Effect of Lawsonia inermis as a Growth Promoter in Broiler Chicks
Mousavi Kiavandani1, Faramin Javandel1,
Jose Raduan Jaber2, Alireza Seidavi1 and Myriam R Ventura3*
1Department
of Animal Science, Rasht Branch, College of Agriculture, Islamic Azad University, P.O. Box:
41335-3516, Rasht, Iran
2Departamento de Morfologia, Campus de Arucas,
Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 35413, Arucas, Spain
3Departamento de Patología Animal,
Producción Animal, Bromatología y Tecnología de los Alimentos, Universidad de
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, 35413, Arucas, Spain
*For correspondence: myriam.rodriguezventura@ulpgc.es
Received 03
February 2021; Accepted 26 June 2021; Published 18 September 2021
Abstract
In the European Union, the
utilization of antibiotics in livestock farming as growth promoters have been banned to avoid bacterial
resistance. However, antibiotics suppression can originate certain animal diseases
as well as increased feed conversion rates. Therefore, this study was conducted to evaluate Lawsonia
inermis in broiler chicks and its effects on feed intake, growth gain, feed
conversion ratio, carcasses quality, clinical biochemistry, immunity and
intestinal flora during a 42-day trial. Five experimental groups with 3
replicates each were used: commercial diet (CD), CD + flavophospholipol (a
conventional antimicrobial growth promoter), CD + Lawsonia inermis (LI) at
0.15%, CD + LI at 0.20% and CD + LI at 0.25%. Lawsonia inermis added to the diet of broilers
did not cause an apparent adverse effect on palatability, carcasses’ traits,
biochemical profiles, or mortality. When it was added at 0.15 and 0.20%, the
body weight was higher than broilers fed the control diet and that broilers fed
the control diet + flavophospholipol. The immune response, total aerobic count
and Lactobacilli count gave
better results on broilers fed L. inermis
than broilers fed the CD plus flavophospholipol (AGPs). © 2021 Friends Science Publishers
Keywords: Additive; Broilers chicks; Blood biochemical
parameters; Carcass quality; Clinical biochemistry; Growth performance; Henna; Immune
system; Intestinal flora
Introduction
The current production of
poultry meat worldwide has continuingly increased to feed a growing human population.
The main reasons for this increase are genetic progress in poultry lines, a
better understanding of nutrition fundamentals and progressive control of
diseases (Ravindran 2013). The poultry industry demands the use of growth
promoters to control pathogenic gastrointestinal microorganisms. In that sense,
antibacterial medication has been administered in several animal species to get
better growth rates and feed conversion productiveness, commonly known as
antimicrobial growth performance promoters, or AGPs (Goetting et al.
2011; Huyghebaert et al. 2011). However, their use has been banned in
the European Union (EC Regulation No. 1831/2003) and, in the United States of
America, where alternative growth promoters are a progressive social demand to
the poultry industry (Dibner and Richards 2005). In the European Union, the
AGPs suppression has originated certain animal diseases and increased feed
conversion rates (Huyghebaert et al. 2011). In this scenario and
expecting that AGPs could be extensively forbidden worldwide, new growth
promoters should be investigated to minimize digestive dysbacteriosis.
Lawsonia inermis, commonly known as “henna,” belongs to the Lythraceae family and is the
only species in the genus (Semwal et al. 2014). The Chemical names are Lawsone,
2-Hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone, and the molecular formula is C10H6O3 (NCBI
2018). Among several beneficial properties of Lawsonia inermis, anti-inflammatory and antibacterial activities
have been documented. These effects are related to the plant powder and its
extract. Other products such as ethyl acetate, aqueous, chloroform, petroleum
ether and ethanol extracts from flowers, fruit and whole plant showed excellent
activity against Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria (Semwal et al.
2014).
Therefore,
this work aimed to assess the use of Lawsonia
inermis in feeding intake, growth
gain, and feed conversion ratio of broilers during 42
days from hatching to 6 weeks of age. Different
parameters such as carcass characteristics, blood plasma biochemistry, immunity, and
intestinal flora of broilers were analyzed during the trial.
