Effects of Pennyroyal Essential Oil and Heyndrickxia coagulans (Bacillus coagulans) on Broiler Chicken Growth, Intestinal Microbiota, Intestinal Morphology, and Immune Response

Elham  Hasani Sorkhani; Mohsen Afsharmanesh; Mohammad  Khajeh Bami

Authors

Elham Hasani Sorkhani Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran Author
Mohsen Afsharmanesh Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran Corresponding Author
Mohammad Khajeh Bami Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran Author https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9671-0952

Keywords:

Bacillus coagulans, Broilers, Pennyroyal essential oil, Performance, Probiotics

Abstract

This experiment aimed to see how a probiotic containing Bacillus coagulans and different levels of pennyroyal essential oil (PEO) affected broiler chicken growth, intestinal microbiota, intestinal morphology, and immune response. In this study, 300 one-day-old Ross 308 broilers were used in a completely randomized design of 3×2 factorial arrangement, six treatments, five replications, and 10 chicks per replicate, with three levels of PEO (zero, 100, and 200 mg/kg) and two levels of probiotic (zero and 200 mg/kg). The interaction effects revealed that broilers fed only B. coagulans had the best body weight gain and feed conversion ratio (p<0.05). In addition, using B. coagulans alone caused increased lactic acid bacteria, villus height, villus height to crypt depth ratio, and antibody titer compared to sheep red blood cells compared to diet without additive. The main effects were observed, in which case the birds fed B. coagulans diets had higher villus height, villus height to crypt depth ratio, and antibody titer in contrast to sheep red blood cells, as well as lower intestinal coliform counts and pH than those not fed B. coagulans diets (p<0.05). In comparison, the number of intestinal coliform bacteria was smaller in chicks fed 200 mg/kg PEO than in chicks fed no PEO. In conclusion, using B. coagulans alone in broiler feeding is more effective than PEO in improving growth, immune response, intestinal microbiota, and intestinal morphology.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Mafe AN, Iruoghene Edo G, Akpoghelie PO, Gaaz TS, Yousif E, Zainulabdeen K, et al. Probiotics and Food Bioactives: Unraveling Their Impact on Gut Microbiome, Inflammation, and Metabolic Health. Probiotics and Antimicrobial Proteins. 2025;14:1-42.

Zhou X, Wang Y, Gu Q, Li W. Effect of dietary probiotic, Bacillus coagulans, on growth performance, chemical composition, and meat quality of Guangxi Yellow chicken. Poultry science. 2010;89(3):588-93.

Adami A, Cavazzoni V. Occurrence of selected bacterial groups in the faeces of piglets fed with Bacillus coagulans as probiotic. Journal of Basic Microbiology: An International Journal on Biochemistry, Physiology, Genetics, Morphology, and Ecology of Microorganisms. 1999;39(1):3-9.

Nyangale EFS, Cash HA, Keller D, Chernoff D, Gibson GR. Bacillus coagulans GBI-30, 6086 modulates Faecalibacterium prausnitzii in older men and women. The Journal of nutrition. 2015;145(7):1446-52.

Khajeh Bami M, Afsharmanesh M, Salarmoini M, Tavakoli H. Effect of zinc oxide nanoparticles and Bacillus coagulans as probiotic on growth, histomorphology of intestine, and immune parameters in broiler chickens. Comparative Clinical Pathology. 2018;27:399-406.

Brenes A, Roura E. Essential oils in poultry nutrition: Main effects and modes of action. Animal feed science and technology. 2010;158(1-2):1-4.

Jang IS, Ko YH, Kang SY, Lee CY. Effect of a commercial essential oil on growth performance, digestive enzyme activity and intestinal microflora population in broiler chickens. Animal Feed Science and Technology. 2007;134(3-4):304-15.

Zeng Z, Zhang S, Wang H, Piao X. Essential oil and aromatic plants as feed additives in non-ruminant nutrition: a review. Journal of animal science and biotechnology. 2015;6(1):1-10.

Chalchat JC, Gorunovic MS, Maksimovic ZA, Petrovic SD. Essential oil of wild growing Mentha pulegium L. from Yugoslavia. Journal of Essential Oil Research. 2000;12(5SP - 598):600.

Domingues PM, Santos L. Essential oil of pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium): Composition and applications as alternatives to pesticides-New tendencies. Industrial Crops and Products. 2019;139:111534.

Dehghani N, Afsharmanesh M, Salarmoini M, Ebrahimnejad H. Characterization of pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium) essential oil as an herbal, antibacterial, and antioxidant substance. Comparative Clinical Pathology. 2018;27:1575-81.

Nobakht A, Norani J, Safamehr A. The effects of different amounts of Mentha pulegium L.(pennyroyal) on performance, carcass traits, hematological and blood biochemical parameters of broilers. Journal of Medicinal Plants Research. 2011;5:3763-8.

