The Use of Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) Essential Oil as an Additive to Drinking Water for Broiler Chickens and Its In Vitro Reaction with Enrofloxacin.

Biological activity of lavender essential oil is a property that can potentially find an application in poultry nutrition. Nowadays, the use of bioactive compounds is encouraged in many areas of industry and agriculture, since these substances have similar properties as withdrawn antibiotic growth promoters. Additionally, antibiotic resistance bacteria are one of the most important current threats to animal health. The purpose of the study was to determine the influence of lavender essential oil on the production parameters and blood parameters in broiler chickens and to assess the lavender oil's in vitro reaction in a combination with enrofloxacin towards Escherichia coli. One-day-old non-sexed chicks (Ross 308) were divided into three experimental groups, each consisting of 100 individuals (five replicate of 20 boiler chicken each). The chickens in the control group received drinking water with no addition of lavender essential oil. In the experimental groups, lavender oil was added to the drinking water at a concentration of 0.4 mL/L, in the LEO1-42 from 1 to 42 days of age and the LEO22-42 group from the 22 to 42 days of age. The chickens' body weight, feed consumption, water consumption, deaths and elimination due to health reasons were determined in the experiment. On day 42 of the chickens' lives, blood samples were collected based on which selected parameters were identified. An in vitro experiment of lavender oil in combination with enrofloxacin was investigated with a checkerboard method. The results of the experiment showed the antimicrobial and antioxidant activity of lavender essential oil and its positive effect on the production results of broiler chickens. The study results proved that the addition of lavender oil positively impacted the chickens' final body weight and feed conversion ratio (p < 0.01). No differences were observed between the groups for water consumption, death rate and the examined biochemical and immunological blood serum indices. Lavender essential oil was demonstrated to increase the blood serum's total antioxidant status. A synergistic reaction in vitro was observed for lavender oil combined with enrofloxacin against resistant strains of Escherichia coli. Based on our study, a health-promoting effect of adding LEO to water for broiler chickens was found. Moreover, in vitro studies indicate a significant effect of lavender essential oil on the inhibition of the resistant strains of Escherichia coli growth and synergistic reaction with enrofloxacin.

The antimicrobial activity of lavender essential oil (Lavandula angustifolia) and its influence on the production performance of broiler chickens.

The aim of the study was the evaluation of the antimicrobial activity (in vitro) of lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) essential oil (LEO) and the effect of its addition to the drinking water of broiler chickens on their production performance. Antimicrobial activity was determined by establishing the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) using a series of microdilutions. Bird experiments were carried out on a commercial farm on 300 Ross 308 broilers. One-day-old chicks were randomly assigned to three experimental groups of 100 individuals (five replications of 20 individuals each). In the control group, chickens received drinking water without added essential oil throughout the rearing period. In the LEO0.2 and LEO0.4 groups, from 1 to 42 days of bird life, the LEO0.2 group had 0.2 ml/L of essential lavender oil added to the drinking water, while LEO0.4 had 0.4 ml/L added. The results of the experiment showed the antimicrobial activity of LEO and its positive effect on the production results of broiler chickens. Application of higher concentration of essential oil (0.4 ml/L) significantly affected production results (BW, FCR, WCR-p < .01). No differences were observed in FI, WI, F:W and mortality (p > .05). In vitro studies indicate a significant effect of LEO on the inhibition of microbial growth. These results encourage further studies on a larger scale that will confirm antimicrobial efficiency and define the mechanisms of action of Lavandula angustifolia essential oil and its individual components.

Jasmonic acid changes the composition of essential oil isolated from narrow-leaved lavender propagated in in vitro cultures.

The aim of the present study was to determine the effect of jasmonic acid added to the culture medium on composition of Lavandula angustifolia essential oils. The chemical composition was determined by gas chromatography coupled to mass detector (GC/MS). The experiment was conducted with the use of MS medium supplemented with increasing concentration of JA (0.2, 0.5, 1, 1.5 mg∙dm-3). It was found that the analysed essential oils varied in terms of chemical composition depending on the content of JA in the medium. All obtained essential oils were characterised by a high content of σ-cadinene (17.06-29.64%), borneol (6.66-17.47%), caryophyllene oxide (8.30-14.01%), τ-cadinol (4.87-9.16%), beta-caryophyllene (3.54-6.57%), 1.8-cineole (1.94-5.87%), ß-pinene (1.48-3.05%), geranyl acetate (0.56-2.14%) and myrtenal (0.65-2.14%).

Essential oil obtained from micropropagated lavender, its effect on HSF cells and application in cosmetic emulsion as a natural protective substance.

The aim of the study was to determine the influence of the essential oils isolated from the field - grown and micropropagated in vitro narrow - leaved lavender of the 'Munstead' cultivar, on human skin cells, and their capability to synthesise procollagen. The amount of procollagen type I produced by fibroblast cells was determined using ELISA kit. Essential oil isolated from micropropagated lavender was further used as a protective ingredient against the development of microorganisms in O/W cosmetic emulsion. The presented results demonstrate that the use of 0.01, 0.001 and 0.0001% essential oils isolated from in vitro plants stimulate HSF cells to the production of procollagen. It was further performed that the tested essential oil used in the concentration of 0.1% in a cosmetic emulsion is characterised by preservative effect for cosmetic preparations for the period of 3 months.

Comparison of phenolic acids and flavonoids contents in various cultivars and parts of common lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) derived from Poland.

The aim of study was to compare the content of phenolic acids and flavonoids in two cultivars of Lavandula angustifolia: 'Blue River' and 'Ellagance Purple', including flowers and leafy stalks. Total phenolics and total flavonoids contents were determined by UV-Vis spectroscopy. The contents of total phenolics in leafy stalks (3.71-4.06 mg g-1 d.m.) were higher than in flowers (1.13-1.14 mg g-1 d.m.). Similarly, higher total contents of flavonoids were determined in leafy stalks (3.41-3.51 mg g-1 d.m.), as compared with flowers (0.86-0.91 mg g-1 d.m.). Phenolic acids and flavonoids were identified and quantified using HPLC and UPLC methods. Three phenolic acids were determined: rosmarinic, ferulic and caffeic acid. Lavender extracts contained also flavonoids from group of apigenin, luteolin and quercetin. Higher amounts of luteolin diglucuronide and luteolin glucuronide were found in leafy stalks in comparison to flowers. Obtained results indicate that leafy stalks of lavender can be also valuable source of antioxidant compounds.