Comparison of functional-oil blend and anticoccidial antibiotics effects on performance and microbiota of broiler chickens challenged by coccidiosis

This study aimed to compare the effects of different levels of cashew nutshell liquid (CNSL) and castor oil (CNSL–castor oil) with growth-promoting antibiotics associated with anticoccidials in broiler chickens challenged with coccidiosis. In this work, 2520 one-day-old male broiler chicks (Cobb) were randomly assigned to 84 pens, containing 30 birds each. The experimental design was completely randomized, with seven treatments: enramycin (8 ppm), virginiamycin (16.5 ppm), and tylosin (55 ppm); different doses of CNSL–castor oil (0.5, 0.75, and 1.00 kg/t); and a control diet (without additives). All treatments received semduramicin + nicarbazin (500 g/t; Aviax® Plus) from 0 to 28 d and monensin sodium (100 ppm; Elanco) from 29 to 35 days of age, when the feed was without antibiotics. The challenge was introduced at 14 days of age by inoculating broiler chickens with sporulated Eimeria tenella, Eimeria acervulina, and Eimeria maxima oocysts via oral gavage. In addition to performance parameters, intestinal contents were collected at 28 and 42 days of age for microbiota analysis by sequencing the 16s rRNA in V3 and V4 regions using the Illumina MiSeq platform. Taxonomy was assigned using the SILVA database (v. 138) with QIIME2 software (v. 2020.11). After one week of challenge, the broilers that received tylosin had a higher body weight gain (BWG) than those in the control group (p < 0.05), while the other treatments presented intermediate values. At 28 d, the BWG was lower for the control, CNSL–Castor oil 0.5 kg/t, enramycin, and virginiamycin treatments than that in the tylosin treatment. The inclusion of CNSL–Castor oil at concentrations of 0.75 and 1 kg/t acted as an intermediate treatment (p < 0.05). For alpha diversity, using the Shannon index, it was possible to observe the effect of age, with substantial diversity at 42 d. The Firmicutes phylum had the highest abundance, with values between 84.33% and 95.16% at 42 d. Tylosin showed better performance indices than other treatments. CNSL–castor oil treatments with concentrations of 0.75 and 1 kg/t showed similar results to those of enramycin and virginiamycin. Furthermore, CNSL–castor oil acted as a modulator of intestinal microbiota, reducing the abundance of pathogenic bacteria.