Materials and Methods
Location,
housing and animals
The experimental trial was done
in a commercial chicken farm located in Abkenar (37° 27' 35'' North, 49° 19'
53'' East, 18 m below sea level). Before the investigation, the
farm was cleansed, including the water dispensers and the bird feeders.
Continuous controlled temperature (22–25°C), air humidity (55 to 65%) and ventilation were implemented following
the recommendations done for Ross 308 broilers (Aviagen, Newbridge, Scotland,
UK 35805). Chicks were one-day-old male, Ross 308 strain (Aviagen, Newbridge,
Scotland, UK 35805), with similar body weights in all groups. The animal experiments conducted in this study
complied with the Ethical Committee of the Azad University and the parameters mentioned as ARRIVE (Animals in Research: Reporting In vivo Experiments).
Special
considerations were taken to minimize the stressful conditions of the animals.
Experimental design, feedstuffs and treatments
The research was an entire randomized lock, with
five treatments, three replicates per treatment with 15 animals per replicates
(a final amount of 225 male chicks). The experiments lasted 42 days. All chicks
were fed a commercial diet following the manufacturer’s recommendation (Table
1). Food and water were provided ad
libitum. The commercial diet composition in the starter (1st–21st
days of age) and finisher (22nd–42nd days of age) periods
are shown in Table 1. The treatments
were: (1) Control group
CD (commercial diet); (2)
Commercial diet plus flavophospholipol 0.6% (Flavomycin, at the recommended
dose); (3) CD plus Lawsonia
inermis powder (0.15%); (4) CD plus Lawsonia
inermis powder (0.20%); (5) CD plus Lawsonia
inermis powder (0.25%). Flavophospholipol 0.6% (Flavomycin®
0.6%) is an antibiotic used as conventional AGPs for animal production,
including broilers (Barros et al. 2012) and it was prepared from
Damyaran Pharmacy Co. and Lawsonia inermis leaf powder.
Evaluated
parameters
Performance: Diets were
offered ad libitum to the chicks
throughout the 42 days of the experimental period. Bodyweight and feed intake
of all broilers were recorded weekly for six weeks and calculated on days 21
and 42. Feed conversion ratio (FCR) was calculated as the ratio (g/g) of
average feed intake and average body weight gain.
Carcass traits: Once
finished the experiment and 4 h later of fasting for complete evacuation of the
intestinal content, one broiler from each replicate was euthanized and treated
following the standard protocols. These broilers were collected to measure the
carcass yield, the meat and gastrointestinal tract characteristics. Broilers
were pecked using standardized dry pecking methods. Feet at tibiotarsal joint,
neck, wingtips, intestine, and hepatic tissue were taken out from the carcass.
Later on, the corpse was weighted and gut segments were measured and recorded.
Different sections of the corpse were analyzed and separately weighted. Cook
carcass yield were ascertained 5 h after euthanized following the protocol
suggested by Cason et al. (1997). Chicken breast samples were weighed
and packaged, then steam-cooked in a water-bath at 85°C for half an hour. Later
on, these tissues were cooled at ambient temperature and re-weighed.
Clinical biochemistry: A total of
5 mL of blood was obtained from the ulnar blood vessel and preserved in
anticoagulant ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA). Blood samples were
collected from two broilers belonging to each replicate. Before blood samples were
obtained, the feed was withdrawn for a period of four hours in order to
stabilize serum parameters in all broilers. Blood samples were collected in the
early hours to reduce the circadian variations in specific serum parameters. At
the laboratory, pieces were centrifuged at 2000 rpm for 20 min to obtain plasma
and reserved at -20°C for further analysis. Total plasma cholesterol and
triglyceride levels were obtained by enzymatic tests (Teif Azmoon Pars, Co., Tehran, Iran) following the
protocol done by Schmid and Forstner (1986). Cholesterol fractions (HDL and
LDL) were evaluated directly with HDL-C and LDL-C diagnostic kits (Teif Azmoon Pars Co., Tehran, Iran). The colorimetric index of cholesterol was also
assessed with the cholesterol oxidase test (Schmid and Forstner 1986). Plasma
glucose was determined with a glucose oxidase kit based on oxidase-peroxidase
procedure (Teif Azmoon Pars, Co., Tehran, Iran) according to Trinder (1969) and
Barham and Trinder (1972). Plasma uric acid was measured using a uric
acid-uricase enzyme kit, the uricase-TOOS method (Teif Azmoon Pars, Co.,
Tehran, Iran) (Kato et al. 2000).
