This document discusses the role of phytogenic feed additives in poultry nutrition. It notes that the poultry industry in India relies heavily on antibiotics but these have been banned due to concerns about antibiotic resistance. As alternatives, phytogenic feed additives from plants can improve performance, stimulate digestion, and have antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties. The document reviews various plants and plant compounds that have been used as phytogenic feed additives for poultry, including their modes of action and effects on performance parameters like feed intake, weight gain, and feed conversion ratio.

1. ROLE OF PHYTOGENIC FEED
ADDITIVES IN POULTRY NUTRITION
P.PONNUVEL
Ph.D Student
Department of Poultry Science
2010-23-110

2. Poultry Industry in India
Broiler industry
No. of birds - 1600 millions
Broiler feed need – 5.7 mmt kgs
Layer industry
Layer population – 300 million
Layer feed need is – 14.1 mmt ( 47 kg/b/l)

3. FEED ADDITIVES
 Mainly antibiotics
 Growth
 Feed consumption
 Feed utilization
 Decreased mortality
 More production as meat and eggs

4. Ban on AGP
 Primarily due to
 Antibiotic resistance
 Residues in chicken meat and egg
 Consumers awareness
 Legislations – European union 2006
 Exploration of newer feed additives

5. Phytobiotics
 Phytogenic feed additives are plant-derived products
used in poultry feed to improve the performance
 vary widely with respect to botanical
origin, processing, and composition
 Contain several Plant Secondary Metabolites
 Derived from
leaves, roots, tubers, fruits, barks, herbs, spices etc
 Solid dry ground form or extracts
 Preparations turmeric powder or essential oils

6. Plant Secondary Metabolites
 Medicinal plants are well known from ancient time
 Widely used in Ayurvedha and Sidha in India
 Natural, less toxic, residue free and used in human
food for centuries
 They are responsible for the medicinal properties
 They are known as essential oils, alkaloids, steroids,
acids saponins etc

7. Phytobiotics classification
 Herbs- product from flowering non-woody plants
 Botonicals- entire or processed parts of plant- roots,
leaves, bark etc
 Essential oils – hydro-distilled extract of volatile oils
 Oleoresins – extract by using some solvents

8. S. No Condiments Active Principles Functional Properties
1. Fenugreek Quercitin, luteolin, diosgenin, Hypocholesterolemic,
(Trigonella foenum citogenin stimulates insulin secretion
graecum) (hypoglycemic),
antihyperlipidemic, inhibit
platelet aggregation.
2. Curry leaves Carbazole alkaloids - Antioxidant, antimicrobial,
(Murrya koenigii) Koenimbine, mahanimbine. hypoglycemic.
O-methylmurrayamine,
murryanol, bismahanine,
bismurryafoline.
3. Mustard Glucosinolates, myrosinase Antioxidant, hypoglycemic,
(Brassica juncea) enzymes, isothiocyanates anticarcinogenic.
4. Cabbage, Cauliflower, Indole-3-carbinole(I3C), Antioxidant,
Brocoli sulforaphane anticarcinogenic.
(Cruciferae family)
5. Turmeric powder Curcumin Anti-inflammatory,
(Curcuma longa) antioxidant.

9. 6. Garlic Allicin, allin, ajoene Decreases platelet
(Allium sativum) aggregation, lowers serum
triglycerides and LDL-
cholesterol, increases serum
HDL-cholesterol,
fibrinolytic, antibacterial and
antiviral.
7. Basil leaves Flavonoids-Orientin, Antibacterial,
(Ocimum basilicum) vicenin, estragole, linalool, Immunostimulant.
cineole, eugenol, limonene,
sabinene.
8. Black pepper - Carminative, Antioxidant,
(Piper nigrum) antibacterial.
9. Chili pepper, red, Capsacin Hypocholesterolemic,
(Capsicum family) anti-inflammatory.
10. Cinnamon Cinnamaldehyde, cinnamyl Antioxidant
(Cinnamonum verum) acetate, cinnayl alcohol

10. 11. Cloves Eugenol, kaempferol, Antioxidant, anti-
(Eugenia rhamnetin inflammatory.
caryophyllus)
12. Ginger Gingerols Antioxidant, anti-
(Zingeiber inflammatory,
officinale) anticarcinogenic.
13. Onions Allyl propyl sulphide, Hypoglycemic,
(Allium cepa) quercetin anticarcinogenic.
14. Tomato Lycopene Antioxidant,
(Lycopersicon anticarcinogenic,
lycopersicum) Hypocholesterolemic.
15. Rosemerry - Immunomodulators,
(Labiatae family) reduces asthma attacks.

