Necrotic enteritis (NE) caused by Clostridium perfringens (C. perfringens) results in impaired bird growth performance and increased production costs. Nanotechnology application in the poultry industry to control NE outbreaks is still not completely clarified. Therefore, the efficacy of dietary garlic nano-hydrogel (G-NHG) on broilers growth performance, intestinal integrity, economic returns and its potency to alleviate C. perfringens levels using NE challenge model were addressed. A total of 1200 male broiler chicks (Ross 308) were assigned into six groups; four supplemented with 100, 200, 300 or 400 mg of G-NHG/kg diet and co-challenged with C. perfringens at 21, 22 and 23 d of age and two control groups fed basal diet with or without C. perfringens challenge. Over the total growing period, the 400 mg/kg G-NHG group had the most improved body weight gain and feed conversion efficiency regardless of challenge. Parallel with these results, the mRNA expression of genes encoding digestive enzymes (alpha 2A amylase (AMY2A), pancreatic lipase (PNLIP) and cholecystokinin (CCK)) and intestinal barriers (junctional adhesion molecule-2 (JAM-2), occludin and mucin-2 (Muc-2)) were increased in groups fed G-NHG at higher levels to be nearly similar to those in the unchallenged group. At 14 d post challenge, real-time PCR results revealed that inclusion of G-NHG led to a dose-dependently decrease in the C. perfringens population, thereby decreasing the birds’ intestinal lesion score and mortality rates. Using 400 mg/kg of G-NHG remarkably ameliorated the adverse effects of NE caused by C. perfringens challenge, which contributed to better growth performance of challenged birds with rational economic benefits.

Plant-derived bioactive compounds with promising nutritional and therapeutic attributes (phytogenics) are among the top priorities in the aquaculture sector. Therefore, the impact of thymol (Thy) and/or thymoquinone (ThQ) on the growth, immune response antioxidant capacity, and Aeromonas sobria (A. sobria) resistance of Nile tilapia was investigated. Four fish groups were fed a control diet and three basal diets supplemented with 200 mg/kg diet of Thy or ThQ and a blend of both Thy and ThQ at a level of 200 mg/kg diet each. At the end of the feeding trial (12 weeks), the tilapias were challenged intraperitoneally with virulent A. sobria (2.5 × 10⁸ CFU/mL) harboring aerolysin (aero) and hemolysin (hly) genes. The results revealed that tilapias fed diets fortified with a combination of Thy and ThQ displayed significantly enhanced growth rate and feed conversion ratio. Notably, the expression of the genes encoding digestive enzymes (pepsinogen, chymotrypsinogen, α-amylase and lipase) and muscle and intestinal antioxidant enzymes (glutathione peroxidase, catalase and superoxide dismutase) was significantly upregulated in Thy/ThQ-fed fish. An excessive inflammatory response was subsided more prominently in the group administrated Thy/ThQ as supported by the downregulation of il-β, il-6 and il-8 genes and in contrast, the upregulation of the anti-inflammatory il-10 gene. Remarkably, dietary inclusion of Thy/ThQ augmented the expression of autophagy-related genes, whilst it downregulated that of mtor gene improving the autophagy process. Furthermore, Thy/ThQ protective effect against A. sobria was evidenced via downregulating the expression of its aero and hly virulence genes with higher fish survival rates. Overall, the current study encouraged the inclusion of Thy/ThQ in fish diets to boost their growth rates, promote digestive and antioxidant genes expression, improve their immune responses and provide defense against A. sorbia infections with great economic benefits.

| Two hundred Ross 308 male one-day-old broiler chicks were applied to investigate the effect of phytogenic feed additive (PFA), characterized by phenolic terpenes, hydroxphenylpropenes flavones, phenolic acids, and aldehydes, on growth performance, some serum biochemical parameters, the gene expression profile of anti-oxidant enzymes, and economic efficiency. They were randomly assigned to one of four experimental treatments with five replicates per treatment (50 birds/treatment; 10 birds/replicate). Birds were fed with diets supplemented with 0 (control), 0.05, 0.10 and 0.20% PFA following a 3 phase (i.e., starter, grower and finisher) feeding program for 42 days. PFA supplementation significantly improved (P<0.05) the different growth performance parameters including weight gain, feed intake and feed conversion ratio. Furthermore, dietary PFA significantly reduced (P<0.05) the serum total cholesterol, and LDL-cholesterol levels as compared to the control diet. The highest gross margin, benefit-cost ratio, economic efficiency, and lowest cost/kg were recorded in the broiler group fed on 0.20% PFA. Also, PFA dietary inclusion at 0.20% significantly augmented (P<0.05) the gene expression of GST/GAPDH, SOD/GAPDH and Catalase/GAPDH genes, compared with the un-supplemented controls. Birds fed diets containing 0.20% PFA exhibited the highest growth, economic efficiency, and gene expression. It could be concluded that supplementation with PFA in broiler chicken diets has beneficial effect on growth performance and biochemical parameters, and also improved economic efficiency through maximizing both returns and gross margin as well as gene expression profile of anti-oxidant enzymes.

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of olive leaves ether extract (EEOL) and ethanol extract of propolis (EEP) on growth performance, body composition, nutrient digestibility, immunological parameters and economic efficiency in Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus. Three Isonitrogenous (crude protein 35%), isocaloric (Digestable energy, 2900kcal) diets were fed to Nile tilapia averaging 19.7 ±0.94 g. A basal control diet had no additives, second and third diets containing 0.1% EEOL (1g/kg) and 0.4% EEP (4 g/kg) for successive 12 weeks. Results revealed that the dietary addition of EEOL and EEP had significant effects on growth performance parameters and protein utilization (P≤0.029). In addition, dietary supplement of EEP was more prominent than with EEOL and propolis extracts on fish final body gain and protein utilization. The carcass content from dry matter, protein and fat contents recorded higher values in EEOL or EEP supplemented groups. Furthermore, nutrient digestibility was improved by adding EEOL and EEP. The total leucocytes count, lymphocytes %, monocytes %, phagocytic activity, plasma total protein and globulin showed higher levels in fish groups with dietary addition of EEOL and EEP extracts than in fish fed the control diet. In terms of economic analysis, EEOL and EEP extract diet revealed the lowest cost per kg live weight of fish, along with the highest economic return and net profit. Addition of EEOL or EEP extracts to diet resulted in a more economically efficient production than in fish fed the control diet. Our results suggested that the dietary inclusion of EEOL (1g/kg) or EEP extracts (4g/kg) markedly enhanced growth performance, body composition, feed digestibility, immune status and economic efficiency using Nile tilapia.