Immunity assessment: The humoral immune response to the Newcastle and Avian
Influence vaccinations at 28 and 42
days old was determined based on hemagglutination inhibition (HI) method in two
broilers from each replicate. A second humoral test was done with the
inoculation of sheep red blood cells (SRBC) according to the literature
(Pourhossein et al. 2015) and the sampling times were at 28 and 42 days
of age.
Digestive
bacterial count: Digestive
bacteria were counted according to Dibaji et al. (2014). MRS agar (Man Rogosa Sharpe Table 1: Ingredients and estimated nutritive value of
the commercial diet (CD)
Finisher periodB |
Starter periodA |
Ingredients |
58.7 |
56.9 |
Corn |
30 |
33.1 |
Soybean
meal (43% CP) |
3.5 |
3.4 |
Fish meal |
3.5 |
2 |
Soybean
oil |
1.55 |
1.55 |
Di
Calcium Phosphate |
1.18 |
1.03 |
Oyster
shell |
0.01 |
0.01 |
DL-methionine |
0.5 |
0.5 |
Vitamin premixC |
0.5 |
0.5 |
Mineral premixD |
0.26 |
0.26 |
Salt |
0.75 |
0.75 |
Sand (as
empty space) |
Calculated nutritional content |
||
3030 |
2910 |
ME
(Kcal/kg) |
19.0 |
20.1 |
Crude
protein (N×6.25) (%) |
6.14 |
4.6 |
Crude Fat
(%) |
0.90 |
0.95 |
Calcium
(%) |
1.06 |
1.23 |
Total
phosphorus (%) |
0.36 |
0.45 |
Available
phosphorus |
0.38 |
0.5 |
Metionine |
1.00 |
1.01 |
Lysine |
0.71 |
0.83 |
Met + Cys |
A1 -21 days of age; B22 -
42 days of age; C (vitamin A,
3600000 IU; D3, 800000 IU; vitamin E, 7200 IU; vitamin B1, 710 mg; vitamin B2,
2640 mg; vitamin B6, 1176 mg; vitamin
B9, 400 mg; vitamin B12, 6 mg; vitamin
k3, 800 mg; pantothenic acid,
3920 mg; vitamin Biotin, 40
mg; vitamin Niacin, 12000
mg and choline chloride,
200000 mg); D (Mn, 40000
mg; Fe, 20000 mg; Zn, 33900 mg; Cu, 4000 mg; I, 400 mg and Se, 80 mg); ME
(Kcal/kg), metabolizable energy; Met
+ Cys, Metionine + Cystene
agar, 1.10660 for Lactobacilli, Eosin Metilan Blou (EMB,
1.01347.0500) for E. coli, MacConkey agar (105465.0500) for coliforms,
and nutrient agar (1.05450.0500) was used to culture total aerobic bacteria. A
suspension of microorganisms obtained from gut material from two broilers of
each replicate was prepared. Lactobacilli
bacteria were cultivated at 37ºC in the anaerobic ambiance for 72 h. Total
aerobic bacterial count incubated at 37ºC in the aerobic ambiance for 48 h.
Microorganisms were counted with a colony counter (UFC). Microorganism’s counts
were related as logarithm number of bacteria/g sample.
Statistical
analysis
Information
was analyzed using a randomized experimental design involving 225 chickens with
five treatments, three replicates per treatment, with 15 animals per
replicates. The SPSS Statistical package v. 20 was used to analyze the randomized
block design followed up with Duncan’s multiple range tests when the overall
treatment was significant (P < 0.05).
Results
Feed intake, body weight and feed conversion ratio
The broilers
showed good health and expected behavior during the experiment. There were no
differences in feed intake among the diet groups in the starter (1–21 days),
the finisher (22–42 days) and in the total period (1-42 days) (Table 2).