11. 16. Cumin seeds - Anticarcinogenic, digestive
(Eugenia caryophyllus) stimulant.
17. Oregano (or)Marjoram Thymol, carvacrol, Antioxidant.
(Origanum vulgare) rosemarinic acid
18. Tulsi Antiviral, antiasthamatic,
(Ocimum sanctum) immunomodulators.
19. Flax seed, fish oil -3- PUFA Lowers serum triglycerides,
LDL-cholesterol, increases
serum HDL-cholesterol,
reduces incidences of
atherosclerosis.
20. Coriander seeds Phenolic acid compound- Antidiabetic, antimicrobial.
(Coriander sativum) Caffeic and chlorogenic acid
Phytonutrients- geraniol,
limonene, camphor, elemol,
linalool
Flavonoids- quercitin,
kaempferol, rhamnetin and
epigenein

12. Parts of plants used
Plant Parts Compound Functions
Cinnamon Bark Cinnamaldehyde Digestive secretion
Anti-bacterial
Cloves Clove Eugenol Digestive secretion
Anti-bacterial
Cumin Seed Cuminaldehyde Digestive secretion
Anise Fruit Anethol Digestive secretion
Pepper Fruit Piperine Digestive secretion

13. Parts of plants used
Plant Parts Compound
Oregano Extract- Plant Carvacrol, Thymol
Thyme Extract - Plant Carvacrol, Thymol
Garlic Pulp Disulfide,allicin,
Allin
Turmeric Rhizome Curcumin
Chilli Fruit Capsaicin
Neem Leaves Nimbin
Rosemary Leaves Rosmarinic Acid
And Rosmarol

14. Functions of phytobiotics
 Stimulate secretion of digestive enzymes
 Enhance immune status
 Anti-bacterial activity
 Anti-viral effect
 Coccidiostatic
 Anthelmentic effect
 Anti-inflammatory
 Anti-oxidants

15. Mode of actions of phytobiotics
 Stimulation of Digestive secretions
 Increases secretions of saliva, digestive enzymes, bile and
mucosal enzymes
 Digestion process enhanced
 Fat and fat soluble vitamins better absorbed
 Improves feed intake by their flavour
 Increases FCR and weight gain
 Garlic, ginger, turmeric and radish – saliva, gastric juice
and bile
 Essential oils used as feed additives for broiler - enhanced
the activities of trypsin and amylase (Lee et al., 2003 ; Jang
et al., 2004 )

16. Antimicrobial activity
 Inhibit growth of bacteria in GI tract
 Stimulate growth of favourable bacteria
 Phytogenic substances like thymol, carvacrol
 Eugenol- clove- inhibit salmonella
 Essential oil blends – thymol, eugenol, curcumin and
piperin- clostridial infections – necrotic enteritis-
broiler

17. …..Antimicrobial activity
 Polysaccharides from mushroom- tremella fuciformis
 Herbs – astragalus membranaces- control coccidiosis
 Turmeric powder at 0.2% in broiler feed – reduces E.coli
count
 Stimulate intestinal secretion of mucus in broilers and
impair adhesion of pathogens
 Hydrophobic essential oils enter into the bacterial cell
membrane, disintegrate membrane structures, and cause
ion leakage - nonphenolic substances, for example,
limonene and compounds from Sanguinaria canadensis
(Newton et al., 2002 ; Burt, 2004 ).

18. …..Antimicrobial activity
 Studies with broilers demonstrated in vivo
antimicrobial efficacy of essential oils against
Escherichia coli and Clostridium perfringens (Jamroz et
al., 2003 , 2005; Mitsch et al., 2004 )
 Phytogenic feed additives may improve the microbial
hygiene of carcasses - essential oils from oregano on
the microbial load of total viable bacteria, as well as of
specific pathogens (e.g., Salmonella) on broiler
carcasses (e.g., Aksit et al., 2006 ).

