Thymol, alpha tocopherol, and ascorbyl palmitate supplementation as growth enhancers for broiler chickens

ABSTRACT Consumer concern on the quality of products and animal welfare has greatly increased during the past decades. Dietary synthetic antibiotic products used as growth promoters have been restricted or banned in many countries. Edible plants, essential oils, or their main components were suggest...

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Published in:	Poultry science Vol. 98; no. 2; pp. 1012 - 1016
Main Authors:	Luna, A, Tarifa, M F, Fernandez, M E, Caliva, J M, Pellegrini, S, Zygadlo, J A, Marin, R H
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	England Poultry Science Association, Inc 01-02-2019
Subjects:	alpha-Tocopherol - administration & dosage alpha-Tocopherol - pharmacology Animal Feed - analysis Animals Ascorbic Acid - administration & dosage Ascorbic Acid - analogs & derivatives Ascorbic Acid - pharmacology Chickens Diet - veterinary Dietary Supplements - analysis Foot Diseases - prevention & control Foot Diseases - veterinary Growth Substances - pharmacology Male Poultry Diseases - prevention & control Random Allocation Thymol - administration & dosage Thymol - pharmacology thymol tocopherol diet broiler chicken vitamin E
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Summary:	ABSTRACT Consumer concern on the quality of products and animal welfare has greatly increased during the past decades. Dietary synthetic antibiotic products used as growth promoters have been restricted or banned in many countries. Edible plants, essential oils, or their main components were suggested as natural feed supplements to improve growth, products' quality, and welfare-related parameters. Thymol (THY), a main component of oregano essential oil, has been proved as an effective antimicrobial and antioxidant compound. Tocopherol (TOC) evidenced antioxidant activity with potential as a growth promoter and a synergic antioxidant activity between TOC and ascorbyl palmitate (AP) has also been reported. Herein, we evaluated whether broiler diet supplementation with THY, and THY with a formulation mix containing TOC and AP (1:0.5:0.5, respectively) have potential as growth enhancers under commercial conditions. Potential protective effects against foot pad dermatitis and hock burns were also evaluated. Newly hatched male broiler chicks with similar body weight (BW) were randomly assigned to 1 of 7 groups (4 replicates each) as follows: Basal (no feed supplements added), Promotor (Basal + 6.26 μmol flavomycin/kg feed), BHT (Basal + 1.33 mmol of buthylated hidroxytoluene (BHT)/kg feed), Prom-BHT (Basal + 6.26 μmol flavomycin/kg feed + 1.33 mmol of BHT/kg feed), TOC-AP (Basal + 0.67 mmoles of TOC + 0.67 mmoles of AP/kg feed), THY (Basal + 1.33 mmoles of THY/kg feed), and THY-TOC-AP (Basal + 0.67 mmoles of THY + 0.67 mmoles of a mix 1:1 of TOC-AP). Along 7 wk, BW, feed intake, and feed conversion ratio were evaluated. Skin injuries were assessed at 35 d of age. At the end of the study (42 d), compared to Basal group, similarly enhanced final BW were observed in all groups but TOC-AP. No main differences between groups were detected in feed intake, feed conversion ratio, or skin injuries. Findings suggest that THY itself or in combination with TOC-AP may have value as a natural growth enhancer alternative for broilers.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	0032-5791 1525-3171
DOI:	10.3382/ps/pey362