Regarding bodyweight (Table 2) in the starter period, the groups fed
flavophospholipol and 0.15% Lawsonia inermis, gained significantly (P=0.02) more body weight than the
control group fed the CD alone. In the finisher and total periods, the highest
bodyweight gain was achieved by broilers feeding at total of 0.15 and 0.20% Lawsonia inermis and was significant (P=0.02). In this way, the weight at 42
days of chickens provided 0.15 and 0.20% Lawsonia
inermis increased 253 and 312 g per day,
respectively; compared with the chicken’s weight gain fed the CD alone. The
weight at 42 days of the chickens fed 0.15 and 0.20% Lawsonia inermis increased 51 and 110 g
respectively and significant (P < 0.05) in comparison with the weight gain
of the broilers fed the CD plus flavophospholipol (AGPs). The feed conversion ratio was
not significant (P > 0.005) in any period among the groups
(Table 2).
Carcass
traits
At 42 days
old, there were no significant differences (P
> 0.005) in carcass yield,
thighs, and breast, neck, or wing gains. The weight of the gizzards and small
intestines (Table 3) of broilers fed flavophospholipol, 0.15 and 0.20% Lawsonia inermis groups differed significantly (P = 0.035
and P = 0.009, respectively). Weights were significantly lower in the
gizzard and were markedly higher in small intestine compared to CD. At 0.25%,
the Lawsonia inermis group had lower
weight in heart (P = 0.007), proventriculus (P = 0.014),
and the small intestine (P = 0.009), than the rest of the groups
(Table 4).
Clinical
biochemistry, immunity assessment and digestive bacterial count
No significant
differences (P > 0.05)
were found for biochemical profiles (Table 5). Related to immunity assessment
(Table 6), the immune response was higher in broilers fed L. inermis at 0.20 and 0.25% compared to broilers fed the
CD plus flavophospholipol (AGPs).
Table 7 shows digestive bacterial count, no differences (P > 0.05) were found among the groups in E. coli and coliforms count in gut
observed at 42 days old chicks, but there
was a lower (P = 0.02)
total aerobic bacteria count in broilers fed L. inermis than broilers fed the control diet and
CD plus flavophospholipol (AGPs).
Regarding lactobacillus count, significant differences (P = 0.01) were found among the groups, lactobacillus count was higher in broilers fed L. inermis and in the CD plus
flavophospholipol (AGPs) than broilers fed the control diet
without L. inermi.
Discussion
Some alternative growth promoters
evaluated in the poultry industry include exogenous enzymes, organic acids, probiotics,
prebiotics, etheric oils and some plants (Huyghebaert et al. 2011). L. imermis possesses a wide range of
beneficial properties in humans in whom both the oral and topical routes have
treated diseases. Moreover, aromatic herbs are frequently affirmed (Zeng et
al. 2015) to improve the flavor and palatability of the feed, hence
increasing feed intake followed by improved weight gain.
Table 2: Effects of the experimental diets on feed intake (g), body weight (g) and
feed conversion ratio (g feed/g body weight) of the broilers up to the age of
42 days
|
CD A |
Flav B |
0.15% LI C |
0.20% LI D |
0.25% LI E |
SEM |
P-Value |
Feed intake (g) |
|||||||
StarterF |
1194.4 |
1232.5 |
1292.1 |
1180.3 |
1197.7 |
16.3 |
ns |
FinisherG |
3384.2 |
3588.4 |
3656.8 |
3581.1 |
3174.6 |
123.1 |
ns |
Total H |
4578.7 |
4821.0 |
4858.9 |
4761.5 |
4362.4 |
