Diet of Broilers with Essential Oil from Citrus sinensis and Xylopia aromatica Fruits

SIMPLE SUMMARY: The prohibition of the use of antibiotics in the diet of animals occurs because these compounds selectively stimulate the growth of intestinal microbiota among animals raised for human food. This creates health problems among these animals. In addition, their use increases the risk of antibiotic drug resistance among humans who consume the animals; these drugs are important for human health, and resistance builds over time due to the presence of residues of these antibiotics. Faced with this context, research is being published every day on the search for alternative phytogenic additives for animal nutrition; for instance, in the case of poultry, research has been conducted on the use of high-quality ingredients for chicken feed, so that higher-quality meat is consistently produced. Essential oils have, thus, emerged as candidates for this purpose; these are mixtures of organic compounds, i.e., metabolites, that are produced by plants and are capable of acting as bactericides, antioxidants, antivirals, fungicides, and insecticides. The antioxidant and antimicrobial properties of essential oils from species of the genera Citrus and Xylopia offer alternative phytogenic additives to replace growth promoters in feed while maintaining the performance and quality of the animal origin product. So, the present study aimed to determine the effects of the addition of essential oils from the fruits of C. sinensis and X. aromata on the diets of broiler chickens as phytogenic additives in their feed. ABSTRACT: This study aimed to evaluate the effects of essential oils from the fruits of Citrus sinensis and Xylopia aromatica, included in broiler feed, on blood parameters, the biometrics of digestive organs, bone analyses, and the biochemical profiles of the viscera, as well as the histomorphometry of the small intestine. In this study, 180 one-day-old male chicks of the Cobb 500 strain were fed a corn and soybean meal over three treatments and six replications, and the experimental design was completely randomized. The data were subjected to an analysis of variance and a Tukey test at a 5% significance level. The effect of the experimental diets on performance, blood parameters, biometrics of the digestive organs, bone analysis, and biochemical profiles of the viscera, as well as the histomorphometry of the small intestine, were evaluated. The compounds identified in the essential oil of X. aromatica were sylvestrene, α-pinene, and β-pinene, while in C. sinensis they were limonene and myrcene. The essential oils of C. sinensis and X. aromatica had no significant effect on performance at 14 days. The effects of the presence of the essential oils of C. sinensis and X. aromatica on the response were beneficial: there were reductions in liver lipids, cholesterol, and triglycerides, and in the depths of the crypts in the jejunum of chickens. So, the essential oils from the fruits of C. sinensis and X. aromatica can be used in broiler chickens to improve the lipid profiles of birds without affecting their performance.