Planta Med 2013; 79 - PL6
DOI: 10.1055/s-0033-1352314
DOI: 10.1055/s-0033-1352314
Effects of herbal products in vitro and in vivo
In the framework of a project for the Dutch Government on “Quality and safety of herbal products for production animals” the antimicrobial action of 23 products was investigated both by microbroth dilution and agar diffusion tests. Bacteria tested were Salmonella typhimurium, Staphylococcus aureus Hoechst, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus cereus, Escherichia coli ATCC 11303, Escherichia coli “Bay” and Enterococcus faecalis. The products were tested with and without buffer, because products with a low pH may give growth inhibition which is not related to the herbs. In some products there was a marked difference between the microbroth dilution test and the agar test and also in many products there were differences between the results with and without buffer. Some products showed very good antimicrobial action whereas others did not show any activity. To examine the effects in vivo five of these products (both active and non-active, table 1) were fed to broiler chicken which were fed a nutritional sufficient diet containing a high amount of wheat which may impair digestion and gut health.
|
Product
|
Mean ingredients
|
|
Negative control |
none |
|
Biostrong 510
|
Thyme oil and star anise oil, bitter substances, pungent substances and saponins
|
|
Bronch Arom |
Anise oil, thyme oil, eucalyptus oil |
|
Allimax
|
Garlic
|
|
Duo Kruidenelixer |
120 herbs: a.o. sage, rosemary, thyme, devils claw |
|
PrimeFulvic
|
Fulvic acid
|
The products were compared to a control group and the trial was designed as a randomized complete block consisting of six repetitions per treatment. Data on growth, feed conversion and weight gain were collected and the jejunum was sampled for histological investigation. Villus crypt ratio was determined as an indication for gut health. Three of five herbal products showed significant differences as compared to the control group, two products with superior weight gain and one product with reduced weight gain (table 2). The two products which showed the best results in the broilers were products that showed almost no antimicrobial action in vitro. We concluded that in this experiment effects on gut health in broilers was not related to antimicrobial action.
|
Treatment
|
BWG
|
FI
|
FRC
|
||
|
Negative control
|
2547
|
ab
|
3771
|
1.481
|
a
|
|
Biostrong 510 |
2528 |
ab
|
3767 |
1.491 |
ab
|
|
Bronch Arom
|
2467
|
a
|
3734
|
1.514
|
b
|
|
Allimax |
2546 |
ab
|
3758 |
1.476 |
a
|
|
Duo Kruidenelixer
|
2615
|
b
|
3860
|
1.477
|
a
|
|
PrimeFulvic |
2578 |
b
|
3844 |
1.49 |
ab
|