Bölükbaşı Ş, Ürüşan H, Prakasita VC, Asmara W, Widyarini S, Wahyuni AE. Biological activities of pennyroyal (Mentha pulegium L.) in broilers

Combinations of herbs and probiotics as an alternative growth promoter: an in vitro study. Livestock Science. 2012;146(2-3):189-92.

Prakasita VC, Asmara W, Widyarini S, Wahyuni AETH. Combinations of herbs and probiotics as an alternative growth promoter: an in vitro study. Veterinary World. 2019;12(4):614.

Kim DW, Kim SH, Yu DJ, Kang GH, Kim JH, Kang HG, et al. Effects of single or mixed supplements of plant extract, fermented medicinal plants, and Lactobacillus on growth performance in broilers. Korean Journal of Poultry Science. 2007;34(3):187-96.

Khajeh Bami M, Afsharmanesh M, Ebrahimnejad H. Effect of dietary Bacillus coagulans and different forms of zinc on performance, intestinal microbiota, carcass and meat quality of broiler chickens. Probiotics and Antimicrobial Proteins. 2020;12:461-72.

Amiri N, Afsharmanesh M, Salarmoini M, Meimandipour A, Hosseini SA, Ebrahimnejad H. Effects of nanoencapsulated cumin essential oil as an alternative to the antibiotic growth promoter in broiler diets. Journal of Applied Poultry Research. 2020;29(4):875-85.

Hossain ME, Ko SY, Park KW, Firman JD, Yang CJ. Evaluation of green tea by-product and green tea plus probiotics on the growth performance, meat quality and immunity of growing-finishing pigs. Animal Production Science. 2012;52(9):857-66.

Zhang ZF, Kim IH. Effects of multi-strain probiotics on growth performance, apparent ileal nutrient digestibility, blood characteristics, cecal microbial shedding, and excreta odor contents in broilers. Poultry science. 2014;93(2):364-70.

Wealleans AL, Sirukhi M, Egorov IA. Performance, gut morphology and microbiology effects of a Bacillus probiotic, avilamycin and their combination in mixed grain broiler diets. British Poultry Science. 2017;58(5):523-9.

Hung AT, Lin SY, Yang TY, Chou CK, Liu HC, Lu JJ, et al. Effects of Bacillus coagulans ATCC 7050 on growth performance, intestinal morphology, and microflora composition in broiler chickens. Animal production science. 2012;52IS - 9:874-9.

Wang C, Wang MQ, Ye SS, Tao WJ, Du YJ. Effects of copper-loaded chitosan nanoparticles on growth and immunity in broilers. Poultry science. 2011;90(10):2223-8.

Abdel-Moneim AM, Selim DA, Basuony HA, Sabic EM, Saleh AA, Ebeid TA. Effect of dietary supplementation of Bacillus subtilis spores on growth performance, oxidative status, and digestive enzyme activities in Japanese quail birds. Tropical animal health and production. 2020;52:671-80.

Ghalamkari G, Toghyani M, Landy N, Tavalaeian E. Investigation the effects using different levels of Mentha pulegium L.(pennyroyal) in comparison with an antibiotic growth promoter on performance, carcass traits and immune responses in broiler chickens. Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Biomedicine. 2012;2(3):S1396-S9.

Hernández-Coronado AC, Silva-Vázquez R, Rangel-Nava ZE, Hernández-Martínez CA, Kawas-Garza JR, Hume ME, et al. Mexican oregano essential oils given in drinking water on performance, carcass traits, and meat quality of broilers. Poultry science. 2019;98(7):3050-8.

Abedini A, Hassanabadi A, Afzali N, Kermanshahi HTI. The effect of different dietary levels of Pennyroyal probiotic

antibiotic on performance, carcass characteristics and sellected nutrients digestibility in broiler chickens. Archives of Medical Laboratory Sciences. 2017;3(2):15-22.

Al-Khalaifa H, Al-Nasser A, Al-Surayee T, Al-Kandari S, Al-Enzi N, Al-Sharrah T, et al. Effect of dietary probiotics and prebiotics on the performance of broiler chickens. Poultry science. 2019;98(10):4465-79.

Park JH, Kim IH. Supplemental effect of probioticBacillus subtilis B2A on productivity, organ weight, intestinalSalmonella microflora, and breast meat quality of growing broiler chicks. Poultry Science. 2014;93(8):2054-9.

Oumzil H, Ghoulami S, Rhajaoui M, Ilidrissi A, Fkih‐Tetouani S, Faid M, et al. Antibacterial and antifungal activity of essential oils of Mentha suaveolens. Phytotherapy Research: An International Journal Devoted to Pharmacological and Toxicological Evaluation of Natural Product Derivatives. 2002;16(8):727-31.

Beski SS, Al-Sardary SY. Effects of dietary supplementation of probiotic and synbiotic on broiler chickens hematology and intestinal integrity. International Journal of Poultry Science. 2015;14:31-6.

Kabir SL, Rahman MM, Rahman MB, Rahman MM, Ahmed SU. The dynamics of probiotics on growth performance and immune response in broilers. Int J Poult Sci. 2004;3(5):361-4.