Antioxidant properties of the fennel essential oil nanoemulsion: Effect on European production efficiency factor, blood metabolites, immune system and cecal microbial population of heat stressed broiler chickens

Document Type : Original Research Article (Regular Paper)

Authors

1 Department of Animal Sciences, Faculty of Animal Sciences and Food Technology, Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University of Khuzestan, Mollasani, Iran

2 Department of Animal Sciences, Shirvan Faculty of Agriculture, University of Bojnord, Bojnord, Iran.

3 Department of Food Sciences and Technology, Faculty of Animal Sciences and Food Technology, Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources University of Khuzestan, Mollasani, Iran

Abstract

In this study, the antioxidant properties of fennel essential oil nanoemulsion (FEON) and its effect on European production efficiency factor, blood metabolites, immune system, and cecal microbial population of broiler chickens under heat stress conditions were investigated. Two hundred one-d-old Ross broiler chickens were arranged in a completely randomized design with 5 treatments, 4 replicates, and 10 birds each. The birds were fed on a basal diet (control), basal diets supplemented with 50, 100, and 200 mg kg-1 fennel essential oil nanoemulsion (FEON50, FEON100, and FEON200) and 200 mg kg-1 fennel essential oil (FEO). The results showed that compared with FEO, all concentrations of FEON had greater antioxidant activity (P≤0.001). During the starter, grower, and the whole phase of the rearing period, the performance indicators such as the European production efficiency factor and European broiler index, were not affected by dietary treatment. Further, blood total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein contents were significantly decreased by supplementation of broiler diets with FEON (P≤0.01). Primary antibody titer against sheep red blood cells (SRBC) was affected by the addition of FEO and FEON50 into broiler diets (P≤0.05). Moreover, the Lactobacillus population of cecal content was significantly increased and coliform populations were decreased when FEON was added to the diet. The Escherichia coli population of cecal content decreased when FEO and FEON were supplemented into the diets (P≤0.05). The jejunal, ileal, and cecal digesta pH decreased significantly in the FEON50 treatment. The results of this experiment showed that under heat stress conditions, supplementation of broiler chickens' diets with FEON can enhance primary humoral immunity and improve the broiler gut health and FEON50 was the optimal level. 

Keywords

Main Subjects


References
AbdEl-Hack, M.E., El-Saadony, M.T., Saad, A.M., Salem, H.M., Ashry, N.M., AboGhanima, M.M., Shukry, M., Swelum, A.A., Taha, A.E., El-Tahan, A.M., AbuQamar, S.F., El-Tarabily, K.A., 2022. Essential oils and their nanoemulsions as green alternatives to antibiotics in poultry nutrition: a comprehensive review. Poultry Science 101, 101584. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psj.2021.101584.
Al-Sagan, A.A., Khalil, S., Hussein, E.O.S., Attia, Y.A., 2020. Effects of fennel seed powder supplementation on growth performance, carcass characteristics, meat quality, and economic efficiency of broilers under thermoneutral and chronic heat stress conditions. Animals 206, 1-12.
Amaral, D.M.F., Bhargava, K., 2015. Essential oil nanoemulsions and food applications. Advances in Food Technology and Nutritional Sciences 4, 84-87.
Barzegar, H., Mehrnia, M.A., Nasehi, B., Alipour, M., 2018. Fabrication of peppermint essential oil nanoemulsions by spontaneous method: Effect of preparing conditions on droplet size. Flavour and Fragrance Journal 33, 351-356.
Bhamare, K.S., Dildeep, V., Senthil, M.S., Chavan, S.J., 2016. Nutritive evaluation of cashew apple waste in broilers.  International Journal of Natural Sciences 7, 629 -632.
Brenes, A., Roura, E., 2010. Essential oils in poultry nutrition: Main effects and modes of action. Animal Feed Science and Technology 158, 1-14.
Buijs, S., Keeling, L., Rettenbacher, S., Van Poucke, E., Tuyttens, F., 2009. Stocking density effects on broiler welfare: Identifying sensitive ranges for different indicators. Poultry Science 88, 1536-1543.
Burkholder, K., Thompson, K., Einstein, M., Applegate, T., Patterson, J., 2008. Influence of stressors on normal intestinal microbiota, intestinal morphology, and susceptibility to Salmonella enteritidis colonization in broilers. Poultry Science 87, 1734-1741.
Çabuk, M., Bozkurt, M., Alcicek, A., Çatl, A., Baser, K., 2006. Effect of a dietary essential oil mixture on performance of laying hens in the summer season. South African Journal of Animal Sciences 36, 215-221.
Calo, J.R., Crandall, G.P., O’Bryan, C.A., Ricke, S.C., 2015. Essential oils as antimicrobials in food systems - a review. Food Control 54, 111-119.
Chang, Y., McLandsborough, L., McClements, D.J., 2012. Physical properties and antimicrobial efficacy of thyme oil nanoemulsions: influence of ripening inhibitors. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 60, 12056-12063.
Diao, W., Hu, Q., Zhang, H., Xu, J., 2014. Chemical composition, antibacterial activity and mechanism of action of essential oil from seeds of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill). Food Control 35, 109-116.
Donsi, F., Ferrari, G., 2016. Essential oil nanoemulsions as antimicrobial agents in food. Journal of Biotechnology 233, 106-120.
Friedewald, W.T., Levy, R.I., Fredrickson, D.S., 1972. Estimation of the concentration of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in plasma, without use of the preparative ultracentrifuge. Clinical Chemistry 18, 499-502.
Gharaghani, H., Shariatmadari, F., Torshizi, M., 2015. Effect of Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) used as a feed additive on the egg quality of laying hens under heat stress. Brazilian Journal of Poultry Science 17, 199-207.
Ghorbani, M.R., Bojarpour, M., Mayahi, M., Fayazi, J., Fatemitabatabaei, R., Tabatabaei, S., Zulkifli, I., 2014. Effects of purslane extract on performance, immunity responses and cecal microbial population of broiler chickens. Spanish Journal of Agricultural Research 12, 1094-1098.
Hadavi, A., Kermanshahi, H., Moghaddam, H., Golian, A., 2017. Effects of fennel extract on egg production, antioxidant status and bone attributes of laying hens administered carbon tetrachloride. Journal of Poultry Science 5, 165-171.
Izat, A., Tidwell, N., Thomas, R., Reiber, M., Adams, M., Colberg, M., Waldroup, P., 1990. Effects of a buffered propionic acid in diets on the performance of broiler chickens and on microflora of the intestine and carcass. Poultry Science 69, 818-826.
Jafari, S.M., He, Y., Bhandari, B., 2007. Production of sub-micron emulsions by ultrasound and microfluidization techniques. Journal of Food Engineering 82, 478-488.
KazemiFard, M., Kermanshahi, H., Rezaei, M., Golian, A., 2013. Effect of different levels of fennel extract and vitamin D3 on performance, hatchability and immunity in post molted broiler breeders. Iranian Journal of Applied Animal Science 3, 729-741.
Keceli, T., Gordon, M.H., 2001. The antioxidant activity and stability of the phenolic fraction of green olives and extra virgin olive oil. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture 81, 1391-1396.
Khan, R.U., Fatima, A., Naz, S., Ragni, M., Tarricone, S., Tufarelli, V., 2022. Perspective, opportunities and challenges in using fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) in poultry health and production as an eco-friendly alternative to antibiotics: a review. Antibiotics 11, 278. https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics11020278.
Kryeziu, A.J., Mestani, N., Berisha, S.H., Kamberi, M.A., 2018. The European performance indicators of broiler chickens as influenced by stocking density and sex. Agronomy Research 16, 483 491.
McClements, D.J., Rao, J., 2011. Food-grade nanoemulsions: formulation, fabrication, properties, performance, biological fate, and potential toxicity. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition 51, 285-330.
Mikulski, D., Zdunczyk, Z., Jankowski, J., Juskiewicz, J., 2008. Effects of organic acids or natural plant extracts added to diets for turkeys on growth performance, gastrointestinal tract metabolism and carcass characteristics. Journal of Animal and Feed Sciences 17, 233- 246.
Moghimi, R., Ghaderi, L., Rafati, H., Aliahmadi, A., McClements, D.J., 2016. Superior antibacterial activity of nanoemulsion of Thymus daenensis essential oil against E. coli. Food Chemistry 194, 410-415.
Niu, Z., Liu, F., Yan, Q., Li, W., 2009. Effects of different levels of vitamin E on growth performance and immune responses of broilers under heat stress. Poultry Science 88, 2101-2107.
NRC, 1994. Nutrient Requirements of Poultry. 9th ed. National Academy Council, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C. USA.
Pan, D., Yu, Z., 2014. Intestinal microbiome of poultry and its interaction with host and diet. Gut Microbes 5, 108-119.
Park, J.S., Baek, H.H., Dong-hoon, B., Oh, T.K., Lee, C.H., 2004. Antibacterial activity of fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill.) seed essential oil against the growth of Streptococcus mutans. Food Science and Biotechnology 13, 581-585.
Rather, M.A., Dar, B.A., Sofi, S.N., Bhat, B.A., Qurishi, M.A., 2016. Foeniculum vulgare: A comprehensive review of its traditional use, phytochemistry, pharmacology, and safety. Arabian Journal of Chemistry 9, 1574-1583.
Rezaei, E., TabatabaeiVakili, S., Mirzadeh, K., Salary, S., Zarei, M., 2016. Effect of anise seed (Pimpinella anisum L.) on performance, immune system, antioxidant activity and blood estrogen level in broiler chickens. Journal of Animal Production 18, 151-160.
Safaei-Cherehh, A., Rasouli, B., Alaba, P.A., Seidavi, A.R., Hernandez, S.R., Salem, A.Z.M., 2020. Effect of dietary Foeniculum vulgare Mill. extract on growth performance, blood metabolites, immunity and ileal microflora in male broilers. Agroferstry System 94, 1269-1278.
SAS, 2002. SAS User’s Guide: Statistics. Version 9.1. SAS Institute Inc., Cary, North Carolina. USA.
Tollba, A., Hassan, M., 2003. Using some natural additives to improve physiological and productive performance of broiler chicks under high temperature condition.1-Thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.) or fennel (Foenicullum vulgare L.). Egyptian Poultry Science Journal 25, 107-123.
Topuz, O.K., Özvural, E.B., Zhao, Q., Huang, Q., Chikindas, M., Gölükçü, M., 2016. Physical and antimicrobial properties of anise oil loaded nanoemulsions on the survival of foodborne pathogens. Food Chemistry 203, 117-123.
Wang, L., Piao, X., Kim, S., Piao, X., Shen, Y., Lee, H., 2008. Effects of Forsythia suspensa extract on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, and antioxidant activities in broiler chickens under high ambient temperature. Poultry Science 87, 1287-1294.
Yamuna, K., Thangavel, A., 2011. Effect of selenium and vitamin E supplementation on immune status in broiler chickens. Tamilnadu Journal of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, 7, 303-306.