123.8 |
ns |
Body weight (g) |
|||||||
StarterF |
739.9 b |
822.4 a |
812.2 a |
766.7 b |
740.0 b |
16.6 |
0.02 |
Finisher G |
1321.1 b |
1440.4 b |
1501.9 ab |
1606.4 a |
1351.1 b |
42.5 |
0.02 |
Total H |
2061.1b |
2262.9a |
2314.13a |
2373.1a |
2091.2b |
97.5 |
0.04 |
Feed conversion ratio (g feed/g body weight) |
|||||||
StarterF |
1.61 |
1.49 |
1.59 |
1.53 |
1.60 |
0.03 |
ns |
FinisherG |
2.56 |
2.49 |
2.43 |
2.22 |
2.34 |
0.10 |
ns |
Total H |
2.22 |
2.13 |
2.09 |
2.00 |
2.08 |
0.05 |
ns |
A CD Control diet (commercial
diet); B CD + Flavophospholipol;
C CD + 0.15% Laswsonia inermis; D
CD + 0.20% Laswsonia inermis; E
CD + 0.25% Laswsonia inermis; F Period
of 1-21 days of age; G from 22 - 42 days of age; H Total
period of 42 days
Means with different letters within treatments
differ significantly (P < 0.05);
SEM, Standard error of the mean (n = 44 chicks for each diet); ns,
non-significant (P >0.05)
Table 3: Effects of the
experimental diets on carcass characteristics (g) of the broilers at 42 days’
old
|
CD A |
Flav B |
0.15%
LI C |
0.20%
LI D |
0.25%
LI E |
SEM |
P-Value |
Carcass yield |
1563.6 |
1771.0 |
1753.6 |
1666.3 |
1547.6 |
66.3 |
ns |
Cooked Carcass yield |
1298.3 |
1486.3 |
1407.6 |
1383.0 |
1233.0 |
60.3 |
ns |
Breast |
451.6 |
511.0 |
492.6 |
489.6 |
400.6 |
28.8 |
ns |
Thighs |
425.6 |
474,0 |
442.3 |
458.6 |
420.3 |
19.5 |
ns |
Wing |
117.3 |
135.3 |
126.6 |
128.0 |
119.0 |
5.4 |
ns |
Neck |
55.6 |
62.3 |
55.3 |
60.6 |
49.3 |
3.3 |
ns |
A CD Control diet (commercial diet); B CD + Flavophospholipol; C
CD + 0.15% Laswsonia inermis; DCD
+ 0.20% Laswsonia inermis; E
CD + 0.25% Laswsonia inermis
SEM,
Standard error of the mean; ns, non-significant (P > 0.05)
Table 4: Effects of the experimental diets on the organ weights (g) of the
broilers at 42 days old
|
CD A |
Flav B |
0.15%
LI C |
0.20%
LI D |
0.25%
LIE |
SEM |
P-Value |
Liver and biles |
46.6 |
53.6 |
56.3 |
50.6 |
47.6 |
4.41 |
ns |
Pancreas |
5.0 |
6.3 |
7.0 |
6.6 |
5.6 |
1.0 |
ns |
Heart |
12.0a |
12.6a |
14.3a |
12.3a |
9.3
b |
0.69 |
0.007 |
Spleen |
5.0 |
2.3 |
2.3 |
2.0 |
1.6 |
1.80 |
ns |
Thymus |
4.3 |
5.0 |
3.3 |
4.6 |
2.6 |
0.74 |
ns |
Bursa |
2.0 |
1.6 |
2.0 |
2.0 |
1,0 |
0.39 |
ns |
Proventriculus |
9.6a |
11.0a |
10.6a |
10.6a |
7.3
b |
0.64 |
0.014 |
Gizzard |
68.0
a |
53.6
b |
64.0
ab |
57.6
ab |
53.3
b |
3.24 |
0.035 |
Small
intestine |
72.0
c |
82.3bc |
104.3
a |
92.6
ab |
69.0c
|
5.93 |
0.009 |
Large intestine |
22.0 |
33.3 |
26.0 |
27.6 |
22.3 |
5.90 |
ns |
A CD Control diet (commercial
diet); B CD + Flavophospholipol;
C CD + 0.15% Laswsonia inermis; DCD
+ 0.20% Laswsonia inermis; E
CD + 0.25% Laswsonia inermis
SEM,
Standard error of the mean; ns, non-significant (P > 0.05); Within rows, means with different letters within treatments
differ significantly (P < 0.05)
Table 5: Effects of the experimental diets on clinical biochemistry of the
broilers at 42 days old
|
CDA |
Flav B |
0.15%LI C |
0.20%
LI D |
0.25%
LI E |
SEM |
P-value |
Total
protein (g/dL) |
4.4 |
4.5 |
4.5 |
4.0 |
4.6 |
0.35 |
ns |
Albumin (g/dL) |
1.6 |
2.1 |
1.3 |
2.3 |
2.0 |
0.33 |
ns |
Glucose (mg/dL) |
207.4 |
209.1 |
207.1 |
205.4 |
208.7 |
11.1 |
ns |
Cholesterol (mg/dL) |
138.1 |
145.4 |
151.5 |
153.9 |
157.1 |
7.1 |
ns |
Triglyceride(mg/dL) |
27.1 |
23.9 |
36.9 |
39.7 |
24.7 |
13.7 |
ns |
HDL
(mg/dL) |
79.6 |
82.3 |
73.0 |
82.6 |
77.0 |
7.1 |
ns |
LDL
(mg/dL) |
49.0 |
58.3 |
67.1 |
63.3 |
