The rapid expansion of the livestock production sector to meet the world population’s demand is posing a big challenge to environmental sustainability. Plant-based feed additives extracted from agro-food byproducts could potentially result in multiple outcomes: reducing food-processing wastes and improving animal growth performances, hence mitigating environmental impacts of meat production chains. This presented study was carried out to assess the environmental impacts of the use of a commercial citrus extract feed additive (CEFA) in swine and broiler chicken farming. Life-cycle assessment (LCA) was applied to assess the impact of manufacturing and distributing one 25 kg bag of CEFA and its use in feed in broiler chicken and swine productions. With regards to CEFA manufacturing and distribution, results showed that most of the impact came from the production of CEFA ingredients, accounting for 70% of the impact generated. The remaining 30% effect was divided between transportation to the customer (25%), CEFA packaging (3%), and CEFA manufacturing and production loss (2%). When enlarging the scope, the use of the CEFA in pigs and broilers’ diets was shown to improve the measured environmental indicators, compared to such standard systems. Indeed, CEFA-added feeds have demonstrated enhanced growth performances, hence reducing the required amount of consumed feed to achieve the same level of growth. Consequently, this helped reduce environmental issues from animal feed ingredients’ agriculture. To be more specific, the use of one 25 kg bag of CEFA in feed at 250 g per ton of feed led to a reduction of 6 tons of CO₂ equivalent (CO₂ eq) emitted along the life cycle of poultry production and 5 tons in the case of fattening pigs. The inclusion of this CEFA in the diet also led to a reduction in the land use footprint by 0.7 hectares and reductions in water consumption by 201 m³ and 82 m³ for broiler chicken and swine production, respectively. The environmental performance assessment thus showed the interest in using this CEFA in swine and broiler chicken diets to mitigate the environmental impacts.

For decades avian coccidiosis prevention was based on the use of synthetic coccidiostats. However, their intensive use led to the development of resistance phenomena. In addition, societal demand is increasing for antibiotic-free animal products. Thus, there is a need for a natural and efficient solution for coccidiosis management. Saponin-rich plants, like Yucca schidigera and Trigonella foenum-graecum, are promising tools for coccidiosis management. This study assessed the effects of supplementing broiler chickens with a commercial blend of these two plants (NorponinXO2) under an experimental Eimeria challenge and compared their effects to monensin supplementation. Three trials were performed. For each trial, chickens were divided into 4 groups, untreated uninfested control (UUC), infested untreated control (IUC), infested supplemented with 120 ppm of Monensin in feed (PM), and infested supplemented with 250 ppm of Norponin XO2 in the feed (PX). Chickens were raised in cages; experimental infestation was performed on d14. On d21, intestinal lesions (ILs) scores and growth performances were recorded. A statistical study was carried out on each trial, as well as data from the 3 trials. Experimental infestation reduced in a significant way final body weight in IUC broilers compared to UUC broilers. This loss was numerically compensated by PM and PX treatment. As expected, intestinal lesions were almost absent in the UUC group; however, broilers from the IUC group showed a higher intestinal lesion occurrence. Supplementations with Monensin and NPXO were able to reduce intestinal lesions occurrence. These results suggest that NPXO supplementation is as efficient as Monensin in managing coccidiosis.

