Herbal extracts have been widely evaluated in poultry production for their beneficial effects and potential substitute for antibiotics, which contribute to AMR and risks to human health through the consumption of infected meat. Salmonellosis is a systemic infection caused by Salmonella, an intracellular bacterium with the ability to cause systemic infections with significant implications for both the health and safety of farmers and consumers. The excessive use of antibiotics has escalated the incidence of antibiotic resistance bacteria in the poultry and livestock industry, highlighting the urgent need for alternatives especially in meat-type poultry. Both in vivo usage and in vitro studies of bioactive compounds from herbal extracts have demonstrated the effective antimicrobial activities against pathogenic bacteria, showing promise in managing Salmonella infections and enhancing poultry performance. Phytobiotic feed additives have shown promising results in improving poultry output due to their pharmacological properties, such as stimulating consumption, and enhancing antioxidant properties and preventing the increasing antimicrobial resistance threats. Despite potential for synergistic effects from plant-derived compounds, a further investigation into is essential to fully understand their role and mechanisms of action, for developing effective delivery systems, and for assessing environmental sustainability in controlling Salmonella in poultry production.

The current study evaluated nine essential oil blends (EOBs) for their effects on ruminal in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD), efficiency of microbial production, total short-chain fatty acid concentration (SCFA), total gas, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions using two dietary substrates (high forage and high concentrate). The study was arranged as a 2 × 2 × 9 + 1 factorial design to evaluate the effects of the nine EOBs on the two dietary substrates at two time points (6 and 24 h). The inclusion levels of the EOBs were 0 µL (control) and 100 µL with three laboratory replicates. Substrate × EOBs × time interactions were not significant (p > 0.05) for total gas and greenhouse gas emissions. The inclusion of EOBs in the diets resulted in a reduction (p < 0.001) in GHG emissions, except for EOB1 and EOB8 in the high concentrate diet at 6 h and for EOB8 in the high forage diet at 24 h of incubation. Diet type had no effect on apparent IVDMD (IVADMD) whereas the inclusion of EOBs reduced (p < 0.05) IVADMD with higher values noted for the control treatment. The efficiency of microbial production was greater (p < 0.001) for EOB treatments except for EOB1 inclusion in the high forage diet. The inclusion of EOBs affected (p < 0.001) the total and molar proportion of volatile fatty acid concentrations. Overall, the inclusion of the EOBs modified the rumen function resulting in improved efficiency of microbial production. Both the apparent and truly degraded DM was reduced in the EOB treatments. The inclusion of EOBs also resulted in reduced GHG emissions in both diets, except for EOB8 in the high forage diet which was slightly higher than the control treatment.

The current study aimed to optimize and improve the feeding value of Pleurotus ostreatus-fermented corn stover by evaluating the effects of five solid-state fermentation times and three in vitro fermentation periods on the chemical composition, dry matter disappearance (DMD), microbial mass and volatile fatty acid (VFA) production of treated and untreated corn stover. The study utilized a 3 × 5 factorial design, with eight replicates per treatment. Dry matter, crude protein (CP), ash and non-fiber carbohydrate (NFC) contents increased quadratically (p < 0.05) with increases in the solid-state fermentation time. Increases of 44.4–59.1%, 20.6–78.6% and 40.5–121% were noted for the CP, ash and NFC contents, respectively. Organic matter, ether extract, neutral detergent fiber and hemicellulose contents decreased quadratically (p < 0.05) across the treatments. Similar trends were noted for DM and fiber disappearance in the treatments. The total gas production and in vitro true dry matter digestibility (IVTDMD) increased quadratically, while microbial mass and in vitro apparent DMD increased in a linear manner. The total VFA, propionate and butyrate contents increased linearly. Both the acetate content and the A:P ratio decreased in a linear manner. The results show that the rumen fermentation pathway favors the production of propionate, with increases in propionate production of 7.46 and 8.30% after 2 and 4 wk, respectively. The study showed that a 2 wk period of solid-state fermentation is sufficient to provide a bio-transformed cow–calf feed resource from P. ostreatus-treated corn stover.