75.2 |
13.8 |
ns |
VLDL
(mg/dL) |
11.3 |
9.4 |
7.9 |
4.9 |
4.7 |
2.7 |
ns |
UricAcid (mg/dL) |
5.4 |
4.9 |
4.3 |
6.1 |
3.72 |
0.79 |
ns |
ALP
(U/L) |
1463 |
1410 |
831.7 |
1683.3 |
1436.7 |
265.7 |
ns |
A CD Control diet (comercial diet);
B CD + Flavophospholipol; C CD + 0.15%
Laswsonia inermis; DCD
+ 0.20% Laswsonia inermis; E
CD + 0.25% Laswsonia inermis
SEM, Standard error of the mean; ns,
non-significant (P
> 0.05); HDL, high density
lipoprotein; LDL, low density lipoprotein; VLDL, Very low density
lipoprotein; ALP, Alkaline phosphatase
However, the
results of the present investigation show that there was no significant
difference (P > 0.05) in feed intake among the groups,
the addition of Lawsonia inermis leaf
powder at concentrations of 0.15, 0.20 and 0.25% did not affect
palatability, intake, neither acceptability of the feed by chicks. But, Adedeji
et al. (2019) found significant
differences on daily feed intake of broiler birds fed different levels of Lawsonia
inermis.
Nevertheless, a variation was observed regarding weight gain; broilers
fed L. inermis
at 0.15 and 0.20% of the total diet gained
significantly (P < 0.05) more bodyweight than those fed the
CD and fed the CD plus flavophospholipol (AGPs), even though no significant differences (P > 0.05)
were found on feed conversion rate. These results are agreeing with (Adedeji et al. 2019)
which found significant differences (P
< 0.05) on growth performance parameters (daily weight gain, total
weight gain, final weight) and also on feed conversion rate of broiler birds by
inclusion of different levels of Lawsonia inermis in their feed. As (Denil et al.
2003) reported, the
increase in the body weight may be due to the positive effect of supplementation
of additives in broiler diets with improved nutrient utilization. But for us the increase in the body weight
could be due to the increase of the lactobacillus count caused by the
addition de L. inermis on the diets as we will see later on.
Regarding the effects of the experimental diets on carcass characteristics and organ weights,
even though no differences (P > 0.05)
were found among the groups, some significant
differences (P < 0.05) were found on some organ weights
(heart, proventriculus, gizzard and small intestines). Although we did not find
an explanation for this, the biological properties described for Lawsonia inermis could explain these
findings in broiler chicks. Despite the lower weight found in small intestines
in broilers fed a CD without growth promoters might be due to an intestinal syndrome
commonly referred to as ‘dysbacteriosis,’ which has emerged in some areas where
the AGPs have been banned. Although this syndrome has not been fully described,
it resembles ‘wet litter’, ‘bacterial overgrowth,’ or ‘malabsorption’.
Therefore, a thinning of the small intestine occurs, accompanied by higher
water content of feces and decreased digestibility of feed with undigested food
identified in the feces (Huyghebaert et al. 2011).
The effects of
the experimental diets on clinical biochemistry of the broilers at 42 days’ old
did not show significant differences (P
> 0.05) for biochemical profiles. A low total protein and albumin
level can suggest a liver disorder, a kidney disorder, or a disorder in which
protein is not digested or absorbed properly. However, total protein was
standard and similar to the total protein reported by (Adedeji et al.