Melissa officinalis (lemon balm) has a long history of being used in traditional medicine for the treatment of gastrointestinal tract disorders in human thanks to its spasmolytic and stress reducing effects. These pharmacological properties have been confirmed in laboratory animals. Unfortunately, in the case of veterinary medicine, the effect of lemon balm on gut contractility has been never subjected to a detailed investigation. On the other hand, there is urgent need of new drugs that could be safely used in animals for both, causative and symptomatic treatment. In broiler chicken, one of the major health concerns includes gastrointestinal disorders with gut hypermotility. Thus, it is crucial to verify the potential utility of Melissa officinalis extract in gastrointestinal dysmotilities. The aim of the study was to analyze the effect of lemon balm extract and some of its active ingredients on chicken intestine motility. The study was performed on isolated proximal and distal jejunum preparations collected from broiler chicken which underwent routine slaughter procedure. The effect of lemon balm and 3 phenolic acids (rosmarinic, chlorogenic, and lithospermic) was verified under isometric conditions, toward spontaneous and acetylcholine (ACh)-induced smooth muscle activity. Surprisingly, M. officinalis turned out to be rather a myocontractile agent as it increased ACh-provoked contractility of proximal and distal jejunum strips and also intensified the spontaneous activity of distal jejunum. Only in the case of proximal intestine lemon balm extract diminished the force of spontaneous motoric activity up to approx. Sixty-seven percent of the control conditions. None of the tested phenolic acids displayed analog effect with the whole plant extract. In fact in the case of ACh-induced contractility, the acids had the opposite, that is, myorelaxant, effect than the extract, with a small exception of lithospermic acid in distal jejunum. Thus, it is impossible to assign one or more individual constituents to the effect of the whole Melissa officinalis extract. The obtained results do not support the use of lemon balm extract in broiler diseases which are accompanied by gut motility disturbances, including diarrhea.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of a Standardized Natural Citrus Extract (SNCE) on broiler chickens’ growth performance, gut health, carcass quality, and welfare. A total of 756 one-day-old Ross 308 males were randomly assigned to two groups: a control group (CTL) fed with a standard diet, and a citrus group (SNCE) fed with the same standard diet supplemented with 250 g/ton of feed of SNCE. Growth performance was recorded weekly until d 35, while mortality was recorded daily. The feed conversion ratio (FCR) and European Efficiency Index (EEI) of broiler chickens were also calculated weekly. At day 35, 10 birds per group were randomly selected for slaughter performance. In parallel, broiler chickens’ welfare was assessed according to the Welfare Quality Assessment Protocol. Caecal digest was also collected post mortem for short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) analyses, and jejunum samples were collected for ex vivo gut permeability assay. SNCE dietary supplementation enhanced broiler chickens’ performance, i.e., final bodyweight and EEI, compared to the CTL group. The carcass weight was also significantly higher in the SNCE group. In addition, the fat percentage was lower in the SNCE group. Regarding broiler chickens’ welfare and gut health parameters, Footpad Dermatitis (FPD) and gate score were also lower in birds supplemented with SNCE. The SCFA measurement showed a lower concentration of iso-butyric acid, iso-valeric acid, and total putrefactive SCFA in the SNCE group. The differences in gut permeability measured as TEER value indicate that using citrus extract lowered the risk of gut inflammation. This study provides valuable insights into the mechanisms of action that may underlie the observed effects of SNCE on performance, as demonstrated in this study and others. These effects could potentially be attributed to the reduction in inflammation and the enhanced utilization of nutrients. Further studies are needed to confirm these results.

We investigated the effect of the Standardized Natural Citrus Extract (SNCE; Nor-Spice AB, Nor-Feed SAS, France) on the microbiota of the sows and on the weight gain of their piglets. Fifty sows were randomly divided into two groups: a control group (23 sows) with a standard diet and a SNCE group (27 sows) with a standard diet supplemented with 2,500 ppm of SNCE. Supplementation occurred 10 d before and 5 d after farrowing. Fecal samples from 16 sows (8 randomly selected sows of each dietary treatment) were collected for the fecal microbiota analysis 5 d after farrowing. The supplementation of SNCE increases the amount of cultivable Lactobacillus threefold in vitro. Microbial DNA was extracted from the fecal samples for sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. The SNCE, which affected the microbiota as a discriminant analysis, was able to separate the microbial communities of the eight sows that received SNCE from the three control sows with 21 Operational Taxonomic Units (area under the ROC curve = 96%). SNCE also reduced the interval between farrowing and the first dejection of the sow and increased their feed intake (P-value < 0.05). Furthermore, feeding the sows with SNCE improved the weight gain of the piglets in the first week of life. These results show that SNCE supplementation allows to enhance zootechnical performances of peripartum’ sows, possibly due to the modulation of the microbiota transmitted to the piglets.