Panagiota Florou Paneri
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
Title: Effects of dietary plant extract rich in Ocimum sanctum and Ocimum basilicum on chicken growth performance, intestinal microbiota and meat oxidative stability
Biography
Biography: Panagiota Florou Paneri
Abstract
Aim: The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of two herbal products on growth performance, intestinal microbiota of jejunum and caecum, breast and thigh meat composition and oxidative stability.
Methods: A total of 240, one-day-old, broiler chicks were used in a 42-day trial. Chickens were randomly distributed into three treatments with four replicates of twenty chickens per pen: Control group; Stresomix group; Ayucee group. Stresomix and Ayucee are herbal products of the Ayurvet® Company, and were given at the level of 0.5 and 1.0 g/kg of feed, respectively, throughout the trial that lasted 42 days. At the end of the trial, total counts of bacteria, Lactobacilli, and Escherichia coli counts were enumerated by real time PCR at both jejunum and cecum. Chemical composition and oxidative stability was also evaluated in both breast and thigh meat.
Results: The results of the present study showed that Stresomix group had higher final body weight, breast and thigh meat moisture content, jejunum Lactobacilli counts populations and caecum E. coli counts, compared to the control group, as well as improved oxidative stability of breast and thigh meat after 1 and 4 days of refrigerated storage, compared to the control group.Ayucee group had higher breast meat moisture content, and caecum E. coli counts, as well as improved oxidative stability of breast and thigh meat after 1 and 4 days of refrigerated storage, compared to the control group.
Conclusion: In conclusion, this study provides indirect evidence that those antioxidant compounds of Ocimum sanctum and Ocimum basilicum enriched products were absorbed by the chicken tissue, increasing its antioxidative capacity.