2019). Results on albumin and total cholesterol were higher than values found
by (Adedeji et al. 2019) in all the broilers fed L. inermis, this may be due to the race of the birds used on the
study. Glucose plasma levels, HDL and uric acid values were within the normal
ranges in poultry (Campbell 2004) and hence it may not be of any practical
relevance.
Concerning the
immunity assessment, in 28 and 42d, antibody titer against Influenza vaccine
was not markedly influenced by treatments in 28 and 42 d (P < 0.05), but antibody titer against Newcastle vaccine was
higher in 0.25% LI treatment than other treatments (P < 0.05). Antibody production against SRBC affected by
treatments in 28 and 42 d (P > 0.05)
and was higher in 0.25% LI treatment than other treatments. The titer of IgM
didn’t affect by treatments in 28 and 42 d (P
> 0.05), but the titer of IgG was higher in 0.25% LI treatment than
other treatments at 28 d (P < 0.05).
Immune
stimulant activities have been demonstrated in mice treated with L. inermis as increased white blood cell
counts or inhibition of drug-induced myelosuppression (Jinyvarghese et al.
2005) and macrophage stimulation phagocytic activity (Kulkarni and Karande
1998). However, we do not analyze this mode of action. The methods used to
measure the immune response and the growth-promoting effect of L. inermis did not reveal its underlying
mechanism. As (Zeng et al. 2015) state, there are different factors such
as the species, harvest time, part of the plant used and method of isolation,
even climatic conditions which could all affect the effectiveness of the plants
used.
Different
authors have stated that Lawsonia inermis possesses antifungal, antibacterial, virucidal, antiparasitic
or anti-inflammatory properties (Abdulmoneim 2007; Semwal et al. 2014; Al-Snafiea
2019). Moreover, some studies had demonstrated the inhibitory effects against Escherichia coli or aerobic bacteria
like Bacillus subtilis or Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Jeyaseelan et
al. 2012; Rahiman et al. 2013). Due to its
antibacterial activity, this herb was selected as an alternative growth
promoter for this study. In this work, no clear effects were observed on the
intestinal microflora populations. But despite no differences (P > 0.05) were found among
the groups in E. coli and coliforms
count in gut observed at 42 days old chicks, there was lower total aerobic bacteria count in broilers fed Lawsonia inermis. This might be due to the fact that the
effectiveness of a probiotic use depends on some different factors as
dispensation level and concentration of plants, method of application, and farm
hygiene (Wang et al. 2017).
As regards to lactobacillus count, significant
differences (P = 0.01) were
found among the groups, lactobacillus
count was higher in
broilers fed L. inermis than broilers
fed the control diet. It is well known that lactobacillus used as probiotics enhance the growth and
performance of animals, (Pham et
al. 2003) found
that feeding chickens with probiotics mix of lactobacillus increase the
weight gain in broilers. This could be the main effect of the use of Lawsonia
inermis L. in this work, L. inermis used in broiler feed,
increase the lactobacillus count in ileal content of birds and hence increase the weight gains in
broilers.
Conclusion
Although the
beneficial role of AGPs is not fully understood, Lawsonia inermis may be used as a growth promoter replacing the
antibiotic flavophospholipol because added to the diet at 0.15 and 0.20%, the
body weight is higher than those animals fed the control diet and that animals
fed the control diet + flavophospholipol. Furthermore, the immune response,
total aerobic count and lactobacillus count gave better results in
broilers fed L. inermis than broilers
fed the CD plus flavophospholipol (AGPs) and did not cause apparent adverse
effects on palatability, carcass traits, biochemical profiles, or mortality in chicks.
Acknowledgments
The authors wish to thank Carlos Gutierrez from Las Palmas University
for his support and advice and Rasht Branch, Islamic Azad University, for its
financial supported. (Grant number 4.5830).
Author Contributions
MRV and SA designed the investigation,
interpreted the results, and wrote the manuscript. MK and FJ carried out the
growth trial and the analysis. JRJ performed the statistical analysis, analysed
the data and co-wrote the paper.
Conflict of Interest
The authors
declare no conflict of interés
Data Availability
The authors confirm that the data
supporting the findings of this study are available within the article and its supplementary materials
Ethics Approval
The animal
experiments conducted in this study complied with the Ethical Committee of the
Azad University and the ARRIVE guidelines.
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