In vitro Anticoccidial Study of Oregano and Garlic Essential Oils and Effects on Growth Performance, Fecal Oocyst Output, and Intestinal Microbiota in vivo

This study investigated the in vitro effects of Greek oregano and garlic essential oils on inhibition of Eimeria parasites and their in vivo effects on production performance, intestinal bacteria counts, and oocyst output. An inhibition assay was performed in vitro using Eimeria tenella Wisconsin strain sporozoites and Madin-Darby bovine kidney (MDBK) cells. Intracellular sporozoite invasion was quantified by detection of E. tenella DNA using qPCR from cell monolayers harvested at 2 and 24 h post-infection. Parasite invasion was inhibited by the oregano essential oil at the concentration of 100 μg/ml by 83 or 93% after 2 or 24 h, respectively. Garlic essential oil reached a maximum inhibition of 70% after 24 h with the 50 μg/ml concentration. Normal morphology was observed in MDBK cells exposed to concentrations of 100 μl/ml of garlic or oregano for over 24 h. In the in vivo trial, 180 male broiler chicks (45.3 ± 0.7 g) were allocated into two treatments (6 pens of 15 chicks per treatment). Control treatment was fed commercial diets without antibiotics or anticoccidials. The ORE–GAR treatment was fed the same control diets, further supplemented with a premix (1 g/kg feed) containing the oregano (50 g/kg premix) and garlic (5 g/kg premix) essential oils. At day 37, all birds were slaughtered under commercial conditions, and intestinal samples were collected. ORE-GAR treatment had improved final body weight (1833.9 vs. 1.685.9 g; p < 0.01), improved feed conversion ratio (1.489 vs. 1.569; p < 0.01), and reduced fecal oocyst excretion (day 28: 3.672 vs. 3.989 log oocysts/g, p < 0.01; day 37: 3.475 vs. 4.007 log oocysts/g, p < 0.001). In the caecal digesta, ORE-GAR treatment had lower total anaerobe counts (8.216 vs. 8.824 CFU/g; p < 0.01), whereas in the jejunum digesta the ORE-GAR treatment had higher counts of E. coli (5.030 vs. 3.530 CFU/g; p = 0.01) and Enterobacteriaceae (5.341 vs. 3.829 CFU/g; p < 0.01), and lower counts of Clostridium perfringens (2.555 vs. 2.882 CFU/g; p < 0.01). In conclusion, the combined supplementation of oregano and garlic essential oils had a potent anticoccidial effect in vitro and a growth-promoting effect in broilers reared in the absence of anticoccidial drugs

Analysis of genome-wide DNA arrays reveals the genomic population structure and diversity in autochthonous Greek goat breeds

Goats play an important role in the livestock sector in Greece. The national herd consists mainly of two indigenous breeds, the Eghoria and Skopelos. Here, we report the population structure and genomic profiles of these two native goat breeds using Illumina's Goat SNP50 BeadChip. Moreover, we present a panel of candidate markers acquired using different genetic models for breed discrimination. Quality control on the initial dataset resulted in 48,841 SNPs kept for downstream analysis. Principal component and admixture analyses were applied to assess population structure. The rate of inbreeding within breed was evaluated based on the distribution of runs of homozygosity in the genome and respective coefficients, the genomic relationship matrix, the patterns of linkage disequilibrium, and the historic effective population size. Results showed that both breeds exhibit high levels of genetic diversity. Level of inbreeding between the two breeds estimated by the Wright's fixation index FST was low (Fst = 0.04362), indicating the existence of a weak genetic differentiation between them. In addition, grouping of farms according to their geographical locations was observed. This study presents for the first time a genome-based analysis on the genetic structure of the two indigenous Greek goat breeds and identifies markers that can be potentially exploited in future selective breeding programs for traceability purposes, targeted genetic improvement schemes and conservation strategies

Safety of moxidectin 1% injectable solution and 0.1% oral drench for lambs younger than one month

Two hundred lambs, 4-29 days old, were segregated into eight groups; lambs in Group A were injected with a single dose of moxidectin 1% inj. sol. (0.2 mg kg(-1) bodyweight), those in Group C were injected with a quadruple one (0.8 mg kg(-1) bodyweight), those in Group E with a single dose of moxidectin 0.1% or. dr. (0.2 mg kg(-1) bodyweight) and those in Group G with a decuple oral dose (2 mg kg(-1) bodyweight); lambs in groups B, D, F and H were the controls. The reactions of lambs were recorded for 14 days after administration of the test product. The only adverse reaction observed was in one Group C lamb, which became indifferent to the environment and laid down in a corner of the pen after administration; this regressed within 12 h without any particular medical treatment of the lamb and was not statistically significant. It is concluded that moxidectin is safe for administration to young lambs. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved

Evaluation of the reaction of sheep during or after injection with moxidectin 1% injectable solution

Three hundred ewes were allocated into one of three groups; ewes in group A (n=100) were injected with 1 mi moxidectin 1% injectable solution, those in group B (n=100) with 1 mi ivermectin 1% injectable solution and those in group C (n=100) with 1 mi phosphate-buffer-saline. Reactions of ewes were assessed during insertion of the needle, during injection of the product and after injection of the product; they were classified into one of four scores. In group B, 1 1 ewes reacted during insertion of the needle, 28 during injection of the product and 35 after (p>0.01). Respective numbers in group A were 10, 4 and 1 and in group C 9, 1 and 1 ewes (p<0.01). Mean reaction scores of group B ewes were 0.12 during insertion of the needle, 0.38 during injection of the product, 0.50 after injection; respective scores in group A ewes were 0.12, 0.05 and 0.01 and in group C ewes 0.09, 0.01 and 0.01 (p<0.01). The findings indicate that moxidectin 1% injectable solution does not cause significant pain to sheep. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved