Effect of Basil, Thyme and Sage Essential Oils as Phytogenic Feed Additives on Production Performances, Meat Quality and Intestinal Microbiota in Broiler Chickens

As the use of antibiotics has been banned or reduced in certain countries in animal industries, the search for new alternatives to antibiotics has been and will continue to be a research subject in poultry for several years. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of basil, thyme and sage essential oils (EO) in broiler chickens' diets. A total of 120 Cobb 500 broiler chickens aged 12 days were distributed into four homogeneous groups of thirty chickens with six replicates of five broilers each, raised until 42 days of age. For the diets, corn, soybean meal, corn gluten and wheat were used as the main ingredients for the control diet (CON), and three experimental diets were formulated as follows: a diet containing 0.05% essential oil from basil (EOB), a diet containing 0.05% essential oil from thyme (EOT), and a diet containing 0.05% essential oil from sage (EOS). The results showed that production performances, European Production Efficiency Factor (EPEF), European Broiler Index (EBI) and carcass weight were improved (p < 0.05) in the experimental groups compared with the control; however, no significant effect in anatomical parts development was observed. Lightness (L *) and hue angle (H *) colorimetric meat parameters were (p < 0.05) altered but without an effect on meat texture. The antioxidant capacity and total polyphenols content in the thigh meat and total n-3 and n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids were higher in the experimental samples compared with the control. The intestinal microbiota was also significantly altered with a lowering of Escherichia coli, Coliforms and staphylococci in the small intestine and caecum and an increased lactobacilli count in the experimental groups compared with the control. Overall, all EO-supplemented diets showed the potential to improve meat quality; however, EOS was more effective in altering the chicken microbiota in the small intestine and caecum.