Ileum transcriptional response to prolonged supplementation with phytogenic product containing menthol, carvacrol and carvone

Pathogen control is a critical issue in the layer industry. Plant-based natural products are gradually replacing the undesirable use of antibiotics as feed additives in animal production. The poultry industry embraced the opportunity to distance itself from the negative public perception of antibiotic use. In this study, we investigated the effects of a phytogenic product, comprising of menthol, carvacrol and carvone on ileum gene expression profile in layers after 16 weeks of continual supplementation. Phytogen supplementation increased endocytosis and autophagy while showing significant predicted cardiovascular protective effects. Statistical comparison with around 100,000 manually curated and comparably reanalysed public datasets suggests that the phytogen is highly significantly comparable with transcriptomic effects of clinical antibiotics doxycycline and geldanamycin, and it has reversing transcriptomic effects to a range of viral diseases and malaria. Our data confirmed the hypothesis that similar to the original essential oil type antimicrobial constituents of phytogenic products, there may be a range of benefits unrelated to their essential antimicrobial action, contributing to improved bird welfare.