Wood vinegar as a natural alternative to antibiotics: Effects on cecal microbiota, antioxidant status, and nutrient digestibility in broiler chickens
Background and Aim: Antibiotic resistance has spurred interest in alternative feed additives for poultry. Wood vinegar (WV), a by-product of plant pyrolysis, contains bioactive compounds with antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of WV supplementation thr...
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Veterinary World
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Veterinary World |
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| Online Access: | https://www.veterinaryworld.org/Vol.18/July-2025/12.pdf |
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| author | Sola Samson Emmanuel Teck Chwen Loh Hooi Ling Foo Henny Akit Muhamad Faris Ab Aziz Eric Lim Teik Chung |
| author_facet | Sola Samson Emmanuel Teck Chwen Loh Hooi Ling Foo Henny Akit Muhamad Faris Ab Aziz Eric Lim Teik Chung |
| author_sort | Sola Samson Emmanuel |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background and Aim: Antibiotic resistance has spurred interest in alternative feed additives for poultry. Wood vinegar (WV), a by-product of plant pyrolysis, contains bioactive compounds with antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of WV supplementation through drinking water on the cecal microbial population, volatile fatty acid (VFA) concentrations, antioxidant enzyme activity, and apparent ileal nutrient digestibility in broiler chickens.
Materials and Methods: A total of 432 1-day-old male Cobb 500 broiler chicks were randomly assigned to six groups (n = 72 per group; 6 replicates of 12 birds each). Treatments included a negative control (T1), a positive control with 0.02% oxytetracycline (T2), and WV-supplemented groups at dilution ratios of 1:100 (T3), 1:200 (T4), 1:500 (T5), and 1:1000 (T6) in drinking water. The experiment lasted 35 days. Plasma antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase [SOD], catalase [CAT], glutathione peroxidase [GPx], total antioxidant capacity [T-AOC]), VFA profiles, ileal digestibility (crude protein [CP], ash, ether extract [EE]), and cecal microbial populations were assessed. Statistical analysis was performed using the General Linear Model and Duncan’s multiple range tests (p < 0.05).
Results: WV supplementation enhanced antioxidant status, with significant increases in GPx (T5 and T6) and T-AOC (T6), while CAT and SOD remained unaffected. T5 significantly elevated acetic, butyric, and total VFA levels. WV-treated birds (T3–T6) showed reduced Salmonella, Escherichia coli, and Enterobacteria counts and increased bifidobacteria and total bacteria compared with controls. T4 showed the highest digestibility of CP, while T5 significantly improved ash and EE digestibility.
Conclusion: WV supplementation, particularly at a 1:200 dilution (T4), effectively improved gut microbial balance, enhanced antioxidant enzyme activity, and promoted nutrient digestibility. These results support WV as a viable natural alternative to antibiotic growth promoters in broiler production. |
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| institution | DOAJ |
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| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-df5aa2f24348489e8e9fab4d1d918ae02025-08-20T03:14:03ZengVeterinary WorldVeterinary World0972-89882231-09162025-07-011871911192110.14202/vetworld.2025.1911-1921Wood vinegar as a natural alternative to antibiotics: Effects on cecal microbiota, antioxidant status, and nutrient digestibility in broiler chickensSola Samson Emmanuel0https://orcid.org/0009-0003-6713-3983Teck Chwen Loh1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0752-2923Hooi Ling Foo2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5309-0965Henny Akit3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1530-3496Muhamad Faris Ab Aziz4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8420-4945Eric Lim Teik Chung5https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1038-1057Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia.Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia; Institute of Tropical Agriculture and Food Security, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia.Department of Bioprocess Technology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia; Institute of Bioscience, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia.Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia; Department of Bioprocess Technology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia.Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia.Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia; Institute of Tropical Agriculture and Food Security, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Serdang 43400, Selangor, Malaysia.Background and Aim: Antibiotic resistance has spurred interest in alternative feed additives for poultry. Wood vinegar (WV), a by-product of plant pyrolysis, contains bioactive compounds with antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of WV supplementation through drinking water on the cecal microbial population, volatile fatty acid (VFA) concentrations, antioxidant enzyme activity, and apparent ileal nutrient digestibility in broiler chickens. Materials and Methods: A total of 432 1-day-old male Cobb 500 broiler chicks were randomly assigned to six groups (n = 72 per group; 6 replicates of 12 birds each). Treatments included a negative control (T1), a positive control with 0.02% oxytetracycline (T2), and WV-supplemented groups at dilution ratios of 1:100 (T3), 1:200 (T4), 1:500 (T5), and 1:1000 (T6) in drinking water. The experiment lasted 35 days. Plasma antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase [SOD], catalase [CAT], glutathione peroxidase [GPx], total antioxidant capacity [T-AOC]), VFA profiles, ileal digestibility (crude protein [CP], ash, ether extract [EE]), and cecal microbial populations were assessed. Statistical analysis was performed using the General Linear Model and Duncan’s multiple range tests (p < 0.05). Results: WV supplementation enhanced antioxidant status, with significant increases in GPx (T5 and T6) and T-AOC (T6), while CAT and SOD remained unaffected. T5 significantly elevated acetic, butyric, and total VFA levels. WV-treated birds (T3–T6) showed reduced Salmonella, Escherichia coli, and Enterobacteria counts and increased bifidobacteria and total bacteria compared with controls. T4 showed the highest digestibility of CP, while T5 significantly improved ash and EE digestibility. Conclusion: WV supplementation, particularly at a 1:200 dilution (T4), effectively improved gut microbial balance, enhanced antioxidant enzyme activity, and promoted nutrient digestibility. These results support WV as a viable natural alternative to antibiotic growth promoters in broiler production.https://www.veterinaryworld.org/Vol.18/July-2025/12.pdfantibiotic alternativeantioxidant enzymesbroiler chickenscecal microbiotanutrient digestibilityvolatile fatty acidswood vinegar |
| spellingShingle | Sola Samson Emmanuel Teck Chwen Loh Hooi Ling Foo Henny Akit Muhamad Faris Ab Aziz Eric Lim Teik Chung Wood vinegar as a natural alternative to antibiotics: Effects on cecal microbiota, antioxidant status, and nutrient digestibility in broiler chickens Veterinary World antibiotic alternative antioxidant enzymes broiler chickens cecal microbiota nutrient digestibility volatile fatty acids wood vinegar |
| title | Wood vinegar as a natural alternative to antibiotics: Effects on cecal microbiota, antioxidant status, and nutrient digestibility in broiler chickens |
| title_full | Wood vinegar as a natural alternative to antibiotics: Effects on cecal microbiota, antioxidant status, and nutrient digestibility in broiler chickens |
| title_fullStr | Wood vinegar as a natural alternative to antibiotics: Effects on cecal microbiota, antioxidant status, and nutrient digestibility in broiler chickens |
| title_full_unstemmed | Wood vinegar as a natural alternative to antibiotics: Effects on cecal microbiota, antioxidant status, and nutrient digestibility in broiler chickens |
| title_short | Wood vinegar as a natural alternative to antibiotics: Effects on cecal microbiota, antioxidant status, and nutrient digestibility in broiler chickens |
| title_sort | wood vinegar as a natural alternative to antibiotics effects on cecal microbiota antioxidant status and nutrient digestibility in broiler chickens |
| topic | antibiotic alternative antioxidant enzymes broiler chickens cecal microbiota nutrient digestibility volatile fatty acids wood vinegar |
| url | https://www.veterinaryworld.org/Vol.18/July-2025/12.pdf |
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