Sweet basil oil nanoparticles as novel feed additives: impacts on productivity, intestinal morphology, antioxidant capacity, and microbiota in laying hens.

OBJECTIVE

Nanotechnology has been suggested as a promising strategy for enhancing the stability and delivery efficiency of feed additives through the formation of nanoparticles (NPs). Sweet basil oil (SBO) contains a diverse range of bioactive constituents; however, its intestinal-targeted delivery remains limited. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the effects of sweet basil oil nanoparticles (SBO-NPs) on egg production and egg quality, intestinal morphology, antioxidant capacity and cecal microbiota in laying hens.

METHODS

A total of 225 Roman Brown laying hens at 25 weeks of age were randomly assigned to three treatments with five replicates of 15 birds in a completely randomized design (CRD). Dietary treatments were as follows: (i) basal diet (Con), (ii) basal diet with free sweet basil oil (SBO) at 500 ppm, (iii) basal diet with SBO nanoparticles at 500 ppm (SBO-NPs), respectively. The experiment was conducted for 10 weeks, during which egg production and quality, antioxidant capacity, intestinal morphology, and cecal microbiota were assessed.

RESULTS

Dietary SBO-NPs significantly increased egg production than SBO and Con diets (p < 0.01). However, all additives had no effect on feed conversion ratio and egg quality (p > 0.05). SBO-NPs markedly improved villus height and villus surface area (p < 0.05). Furthermore, superoxide dismutase activity in duodenum and liver were increased by SBO-NPs. Malondialdehyde levels were significantly reduced by 52-53% in the SBO-NPs group compared to the Con group (p < 0.05). In contrast, the cecal microbiota remained broadly similar among treatments at the phylum and genus levels with no significant differences in the alpha and beta diversity.

CONCLUSION

The results demonstrated that the SBO-NPs enhanced egg production by improving intestinal morphology, increasing antioxidant capacity, and reducing lipid peroxidation.