Abstract
According to published data, it is well known that essential oils from plants possess antimicrobial activity against a wide range of pathogens, including Salmonella strains. The influence of the administration of essential oils from oregano (Origanum vulgare) and thyme (Thymus vulgaris) as well as Lactobacillus fermentum on crop, caecum, liver and spleen colonization by Salmonella enterica var. Düsseldorf in chicks was investigated in this study. For the experiment, one hundred 1-day old chicks were used, and they were divided into four groups: (i) untreated (C); (ii) treated with L. fermentum (L); (iii) treated with a mixture of oregano and thyme essential oils (OT); and (iv) treated with a combination of L. fermentum and a mixture of oregano and thyme essential oils (LOT). Essential oils from oregano and thyme were mixed with commercial poultry diet, which was offered ad libitum to chicks in appertaining groups. L. fermentum was added daily to drinking water. After 3 days all the chicks were challenged orally with S. enterica var. Düsseldorf. The crops, ceca, spleens and livers of the birds were examined for S. enterica var. Düsseldorf colonization 5 days after the challenge. Our results showed that a combined administration of L. fermentum and essential oils (oregano and thyme) in group with combined application of essential oils and lactobacillus strain reduced the percentage of colonized crops and ceca when compared to the control group without any treatment.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Barak, V., Halperin, T. & Kalickman, I. 2001. The effect of Sambucol, a black elderberry-based, natural product, on the production of human cytokines. Eur. Cytokine Netw. 12: 290–296.
Bauer, K., Garbe, D. & Surburg, H. 2001. Common fragrance and flavor materials: preparation, properties and uses. Wiley-VCH, Weinheim, 293 pp.
Beuchat, L.R. 1994. Antimicrobial properties of spices and their essential oils, pp. 167–179. In: Dillon, V.M. & Board, R.G. (eds) Natural Antimicrobial Systems and Food Preservation, CAB International, Wallingford, U.K.
Blum, S. & Schiffrin, E.J. 2003. Intestinal microflora and homeostasis of the mucosal immune response: implications for probiotic bacteria? Curr. Iss. Intest. Microbiol. 4: 53–60.
Carson, C.F., Hammer, K.A. & Riley, T.V. 1996. In vitro activity of the essential oil of Melaleuca alternifolia against Streptococcus spp. J. Antimicrob. Chemother. 37: 1177–1181.
Cavazzoni, V., Adami, A. & Castrovilli, C. 1998. Performance of broiler chickens supplemented with Bacillus coagulans as probiotic. Br. Poult. Sci. 39: 526–529.
Chang, C.P., Chang, J.Y., Wang, F.Y. & Change, J.G. 1995. The effect of Chinese medicinal herb Zingiberis rhizoma extract on cytokine secretion by human peripheral blood mononuclear cells. J. Ethnopharmacol. 11: 13–19.
Chateau, N., Castellanos, I. & Deschamps, S.M. 1983. Distribution of pathogen inhibition in the Lactobacillus isolates of a commercial probiotic consortium. J. Appl. Bacteriol. 74: 36–40.
Corrier, D.E., Nisbet, D.J., Scanlan, C.M., Hollister, A.G. & DeLoach, J.R. 1994. Inhibition of Salmonella enteritidis cecal and organ colonization in Leghorn chicks by a defined culture of cecal bacteria and dietary lactose. J. Food Prot. 56: 377–381.
Cowan, M.M. 1999. Plant products as antimicrobial agents. Clin. Microbiol. Rev. 12: 564–582.
Deans, S.G. & Ritchie, G. 1987. Antibacterial properties of plant essential oils. Int. J. Food Microbiol. 5: 165–180.
Dorman H.J.D. & Deans, S.G. 2000. Antimicrobial agents from plants: antibacterial activity of plant volatile oils. J. Appl. Microbiol. 88: 308–316.
Elgayyar, M., Draughon, F.A., Golden, D.A. & Mount, J.R. 2001. Antimicrobial activity of essential oils from plants against selected pathogenic and saprophytic microorganisms. J. Food Prot. 64: 1019–1024.
Ewing, W.N. & Cole, D.J.A. (eds) 1994. The Living Gut: An Introduction to Microorganisms in Nutrition. Context, Dungannon, Northern Ireland, 220 pp.
Fuller, R. 1986. Probiotics. J. Appl. Bacteriol. 61: 1S–7S.
Hammer, K.A., Carson, C.F. & Riley, T.V. 1999. Antimicrobial activity of essential oils and other plant extracts. J. Appl. Microbiol. 86: 985–990.
Hinton, A., Jr., Corrier, D.E., Ziprin, R.L., Spates, G.E. & DeLoach, J.R. 1991. Comparison of the efficacy of cultures of cecal anaerobes as inocula to reduce Salmonella typhimurium colonization in chicks with or without dietary lactose. Poult. Sci. 70: 67–73.
