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This study aimed to investigate the potential of free and nanoprotected rosemary essential oil (REO) as an antibiotic alternative in blood biochemistry, hematology, immune-antioxidant status, intestinal microbiology, and histomorphology of broilers. A total of 420 1-wk-old broiler chicks (Cobb) were randomly allotted into 7 treatments, each having 4 replicates of 15 chicks. The first group served as control received basal diet, while the second group was fed a basal diet plus 100 mg/kg enramycin and third group basal diet plus 150 mg/kg chitosan nanoparticles (CNPs). The fourth and fifth groups received diets supplemented with 100 mg and 200 mg free REO (F-REO)/kg diet. The sixth and seventh groups were supplemented with 100 mg and 200 mg nanoprotected REO (N-REO)/kg diet. Results revealed that supplementing nanoprotected REO significantly (P < 0.05) decreased the levels of blood cholesterol and low-density lipoproteins (LDL) compared to control and enramycin groups. The kidney and liver function parameters were not altered by adding free or nanoprotected REO to the diet. Both levels of nanoprotected REO significantly (P < 0.05) reduced heterophil: lymphocyte (H: L) ratio compared to all other groups. Birds receiving nanoprotected REO at 200 mg/kg diet had significantly (P ˂ 0.05) raised serum levels of immunoglobulin G (IgG) and immunoglobulin M (IgM) compared to control and other birds. Anti-SRBC titre and cell-mediated immunity improved significantly (P < 0.05) in nanoprotected REO groups. Supplementation of nanoprotected REO resulted in significantly (P < 0.05) higher values for superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione (GSH) and total antioxidant status (TAS). The caecal microbiota was improved in broiler birds fed diets supplemented with nanoprotected REO. The 200 mg nanoprotected REO/kg diet supplementation resulted in significantly (P < 0.05) better villus height (VH) and villus height: crypt depth (VH: CD) ratio in all the segments of the small intestine. In conclusion, feeding REO in nanoprotected form in a 200 mg/kg diet could be used as an antibiotic substitute to improve broiler chicken's lipid profile, immune-antioxidant status, and intestinal health., Competing Interests: DISCLOSURES We wish to confirm that there are no known conflicts of interest associated with this publication and there has been no significant financial support for this work that could have influenced its outcome., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Lamb mortality poses a serious challenge to the sheep industry, leading to immediate financial losses for livestock owners. Improvement of management practices, particularly through environmental enrichment, has been consistently linked to increased lamb survival and growth in both ewes and lambs due to its substantial impact on their behavior and overall welfare. In our study, we aimed to enhance ewe production and improve ewe behavior through the optimization of water temperature and the inclusion of mineral supplementation. To conduct our research, four distinct groups comprising 10 ewes each were formed based on body weight and parity. Our comprehensive study involved the observation of both pre and post-lambing behaviors in ewes, as well as the examination of lamb behavior. The pregnant ewes were monitored using video camera surveillance. For studying the pre-partum behavior, videos were thoroughly analyzed for 3 h before parturition. For studying post-partum and lambing behavior, videos were analyzed for 3 days (24 h per day). Notably, the group that received warm water and mineral supplementation exhibited a discernibly positive behavioral response. These findings illuminate a promising approach for improving ewe production while simultaneously reducing lamb mortality. Our research contributes valuable insights into the sheep industry, offering a pathway toward enhanced animal welfare, economic sustainability, and increased profitability for livestock owners., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature B.V.)