19. …..Antimicrobial activity
compound Action against Studied by
Thymol, eugenol, C.perfringens- broiler- Mitsch et al 2004
curcumin, piperin inhibit proliferation
Same compounds C.Perfringens – broiler- Arbuckle,1972, Baba 1992,
reduced colonisation, Sims et at,2004,
inactivation of clostridial
toxin by secretion of more
trypsin, improves
nutrient utilisation
Thymol E.Cloi count reduction- Jang et al 2007
broiler
Capsicum, Reduced coliforms and Losa,2001, tucker,2002,
cinnamaldehyde, clostridial count- chicken jamroz,2003
carvacrol

20. Control of Coccidiosis
compound Effect against Studied by
Thyme Reduced oocyst, Ibrit et al 2002
oregano ,, Giannenas et al 2003
Eos- clove,thyme,lemon, Reduced oocyst Evans et al 2001
pepper mint

21. Anti-inflammatory action
 Terpenoids and flavonoids in the phytobiotics
suppress the metabolism of inflammatory
prostoglandins
 Extracts of
curcuma, pepper, cumin, cloves, cinnamon, mint and
ginger( Srinivasan, 2005)

22. Anti-oxidative action
 Phenolic substances like flavoniods, hydrolysable
tannins, phenolic acids, and terpenes,vitamin E,C and A
 Prevent lipid peroxidation by quenching free radicals
 Activation of antioxidant enzymes like superoxide
dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase and
glutathione reductase.
 Protect the feed or food against oxidative deterioration –
herbs and spices- rosemary alone or with synthetic
tocopherols- Jacobsen, 2008- extract of olive leaf / olive oil
 Herbal phenolic compounds improve the oxidative
stability of poultry meat (Giannenas et al., 2005; Florou-
Paneri et al., 2006)

23. ….Anti-oxidative action
plant Compound
Rosemary -Labiatae family (mint phenolic terpenes, such as rosmarinic
plants) acid and rosmarol
thyme and oregano monoterpenes thymol and carvacrol
(Cuppett and Hall, 1998).
Zingiberaceae (e.g., ginger and flavonoids
curcuma) and Umbelliferae (e.g., anise
andcoriander)
pepper (Piper nigrum), red pepper
(Capsicum annuum L.), and chili
(Capsicum frutescene)

24. Immuno-stimulant function
 Herbs and spices rich in flavonoids, vitamin C and
carotenoids – garlic, echinaces
 Improves activity of lymphocytes, macrophages and
NK cells.
 Increases phagocytosis or stimulate the interpheron
synthesis – Craig, 1999

25. Livertonics
 Several herbs used as liver protective which will
prevent aflatoxin problems
 Phyllanthus niruri - hepato-protective and anti-viral
activity

26. Livertonics
 Andrographis paniculata- Andrographolide and
diterpene lactone. Andrographolide - choleretic
(stimulate bile secretion), anti-inflammatory, anti-
diarrhoeal, immuno-stimulant and anti-oxidant
activities

27. Livertonics
 Eclipta alba - wedelolactone and demethyl
wedelolactone - hepato-protective

28. Livertonics
 Chicorium intybus - as a potent anti-
hepatotoxic, hepato-stimulant and cholagogue

29. Effect of Eos on FCR - broiler-Garcia et al 2007
1.92
2 1.54 1.59
1.5
1
0.5
0
Control Antibiotic Eos

30. EOS-FCR of broiler- Ertase et al 2005
1.7
1.61
1.6
1.5
1.5
1.41
1.4
1.3
Control Antibiotic Eos

31. EOS-FCR of broiler- Jamroz et al 2003
1.86 1.85
1.84
1.82 1.81 Control
1.8 1.79 Antibiotic
Eos
1.78
1.76
Control Antibiotic Eos

32. Performance of broilers
phytobiotics Control Antibiotic EOS
Garcia et al 2007
ADG (g/bird) 68.90 66.50 68.80
Ertase et al 2005
ADG (g/bird) 61.30 65.80 71.30
Jamroz et al
2003ADG 48.10 48.90 49.20
(g/bird)

