecal microbiota and immune function of native ducks

Introduction: antibiotics have been added to poultry diets to increase the growth performance and boost immunity. induction of pathogens resistance and the antibiotic’s residue in the final products are disadvantages that limit their use in feeding of livestock and poultry as a growth stimulant. recent reports confirm the increasing trend in antibiotic resistance, which decreased antibiotics effectiveness, therefore, search for antibiotic growth promoter (agp) alternatives seems inevitable. among the agp alternatives, phytobiotics have shown promising results. therefore, the need to use medicinal herbs such as echinacea, thyme and garlic is felt which can both strengthen the immune system and have antimicrobial effects. the essential oil (eo) of the thyme contains phenolic compounds (carvacrol and thymol) and the main non phenolic compound is p cymene. thymol and carvacrol have antimicrobial properties, reduce pathogens in the gut and improve growth rate and feed efficiency of poultry. garlic with potential antimicrobial properties can be considered as a natural substitute for agps. additionally, garlic extract contains organosulfur compounds like glutamyl s l cysteine, di alyl sulfide (das) and di alyl disulfide (dads), which, may supply the sulfur amino acids for breast muscle synthesis. the active medicinal compounds of echinacea including polysaccharides, glycoproteins, caffeic acid derivatives and alkaloids have the ability to modulate immune system, therefore, many of these compounds enhance the activity of macrophages. it has been shown that dietary ferula gummosa can significantly decrease ileal total numbers of harmful bacteria and increase the number of lactobacilli.aim: due to the limited researches on the usage of phytobiotics in duck nutrition, the aim of this experiment was to exploit the antimicrobial effect of thyme and galbanum, the anti hyperlipidemic effect of garlic, and the immune system boosting effect of echinacea on native ducks. we have postulated that by mixing the four above mentioned herbs, it might be possible to maximize antimicrobial, antioxidative and immunomodulatory effects and minimize the required dose of the phytobiotics. another hypothesis was to compare the efficacy of the phytobiotics in powder form versus eoe form. therefore, the purpose of this experiment was to examine the potential of the phytobiotics mix as an agp alternative and to test the efficacy of the mix in powder form versus eoe form on performance, cecal microflora population, and immune status in native ducks.the purpose of this experiment was to examine the potential of a phytobiotics mix (thyme, garlic, echinacea, and galbanum) as an agp alternative and to test the efficacy of the mix in powder form versus essential oil extract (eoe) on performance, cecal microflora and immune cell status in native ducks.materials and methods: two hundred forty male day old ducklings were randomly allocated into 6 groups with 5 replicates and 8 ducklings per replicate in a completely randomized design (crd).

effects of thyme, garlic, echinacea and galbanum on performance, cecal microbiota and immune function of native ducks

introduction: antibiotics have been added to poultry diets to increase the growth performance and boost immunity. induction of pathogens resistance and the antibiotic’s residue in the final products are disadvantages that limit their use in feeding of livestock and poultry as a growth stimulant. recent reports confirm the increasing trend in antibiotic resistance, which decreased antibiotics effectiveness, therefore, search for antibiotic growth promoter (agp) alternatives seems inevitable. among the agp alternatives, phytobiotics have shown promising results. therefore, the need to use medicinal herbs such as echinacea, thyme and garlic is felt which can both strengthen the immune system and have antimicrobial effects. the essential oil (eo) of the thyme contains phenolic compounds (carvacrol and thymol) and the main non phenolic compound is p cymene. thymol and carvacrol have antimicrobial properties, reduce pathogens in the gut and improve growth rate and feed efficiency of poultry. garlic with potential antimicrobial properties can be considered as a natural substitute for agps. additionally, garlic extract contains organosulfur compounds like glutamyl s l cysteine, di alyl sulfide (das) and di alyl disulfide (dads), which, may supply the sulfur amino acids for breast muscle synthesis. the active medicinal compounds of echinacea including polysaccharides, glycoproteins, caffeic acid derivatives and alkaloids have the ability to modulate immune system, therefore, many of these compounds enhance the activity of macrophages. it has been shown that dietary ferula gummosa can significantly decrease ileal total numbers of harmful bacteria and increase the number of lactobacilli.aim: due to the limited researches on the usage of phytobiotics in duck nutrition, the aim of this experiment was to exploit the antimicrobial effect of thyme and galbanum, the anti hyperlipidemic effect of garlic, and the immune system boosting effect of echinacea on native ducks. we have postulated that by mixing the four above mentioned herbs, it might be possible to maximize antimicrobial, antioxidative and immunomodulatory effects and minimize the required dose of the phytobiotics. another hypothesis was to compare the efficacy of the phytobiotics in powder form versus eoe form. therefore, the purpose of this experiment was to examine the potential of the phytobiotics mix as an agp alternative and to test the efficacy of the mix in powder form versus eoe form on performance, cecal microflora population, and immune status in native ducks.the purpose of this experiment was to examine the potential of a phytobiotics mix (thyme, garlic, echinacea, and galbanum) as an agp alternative and to test the efficacy of the mix in powder form versus essential oil extract (eoe) on performance, cecal microflora and immune cell status in native ducks.materials and methods: two hundred forty male day old ducklings were randomly allocated into 6 groups with 5 replicates and 8 ducklings per replicate in a completely randomized design (crd).