The study investigated the impact of utilizing Rumex nepalensis leaf powder (RNL) as a phytogenic feed additive on performance, blood markers, intestinal microbiology and histomorphology in broiler chicken. One hundred eighty day-old Cobb broiler chicks were randomly divided into four treatment groups having three replicates with fifteen birds each. Four iso-caloric and iso-nitrogenous diets primarily based on maize-soybean were formulated, viz., CN (Control)-fed basal diet only; RNL 2.5 (basal diet + 2.5 g/kg RNL); RNL 5 (basal diet + 5 g/kg RNL); and RNL 10 (basal diet + 10 g/kg RNL). The results revealed a significant ( p < 0.05) increase in body weight gain and feed conversion ratio in dietary treatments compared to CN with best values in RNL 10 followed by RNL 5 . The blood markers like glucose, total protein, creatinine, alanine transaminase (ALT) and aspartate transaminase (AST) showed no significance ( p > 0.05) among all the treatments, however total cholesterol significantly ( p < 0.05) decreased in RNL 5 and RNL 10 as against CN. Regarding immune parameters, immunoglobulin G (IgG) and immunoglobulin M (IgM) levels significantly ( p < 0.05) enhanced in RNL 5 and RNL 10 . Antioxidant enzyme status showed that superoxide dismutase (SOD) increased and malondialdehyde (MDA) decreased significantly ( p < 0.05) in RNL 10 compared to CN. Gut health in terms of cecal microbiology and histomorphology of duodenum and jejunum were altered by inclusion of RNL in the broiler diet. A significant decrease ( p < 0.05) in coliform count was recorded by incorporation of dietary treatments with highest reduction in RNL 10 . Lactobacillus count and total viable count did not vary significantly ( p > 0.05) among dietary treatments and CN. Duodenal and jejunal villus height and villus height/crypt depth ratio were significantly ( p < 0.05) increased in RNL 5 and RNL 10 compared to RNL 2.5 and CN. Thus, it could be concluded that inclusion of Rumex nepalensis leaf powder in the diet resulted in improved performance and better immuno-antioxidant status of broilers. Further, an improvement in the gut health was observed in terms of positive effects on cecal microbiota and intestinal histomorphology of broiler chickens.

This study investigated the effect of supplementation of Malva sylvestris leaf powder (MSLP) on the production performance of broiler chicken. Ven Cobb broiler chicks (240 day-old male chicks) were distributed randomly into four treatments, each replicated four times, with 15 birds per replicate. The diets formulated were T1 (control) given basal diet only, T2 (basal diet +1.0% MSLP), T3 (basal diet +1.5% MSLP), and T4 (basal diet +2.0% MSLP). The highest improvement of 3.83% in the average daily gain (ADG) was recorded in the T3 group fed 1.5% Malva powder in the diet compared to the control ( P = 0.009). The average daily feed intake (ADFI) tended to decrease with an increase in the dose of MSLP in the diet, with the lowest feed intake in the T4 group fed 2% MSLP. During the overall period (7-42 days), the feed/gain (F/G) ratio reduced significantly ( P = 0.048) in the T3 and T4 groups compared to the control. The dressed and breast meat yield was found to be significantly ( P < 0.05) higher in the T3 group, with no significant change ( P > 0.05) in the thigh yield. The changes in the pH and water-holding capacity (WHC) of breast meat were found to be non-significant ( p > 0.05) between the control and various other treatments. Thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) were significantly ( P < 0.05) decreased in the T3 and T4 groups. There was no negative effect of including MSLP in the diet on the color coordinates of breast meat among different treatments. Compared to the control, the serum immunoglobulin values increased significantly ( P < 0.05) in the T3 and T4 groups. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) showed no difference between various treatments; however, malondialdehyde (MDA) decreased significantly ( P < 0.05) according to dietary treatments. Serum cortisol increased significantly ( P < 0.05) in the T4 group compared to other treatments. The inclusion of Malva powder in the diet at the 2% level significantly ( P < 0.05) decreased the coliform count compared to the control birds. Supplementation with Malva powder resulted in a significant (P < 0.05) increase in the villus height-to-crypt depth (VH:CD) ratio of broiler birds in the T3 and T4 groups. In conclusion, MSLP supplementation at 1.5% and 2% resulted in improved production performance of broiler chicken., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Banday, Wani, Alqhtani, Bin-Jumah, Rudayni, Allam, Algopishi and Adil.)

