Valdez Gilmour, Shyur Lie-Fen, Wang Sheng-Yang, Chen Shuen-Ei
Department of Animal Science, National Chung Hsing University, Taichung 40227, Taiwan.
San Mateo Campus, Isabela State University, San Mateo 3309, Isabela, Philippines.
Animals (Basel). 2023 Nov 24;13(23):3643. doi: 10.3390/ani13233643.
Necrotic enteritis is a devastating disease in chickens mainly caused by -particularly, Net-B toxin-producing strains. In order to combat necrotic enteritis in broiler production, natural growth promoters, as well as anti-inflammatory and non-antibiotic remedies, were developed for anti-microbial resistance due to its status as a global pandemic. Herein, phytogenic ginger, wild marjoram, and cloves were reviewed as potential alternatives to antibiotics for their anti-microbial functions. These phytogenics contain active ingredients that efficiently modulate the immune response and improve intestinal morphology and overall growth performance, even under stress and infection conditions. Most of the beneficial effects can be attributed to their anti-inflammatory functions, primarily the inhibition of the NF-κB and MAPK pathways. Phytogenics and their active ingredients represent potential substitutes for antibiotic growth promoters, further serving as anti-microbial remedies in the treatment of birds with infections.