33. Garlic powder in broiler feed –FI and BW pourali et al
2010
3500 3197 3243 3193 3100 3068 3094
3000
2500
2000 1790 1676
1545 1532 1482 1472 FI
1500 BW
1000
500
0
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1

34. Garlic powder in broiler feed – pourali et al 2010
FCR
2.07 2.07 2.1
2.1 2.02
2
1.9
1.9 1.81
FCR
1.8
1.7
1.6
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1

35. Performance of broilers
phytobiotics Dose – g/Kg feed Percent improvement
Feed intake Wt. gain

36. Performance of broilers
phytobiotics Dose – g/Kg feed Percent improvement
Feed intake Wt. gain

37. Performance of broilers
phytobiotics Dose – g/Kg feed Percent improvement
Feed intake Wt. gain

38. Fucntional food from phytobiotics
 Antioxidants stuffed eggs and meat
 Feed will be supplemented with herbs like curry
leaves, turmeric, oregano, Thyme, Red Yeast Rice, holy
basil, white basil, rosemary & other anti-oxidant rich
herbs @ 1-5 kg /ton
 Promising herbs used are Holi basil leaves (thulasi),
white basil, curry leaves, garlic, fenugreek seeds,
beet pulp,spirulina, azolla, marigold petals, grape
pulp, tomato pomace, citrus pulp, cumin seeds,
aniseeds, oregano, rosemary, thyme, turmeric,
coriander, mint, caraway seeds = 2-10kg /ton

39. Phytobiotics
Digestion
Enzyme secretion
Gut microbes
antioxidant
Immune system
stress
Nutrient utilisation
Reduces microbial toxins
Improve resistance
Increase performance
Increase shelf-life of poultry meat

40. Performance
 Enhance production of gastric secretions
 Exert Anti-microbial activity
 Reduce levels of pathogenic bacteria
 Exert antioxidant properties
 Enhance immune status
 Act as anthelmentic and anti-viral agent

41. Phytognic feed additives
 Plant parts -
flowers, buds, seeds, leaves, twigs, bark, herbs, wo
od, fruits, and roots
 Aromatic oily liquids obtained from plant material
 complex mixtures of secondary plant metabolites
 low-boiling-phenylpropenes and terpenes

42. Commercial preparations

43. Conclusion
 Herbs can be applicable for organic farms.
 Antibiotics, coccidiostats and other drugs have residual effects but herbs have
no residual effect but still more research is needed.
 Some plants and plant extracts have bactericidal and bacteriostatic aspects.
 Some herbs (like-garlic) only kill the pathogenic bacteria; don't kill the helpful
bacteria (lactobacillus spp.).
 Some herbs have antiviral effects (aloe prevents fowl pox).
 Herbs can be used as antimicrobial, appetizer, immune and digestive agents.
 Maximum herbs have no toxicity in the body, even due to the higher
concentration of herbs and species in animal body (but few are toxic).
 More than 60 genera of plants have been found to have inhibitory properties
toward the growth of E.coli and/or Staphylococcus aureus. (Newman, 1998)
 Herbs are environment-friendly.
 It acts as newer generation feed additive.

44. References
 Rama Rao, S.V, Reddy, V.R., and Reddy R.S. (1999) Enhancement of
phytate phosphorus availability in the diet of commercial broilers and
layers. Anim.Feed.Sci.Technol. 79: 211-222.
 Reddy, N.R., Sathe, S.K., and Salunkhe, D.K. (1982) Phytase in legumes
and cereals. Advances in Food Research. 28:1-9.
 Selle,P.H., Ravindran,V., Ravindran,G., and Bryden,W.L. (2007) Effect of
dietary lysine and microbial phytase on growth performance and nutrient
utilisation of broiler chicken. Asian- Australian J. Anim.Sci. 20(7): 1100-
1107.
 Sebastian, S., Touchburn, S.P., Chavez,E.R., and Lague, P.C. ( 1996)
Efficacy of supplemental microbial phytase at different dietary calcium
levels on growth performance and mineral utilisation of broiler chickens.
Poult.Sci. 75 (5): 1516-1523.
 Yi,Z., Kornegay,E.T., and Denbow,D.M. (1996) Supplemental microbial
phytase improves the zinc utilization in broilers. Poult.Sci. 75: 540-546.

45. Thank you