This study evaluated the effect of free and nanoencapsulated rosemary essential oil (REO) as an antibiotic alternative in broiler diets on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, carcass traits, meat quality and gene expression. Four hundred twenty day-old commercial broiler chicks (VENCOBB) were randomly allocated to seven dietary treatments, each having four replicates of fifteen chicks. The dietary treatments comprised control (CON) fed a basal diet only, AB (basal diet + 10 mg enramycin/kg), CS (basal diet + 150 mg chitosan nanoparticles/kg), REO F100 and REO F200 (basal diet + 100 mg and 200 mg free REO/kg, respectively), and REO N100 and REO N200 (basal diet + 100 mg and 200 mg nanoencapsulated REO/kg, respectively). Overall (7-42 d), REO N200 showed the highest ( p < 0.001) body weight gain (1899 g/bird) and CON had the lowest gain (1742 g/bird), while the CS, REO F100 and REO F200 groups had a similar gain, but lower than that of the AB and REO N100 groups. Feed intake was not affected by dietary treatments. Overall, the feed efficiency increased ( p = 0.001) by 8.47% in the REO N200 group and 6.21% in the AB and REO N100 groups compared with the CON. Supplementation of REO improved ( p < 0.05) dry matter and crude protein digestibility, with the highest values in REO N100 and REO N200 . Ether extract, crude fiber, calcium and phosphorus digestibility values showed no difference among the groups. The dressing, breast, thigh % increased ( p < 0.05) and abdominal fat % decreased ( p < 0.001) more in the REO N200 group than with other treatments and CON. In breast meat quality, water holding capacity and extract reserve volume increased ( p < 0.05) while drip loss and cholesterol content decreased ( p < 0.05) in REO N100 and REO N200 . No change was observed in the breast meat color among dietary treatments and CON. The REO N100 and REO N200 groups had reduced ( p < 0.05) meat lipid peroxidation as depicted by the decreased levels of TBARS, free fatty acids and peroxide value compared to other treatments and CON. The expression of the Mucin 2, PepT1 and IL-10 genes was upregulated ( p < 0.001) and TNF-α downregulated ( p < 0.001) by dietary addition of REO particularly in the nanoencapsulated form compared with the CON. In conclusion, nanoencapsulated REO, especially at 200 mg/kg diet, showed promising results as an antibiotic alternative in improving the performance, nutrient digestibility, carcass traits, meat quality and upregulation of growth and anti-inflammatory genes., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Aim: Herbal plants and their derived products are extensively used particularly in many Asian, African, and other countries of the world as they are considered as ideal feed additives because of their non-residual effect and ability to influence the ecosystem of gastrointestinal microbiota in a positive way. Further, the enzymatic treatment of these herbs helps in their efficient utilization by the host. Dandelion leaves and fenugreek seeds have been reported to have positive effect in terms of improving the performance of broiler chicken, but not much literature is available regarding their effect on gut histomorphology; therefore, the present study was conducted to explore the effect of these herbs either alone or in combination with or without enzyme treatment on histomorphology of liver and small intestine of broiler chicken., Materials and Methods: To achieve the envisaged objective, 273-day-old commercial broiler chicks were procured from a reputed source and reared together until 7 days of age. On the 7(th) day, the chicks were individually weighed, distributed randomly into 7 groups of 3 replicates with 13 chicks each. Birds in the control group were fed diets without additives (T1). The other six treatment groups were fed the basal diet supplemented with 0.5% dandelion leaves (T2), 1% fenugreek seeds (T3), combination of 0.5% dandelion leaves and 1% fenugreek seeds (T4), enzyme treated dandelion leaves 0.5% (T5), enzyme treated fenugreek seeds 1% (T6), and combination of enzyme treated dandelion leaves (0.5%) and (1%) fenugreek seeds (T7). The histomorphological study of liver and small intestines was conducted among different treatment groups., Results: The results revealed the hepato-protective nature of both dandelion leaves and fenugreek seeds either alone or in combination with or without enzyme treatment when compared with the control group. Moreover, the histomorphological findings of jejunum revealed the beneficial effect of dandelion leaves, fenugreek seeds and enzymes on the intestinal mucosa in terms of cellular infiltration, architecture of villi, villus height/crypt depth ratio, thereby improving the intestinal health., Conclusion: The dandelion leaves and fenugreek seeds have hepato-protective nature and beneficial effect on the intestinal morphology particularly when included along with enzymes in the diet of broiler chicken.