Jamroz, D. & Kamel, C. 2002. Plant extracts enhance broiler performance. J. Anim. Sci. 80(Suppl. 1): 41.
Lan, P., Binh, T. & Benno, Y. 2003. Impact of two probiotic Lactobacillus strains feeding on fecal lactobacilli and weight gains in chickens. J. Gen. Appl. Microbiol. 49: 29–36.
Lawrence, B.M. & Reynolds, R.J. 1984. Progress in essential oils. Perfumer and Flavorist 9: 23–31.
Lee, K.W., Everts, H. & Beynen, A.C. 2004. Essential oils in broiler nutrition. Int. J. Poult. Sci. 3: 738–752.
Lee, K.W., Everts, H., Kappert, H.J., Frehner, M., Losa, R. & Beynen, A.C. 2003. Effects of dietary essential oil components on growth performance, digestive enzymes and lipid metabolism in female broiler chickens. Br. Poult. Sci. 44: 450–457.
Lis-Balchin M. & Deans, S.G. 1997. Bioactivity of selected plant essential oils against Listeria monocytogenes. J. Appl. Microbiol. 82: 759–762.
Mellor, S. 2000a. Antibiotics are not only growth promoters. World Poult. 16: 14–15.
Mellor, S. 2000b. Nutraceuticals-alternatives to antibiotics. World Poult. 16: 30–33.
Namkung, H., Li, M., Gong, J., Yu, H., Cottrill, M. & DeLange, C.F.M. 2004. Impact of feeding blends of organic acids and herbal extracts on growth performance, gut microbiota and digestive function in newly weaned pigs. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 84: 697–704.
Patterson, J.A. & Burkholder, K.M. 2003. Application of prebiotics and probiotics in poultry production. Poult. Sci. 82: 627–631.
Pattnaik, S., Subramanyam, V.R., Kole, C.R. & Sahoo, S. 1995. Antibacterial activity of essential oils from Cymbopogon: inter-and intra-specific differences. Microbios 84: 239–245.
Russo, M., Galletti, G.C., Bocchini, P. & Carnacini, A. 1998. Essential oil chemical composition of wild populations of Italian oregano spice (Origanum vulgare ssp. hirtum (Link) letswaart): a preliminary evaluation of their use in chemotaxonomy by cluster analysis: 1. Inflorescences. J. Agric. Food Chem. 46: 3741–3746.
Schiffrin, E.J. & Blum, S. 2002. Interactions between the microbiota and the intestinal mucosa. Eur. J. Clin. Nutr. (56Suppl 3): S60–S64.
Senatore, F. 1996. Influence of harvesting time on yield and composition of the essential oil of a thyme (Thymus pulegioides L.) growing wild in Campania (Southern Italy). J. Agric. Food Chem. 44: 1327–1332.
Servin, A.L. 2004. Antagonistic activities of lactobacilli and bifidobacteria against microbial pathogens. FEMS Microbiol. Rev. 28: 405–440.
Si, W., Gong, J., Tsao, R., Zhou, T., Yu, H., Poppe, C., Johnson, R. & Du, Z. 2006. Antimicrobial activity of essential oils and structurally related synthetic food additives towards selected pathogenic and beneficial gut bacteria. J. Appl. Microbiol. 100: 296–305.
Skandamis, P.N. & Nychas, G.J.E. 2001. Effect of oregano essential oil on microbiological and physico-chemical attributes of minced meat stored in air and modified atmospheres. J. Appl. Microbiol. 9: 1011–1022.
Smith-Palmer, A., Stewart, J. & Fyfe, L. 1998. Antimicrobial properties of plant essential oils and essences against five important food-borne pathogens. Lett. Appl. Microbiol. 26: 118–122.
Tellez, G., Petrone, V.M., Escorcia, M., Morishita, T.Y., Cobb, C.W. & Villasenor, L. 2001. Evaluation of avianspecific probiotic and Salmonella enteritidis-, Salmonella typhimurium- and Salmonella heidelberg-specific antibodies on cecal colonization and organ invasion of Salmonella enteritidis in broilers. J. Food Prot. 64: 287–291.
Tzakou, O., Pitarokili, D., Chinou, I.B. & Harvala, C. 2001. Composition and antimicrobial activity of the essential oil of Salvia ringens. Plant. Med. 67: 81–83.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Koščová, J., Nemcová, R., Gancarčíková, S. et al. Effect of two plant extracts and Lactobacillus fermentum on colonization of gastrointestinal tract by Salmonella enterica var. Düsseldorf in chicks. Biologia 61, 775–778 (2006). https://doi.org/10.2478/s11756-006-0156-z
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/s11756-006-0156-z