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ARS Home » Plains Area » College Station, Texas » Southern Plains Agricultural Research Center » Food and Feed Safety Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #359388
Research Project: Identification of the Ecological Niches and Development of Intervention Strategies to Reduce Pathogenic Foodborne Pathogens in Poultry

Location: Food and Feed Safety Research

Title: Effects of Colombian oregano essential oil (Lippia origanoides Kunth) and Eimeria species on broiler production and cecal microbiota

Author
item BETANCOURT, LILIANA - National University Of Colombia
item Hume, Michael
item RODRÍGUEZ, FERNANDO - Corpoica
item Nisbet, David
item SOHAIL, MUHAMMAD - Government College University
item AFANADOR-TELLEZ, GERMÁN - National University Of Colombia

Submitted to: Poultry Science
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/21/2019
Publication Date: 4/17/2019
Publication URL: https://handle.nal.usda.gov/10113/6743210
Citation: Betancourt, L., Hume, M.E., Rodríguez, F., Nisbet, D.J., Sohail, M.U., Afanador-Tellez, G. 2019. Effects of Colombian oregano essential oil (Lippia origanoides Kunth) and Eimeria species on broiler production and cecal microbiota. Poultry Science. https://doi.org/10.3382/ps/pez193.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3382/ps/pez193

Interpretive Summary: Intestinal bacteria have an important effect on poultry health and production. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of Colombian-grown oregano essential oil extract in feed on broiler chicken intestinal bacterial diversity using the molecular technique pyrosequencing. The broilers were also infected with the poultry pathogen coccidia as a stressor. Two essential oil levels in feed, none and high, were evaluated in two groups of broilers uninfected and infected with the poultry pathogen. The oregano oil did not change bacterial populations between the four treatments. Body weights for broilers infected with the poultry pathogen were reduced; however, body weights were improved for broilers infected with the pathogen and treated with the oregano oil. Pyrosequencing permitted an exploratory inspection of the effect of the oregano essential oil on chicken intestinal bacterial diversity and bacterial community composition. Significant results are that essential oils from Colombian-grown oregano reduced the negative production effects of the coccidia infection. The results will help in understanding the positive effects of oregano essential oil in reducing pathogen infection and improving chicken production. These results are of interest to poultry microbiologists, producers, and researchers.

Technical Abstract: The gut microbiota has an important effect on poultry health and production. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of Colombian Lippia origanoides Kunth essential oil (OEO) supplementation on performance and the broiler chicken cecal bacterial microbiome by 16S-based sequencing. Essential oils were extracted by steam distillation and analyzed by GC/MS. Two OEO levels in feed, 0 ppm control (C) and 100 ppm (O), were evaluated in two groups of broilers either unchallenged (U) or challenged (E) with a viable attenuated coccidia oocyte vaccine. Four treatments were formed, UC, UO, EC, and EO, and distributed among 720 one-day-old male Ross broilers randomly placed in 24 pens. Cecal content DNA was extracted, and pyrosequencing was performed following a standard procedure. Pyrosequencing data were processed and sequence reads were phylogenetically classified. The similarity of membership and structure in the communities were calculated. Broiler cecal samples were consistent in that phylum Firmicutes and class Clostridia were highly prevalent. The OEO had no effect on these taxa levels between the four treatments (P > 0.05). A positive correlation (P < 0.01) was observed between the Firmicutes: Bacteriodetes phyla ratio against body weight at 35 d of age. At the end of the study, the greatest OEO effect was found in coccidia-challenged broilers, with an OE body weight of 1,889 ± 52.4 g with respect to 1,799 ± 36.2 g for CE (P < 0.01). This study provided both positive and negative correlations between broiler body weight against some bacterial groups identified, offering perspectives regarding bacterial groups and their impact on host health and metabolism. Lippia Origanoides Kunth high thymol showed a beneficial effect on body weight and the feed conversion ratio in broilers under coccidia challenge.