Beneficial effects of tea extracts, cinnamon oil, and pomegranate on avian coccidiosis

Authors: PARK, INKYUNG - US Department Of Agriculture (USDA); NAM, HYOYOUN - US Department Of Agriculture (USDA); WICKRAMASURIA, SAMIRU - US Department Of Agriculture (USDA); LEE, YOUNGSUB - US Department Of Agriculture (USDA); WALL, EMMA - Avt Natural North America; SRIPATHY, RAVICHANDRAN - Avt Natural North America; Lillehoj, Hyun

Submitted to: Frontiers in Immunology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/22/2023
Publication Date: 6/2/2023
Citation: Park, I., Nam, H., Wickramasuria, S.S., Lee, Y., Wall, E.H., Sripathy, R., Lillehoj, H.S. 2023. Beneficial effects of tea extracts, cinnamon oil, and pomegranate on avian coccidiosis. Frontiers in Immunology. https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2023.1145367.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2023.1145367

Interpretive Summary: There is a timely need to develop antibiotic alternative feed additives for poultry due to increasing regulation of the use of antibiotics in poultry production. In this paper, ARS scientists collaborated with private industry scientists to evaluate the antiparasitic and antibacterial activities of plant-derived phytochemicals to develop plant-derived feed additives that exert antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory reactivities in poultry. First, in vitro studies were developed to evaluate the beneficial effects of green tea extract (GT), black tea extract (BT), cinnamon oil (CO), and pomegranate (PO) on E. tenella sporozoites and C. perfringens bacteria. Next, in vivo disease challenge model was used to evaluate these phytochemicals and some phytochemicals showed beneficial effects on antiparasitic activity, antibacterial activity, inflammatory response, gut integrity, and/or muscle growth factors. These phytochemicals can thus be successfully used as novel feed additives to promote the growth of chickens since dietary supplementation of these phytochemical mixture improved growth, reduced intestinal damage and intestinal inflammatory responses, and decreased parasite fecundity in broiler chickens infected with E. maxima. In summary, these phytochemical mixture shows great promise to be beneficial phytogenic feed additives to reduce the negative effects of intestinal diseases in commercial broiler production as antibiotic alternatives.

Technical Abstract: Three experiments were conducted to evaluate the beneficial effects of green tea extract (GT), black tea extract (BT), cinnamon oil (CO), and pomegranate (PO) on avian coccidiosis. In experiment (EXP) 1, an in vitro culture system was used to investigate the individual effects of GT, BT, CO, and PO on anticoccidial and antibacterial activities against Eimeria tenella and Clostridium perfringens, respectively, on the proinflammatory cytokine response and integrity of tight junction (TJ) in chicken intestinal epithelial cells (IEC), and on the differentiation of quail muscle cells and primary chicken embryonic muscle cells. In EXP 2 and 3, in vivo trials were carried out to study the dose-dependent effect of blended phytochemicals on coccidiosis in broiler chickens infected with E. maxima. For EXP 2, one hundred male broiler chickens (0-day-old) were allocated into the following five treatment groups: Control group for non-infected chickens (NC), Basal diet for E. maxima-infected chickens (PC), PC supplemented with phytochemicals at 50 (Phy 50), 100 (Phy 100), and 200 (Phy 200) mg/kg feed diets for E. maxima-infected chickens. For EXP 3, one hundred twenty male broiler chickens (0-day-old) were allocated into the following six treatment groups: NC, PC, PC supplemented with phytochemicals at 10 (Phy 10), 20 (Phy 20), 30 (Phy 30), and 100 (Phy 100) mg/kg feed for E. maxima-infected chickens. Body weights (BW) were measured on days 0, 7, 14, 20, and 22, and jejunum samples were used to measure cytokines, TJ proteins, and antioxidant enzymes at 8 days post-infection (dpi). Fecal samples for oocyst count were collected from 6 to 8 dpi. In vitro, CO and PO reduced LPS-induced IL-1ß and IL-8 in IEC, respectively, and GT and BT enhanced gene expression of occludin in IEC. PO showed antimicrobial effect against E. tenella sporozoites and C. perfringens. In vivo, chicken supplemented with a phytochemical mixture showed enhanced BW, reduced oocyst shedding, and decreased proinflammatory cytokines against E. maxima challenge. In conclusion, the dietary combination of green tea extract, black tea extract, cinnamon oil, and pomegranate demonstrated the beneficial effects on intestinal integrity, immune responses, and growth performance in broiler chickens challenged with E. maxima. Therefore, the present findings provide scientific rationale to develop a research-based antibiotic alternative phytogenic feed additive formulation to enhance growth and intestinal health of broiler chickens infected with E. maxima.