article · Animals
This study examined the effects of adding powdered Salvia officinalis (sage) and Origanum majorana (marjoram) to the feed of Bovans brown laying hens. Across seven experimental groups, researchers tested diets enriched with either herb alone or in combination at doses of 0.5 or 1 kilogram per ton of feed. The herbal supplements did not alter final body weight, feed intake, or general liver enzymes and protein levels. However, they significantly improved reproductive hormone concentrations, including follicle stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone. Supplemented hens also displayed reduced levels of blood cholesterol, glucose, triglycerides, and low density lipoprotein. Furthermore, the additives lowered liver lipid peroxidation and egg yolk cholesterol, while modifying yolk fatty acid profiles by decreasing palmitoleic and stearic acids and increasing beneficial linoleic acid.
Consumers and poultry producers increasingly seek natural feed additives that enhance animal health and improve the nutritional profile of food products. Demonstrating that culinary herbs can decrease yolk cholesterol, alter fatty acid composition, and reduce oxidative stress provides poultry farmers with potential plant-based strategies to produce healthier table eggs without compromising bird growth or feed efficiency.
This applied research is tested at the flock trial stage and offers direct insights for animal feed manufacturers and commercial egg producers. It demonstrates that sage and marjoram powders could be formulated into functional poultry feed additives to yield eggs with reduced cholesterol and improved fatty acid content. Further validation across larger commercial flocks and economic cost-benefit assessments of herbal sourcing would be required prior to market adoption.
AI-generated from the published abstract. Always read the original work before citing.
This study aimed to assess the effect of dietary supplementation with different levels of <i>Salvia officinalis</i> and/or <i>Origanum majorana</i> on productive performance, ovarian follicular development, lipid peroxidation, antioxidative status, and egg quality in laying hens. Two hundred and ninety-four 45-week-old Bovans brown hens were allocated into seven groups, with seven replicates of six hens each. The first group was fed with the basal considered as a control (A); the second (B) and third (C) groups were provided with the same control diet further supplemented with 0.5 and 1 kg/ton <i>Salvia officinalis</i>, respectively; the fourth (D) and fifth (E) groups received the control diet further supplemented with 0.5 and 1 kg/ton <i>Origanum majorana</i>, respectively; while the sixth (F) and the seventh (G) groups were offered a diet supplemented with 0.5 kg/ton <i>Salvia officinalis</i> and 0.5 kg/ton <i>Origanum majorana</i> and 1 kg/ton <i>Salvia officinalis</i> and 1 kg/ton <i>Origanum majorana</i>, respectively. No significant effects were observed in the final body weight (BW) and feed intake (FI) of the laying hens. In the diets supplemented with <i>Salvia officinalis</i> and <i>Origanum majorana</i>, the egg weights for groups C, F, and G had significantly higher values only compared to group D. The supplementation of the diets with <i>Salvia officinalis</i> and/or <i>Origanum majorana</i> significantly (<i>p</i> < 0.05) increased the Follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), and estradiol estrogenic hormone concentration, except for <i>Origanum majorana</i> at both levels with regard to estradiol. The dietary utilization of <i>Salvia officinalis</i> and <i>Origanum majorana</i> did not significantly alter the plasma glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (GOT) and glutamic pyruvic transaminase (GPT), total protein, albumin, globulin, and High density lipoprotein (HDL) parameters. Cholesterol, glucose, triglyceride, and Low density lipoprotein (LDL) were decreased (<i>p</i> < 0.05) in the birds fed with <i>Salvia officinalis</i> and/or <i>Origanum majorana</i> supplemented diets. Moreover, at both doses, the dietary supplementation with <i>Salvia officinalis</i> and <i>Origanum majorana</i> decreased (<i>p</i> < 0.05) the yolk cholesterol and liver Malondialdehyde (MDA) levels. In addition, the dietary enrichment with <i>Salvia officinalis</i> and/or <i>Origanum majorana</i> decreased (<i>p</i> < 0.05) the palmitoleic and stearic fatty acids' egg yolk concentration. In contrast, the yolk linoleic fatty acid concentration was significantly increased by <i>Salvia officinalis</i> and/or <i>Origanum majorana</i>. In conclusion, dietary supplementation with <i>Salvia officinalis</i> and/or Origanum positively affected productive performance, ovarian follicular development, antioxidant activity, hormonal status, and steroidogenesis in Bovans brown laying hens.
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DOI: 10.3390/ani11123513
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