Table 1.
Effect of essential oil delivery route on ceca short-chain fatty acid concentration (SCFA) and total eubacteria (copies/gram of sample) in broiler chickens.
| Short-Chain Fatty Acid Concentration (mmol/kg) |
Treatments 1 | SEM 2 p Value | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Negative Control | In-Feed Antibiotics | In-Water Essential Oil | In Ovo Saline | In Ovo Essential Oil | In Ovo Essential Oil + In-Water Essential Oil | |||
| Acetic acid | 51.9 | 50.5 | 57.2 | 55.4 | 50.9 | 55.8 | 1.73 | 0.82 |
| Propionic acid | 4.24 | 3.79 | 4.31 | 4.43 | 3.81 | 4.36 | 0.18 | 0.86 |
| Butyric acid | 13.6 | 15.7 | 19.3 | 18.8 | 13.4 | 17.9 | 0.77 | 0.09 |
| Valeric acid | 1.05 | 0.79 | 0.87 | 1.17 | 1.08 | 1.07 | 0.07 | 0.67 |
| Lactic acid | 0.60 | 0.73 | 1.40 | 1.26 | 1.09 | 0.83 | 0.86 | 0.49 |
| Total SCFA | 74.1 | 74.2 | 89.7 | 84.1 | 74.4 | 82.4 | 2.65 | 0.41 |
| Branched-chain fatty acids | 2.25 | 1.63 | 1.94 | 2.28 | 1.77 | 1.91 | 0.11 | 0.46 |
| Volatile fatty acids | 73.1 | 72.4 | 83.6 | 82.1 | 70.9 | 81.0 | 2.40 | 0.49 |
| Total eubacteria (copies/gram of sample) | 2.3 × 1012 | 1.9 × 1012 | 3.0 × 1012 | 2.6 × 1012 | 2.5 × 1012 | 2.2 × 1012 | 2.06 × 1012 | 0.72 |
1 Treatments include (1) negative control treatment—chicks fed a basal corn-soybean meal-wheat-based diet; (2) in-feed antibiotics—chicks fed NC + 0.05% bacitracin methylene disalicylate; (3) in-water essential oil-chicks supplied the essential oil via the water route at the recommended dosage of 250 mL/1000 L of drinking water; (4) in ovo saline treatment—eggs injected with 0.2 mL of physiological saline (0.9% NaCl); (5) in ovo essential oil treatment—eggs injected with 0.2 mL of a saline + essential oil blend mixture at a dilution ratio of 2:1; (6) in ovo + in-water essential oil treatment—chicks offered the essential oil blend via the in ovo and in water route, successively. 2 SEM = pooled standard error of means. Mean values from n = 16 birds/treatment group are presented.