The dietary administration of miswak leaf powder promotes performance, antioxidant, immune activity, and resistance against infectious diseases on Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)

The feeding experiment's main purpose was to estimate the influence of fortification of tilapia diets with miswak leaf powder (MLP) on performance, digestive enzyme activity, chemical body composition, antioxidant status, immune response, and resistance against bacterial and fungal infections. O. niloticus fingerlings (15.22 ± 0.06 g) were fed four formulated diets fortified with MLP at 0, 2.5, 5, and 10 g kg−1 diet for 56 days. The fish were injected with Aeromonas hydrophila for 14 days at the end of the feeding trial, and then the mortality percentage was recorded daily in all treated groups. The obtained results showed that dietary administration of MLP at 2.5 g kg−1 recorded significantly higher values in all growth, feed utilization, and feed efficiency parameters. The digestive enzyme activity was significantly (P < 0.01) higher in fish fed a low level of MLP (2.5 or 5 g kg−1) when compared with the control group. Furthermore, the higher concentration of MLP (10 g kg−1) significantly reduced the mortality rate induced by Aeromonas hydrophila infection, increased crude protein percentage in fish body and represented highly in vitro antibacterial and antifungal efficiency. Based on the findings of the challenge tests against A. hydrophilia, higher survival was found in infected fish, explaining that MLP at high level of 10 g kg can be used to resist the outbreak of the A. hydophilia disease in tilapia. In conclusion, our obtained data showed that applied MLP in tilapia diets could promote performance, feed efficiency, antioxidant status, immune activity, and enhanced resistance of O. niloticus against infections

Therapeutic Potential of Thymoquinone and Its Nanoformulations in Pulmonary Injury: A Comprehensive Review

As a crucial organ, the lung is exposed to various harmful agents that may induce inflammation and oxidative stress, which may cause chronic or acute lung injury. Nigella sativa, also known as black seed, has been widely used to treat various diseases and is one of the most extensively researched medicinal plants. Thymoquinone (TQ) is the main component of black seed volatile oil and has been proven to have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antineoplastic properties. The potential therapeutic properties of TQ against various pulmonary disorders have been studied in both in vitro and in vivo studies. Furthermore, the application of nanotechnology may increase drug solubility, cellular absorption, drug release (sustained or control), and drug delivery to lung tissue target sites. As a result, fabricating TQ as nanoparticles (NPs) is a potential therapeutic approach against a variety of lung diseases. In this current review, we summarize recent findings on the efficacy of TQ and its nanotypes in lung disorders caused by immunocompromised conditions such as cancer, diabetes, gastric ulcers, and other neurodegenerative diseases. It is concluded that TQ nanoparticles with anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiasthma, and antitumor activity may be safely applied to treat lung disorders. However, more research is required before TQ nanoparticles can be used as pharmaceutical preparations in human studies

Antioxidant and antimicrobial activities of phytonutrients as antibiotic substitutes in poultry feed

Globally, there is increasing demand for safe poultry food products free from antibiotic residues. There is thus a need to develop alternatives to antibiotics with safe nutritional feed derivatives that maximize performance, promote the intestinal immune status, enrich beneficial microbiota, promote health, and reduce the adverse effects of pathogenic infectious microorganisms. With the move away from including antibiotics in poultry diets, botanicals are among the most important alternatives to antibiotics. Some botanicals such as fennel, garlic, oregano, mint, and rosemary have been reported to increase the poultry’s growth rate and/or feed to gain ratio. Botanicals’ role is assumed to be mediated by improved immune responses and/or shifts in the microbial population in the intestine, with the elimination of pathogenic species. In addition, modulation of the gut microbiota resulted in various physiological and immunological responses and promoted beneficial bacterial strains that led to a healthy gut. There is thus a need to understand the relationship between poultry diets supplemented with botanicals and good health of the entire gastrointestinal tract if we intend to use these natural products to promote general health status and production. This current review provides an overview of current knowledge about certain botanicals that improve poultry productivity by modulating intestinal health and reducing the negative impacts of numerous pathogenic bacteria. This review also describes the efficacy, negative effects, and modes of action of some common herbal plants applied in poultry as alternatives to reduce the use of antibiotics