Effects of Pennyroyal Essential Oil and Bacillus coagulens on Broiler Chicken Growth, Intestinal Microbiota, Intestinal Morphology, and Immune Response

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.