Improvement in the nutritive value of corn stover after solid-state fermentation with Pleurotus ostreatus is reported. Two ruminally cannulated dairy cows were used in an in vitro study arranged in a 2 × 3 factorial design with four replicates using P. ostreatus-treated corn stover. The increase in crude protein (58.5%) and ash (25.8%) contents of the treated stover were significantly higher (p < 0.001) than the control. Results suggest a potential increase in in vitro microbial protein synthesis due to a consistent increase (p < 0.001) in microbial mass yield (106–681%), irrespective of the incubation time. The fiber components of the corn stover, except lignin, were significantly reduced (p < 0.05), and the non-fiber carbohydrates were increased by 118% in the treated samples. There was a significant (p < 0.001) increase in both in vitro dry matter disappearance (40.9–240%) and total VFA (5.85–11.2%). Treatment and time interaction was significant (p < 0.001) for propionate production (9.37–14.0%), indicating that the propionate rumen fermentation pathway was preferred. Acetate concentration was reduced (1.76–4.01%), which also resulted in a 7.09–11.42% decrease in the A:P ratio. Overall, results showed that P. ostreatus improved the nutritive value of corn stover by increasing its energetic values, crude protein, microbial mass, and total volatile fatty acid concentrations.

This study evaluated the effects of varying levels of dietary green tea extract (GTE) on growth performance, Clostridium perfringens (CP) colonization, and inflammatory responses in broiler chickens during experimental subclinical necrotic enteritis (SNE). In a 21-day experiment, 480 one-day-old male broiler (Ross 708) chicks were equally allotted into four dietary treatment groups. From days 1 to 10, all groups received a corn–soy basal diet, switching to a wheat-fish diet on day 11. Treatments included CON (no GTE), GTX, GTY, and GTZ (250, 500, and 1000 mg/kg GTE, respectively). On day 11, each group split into ACON, AGTX, AGTY, and AGTZ, totaling eight treatments. From days 17 to 20, ACON, AGTX, AGTY, and AGTZ chicks were orally challenged twice daily with 3 mL CP26 (2.5 × 10⁸ CFU/mL). On d 16 (pre-challenge) and d 1 post-challenge, ileo-jejunal contents were collected for CP enumeration, and jejunum tissue was analyzed via qRT-PCR to determine the expression levels of IL-1β, IFNγ, TNF-α, TGFβ, IL-10, and MUC2 genes. Challenged chicks showed poorer (p ≤ 0.05) growth and higher intestinal CP, with a potential improvement in GTE-supplemented diets. Findings suggests that dietary GTE supplementation mitigated the characteristic growth depression during SNE, reduced intestinal CP infection, and modulated inflammatory response in broiler chicks.

Our study employed Pleurotus ostreatus, P. djamor, and Trametes versicolor (white rot fungi = WRF) in the process of solid-state fermentation (SSF) to convert sorghum grains into myceliated sorghum (MS). The MS was then used for in vitro studies to assess changes in nutrient content compared to untreated sorghum (control). The results demonstrated a significant (p < 0.001) increase in dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), ash, neutral detergent fiber (NDF), and acid detergent fiber (ADF) contents of MS. Specifically, CP and ash values saw a remarkable increase from 68 to 330% and 40 to 190% in MS, respectively. Additionally, NDF and ADF degradability values increased significantly (p < 0.001) by 81.5% and 56.2% in P. djamor-treated MS at 24 h post-incubation. The treatment × time interaction was also significant (p < 0.001) for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. T. versicolor MS exhibited the highest total volatile fatty acid (TVFA) and propionate production. The use of WRF in the SSF process led to a significant improvement in the nutritional value of sorghum. Despite the varying effects of different WRF on the nutritional parameters in MS, they show potential for enhancing the feed value of sorghum in animal feed.