Effect of Red Ginger Powder ( Var. ) As a Feed Additive for Starter and Finisher Broiler Chicken to Increase Immunoglobulin A and Immunoglobulin Y Expression and to Prevent Intestinal Injury Due to Infection

Background And Aim: Salmonellosis is an infectious disease that often occurs in chickens and is caused by . The use of antibiotics to prevent this disease can result in the development of resistance in pathogenic bacteria, in addition to the presence of antibiotic residues in consumed carcasses. Red ginger ( var. ) has active compounds that potentially act as immunomodulators which increase specific and non-specific immune responses through the induction of cytokine production. This study was conducted to determine the effects of red ginger powder mixed in feed for starter and finisher broiler chickens, based on the evaluation of the expression of immunoglobulin A (IgA), histopathologic description of the ileum and cecum, IgA, and immunoglobulin Y (IgY) expression in the spleen, and the isolation count of in fresh fecal samples.

Materials And Methods: A total of 100 starter and 100 finisher Cobb broiler chickens were divided into four groups, designated as T0, T1, T2, and T3, respectively: Group T0 was fed commercial feed with no added 2% red ginger powder or induction, and served as a negative control; Group T1 was inoculated with a 0.25 mL oral induction (1 × 10 colony-forming unit [CFU] [0.5 McFarland standard]), and served as a positive control; Group T2 was fed with feed containing 2% red ginger powder; while Group T3 was fed with feed containing 2% red ginger powder and was orally inoculated with with a dose similar to T1. The normal feed was given on the 1-7 days. The mixture of 2% red ginger powder was given on the 7-15 days. The was induced on the 15 day (1 × 10 CFU). Necropsy was performed on the 16 day and tissues were fixed in 10% formalin and routinely processed for histopathologic and immunohistochemical analyses. The data were analyzed using a one-way analysis of variance test, Tukey's analysis, and the Mann-Whitney non-parametric statistical analysis test.

Results: The 2% red ginger powder was found to significantly (p < 0.05) increase IgA expression and additionally decrease tissue damage in the cecum and ileum. It also increased IgA and IgY expression in the spleen. In addition, a decrease was observed in the number isolated from finisher fresh feces, but none was found in the isolated starter fresh feces.

Conclusion: These findings indicate that the addition of red ginger powder to chicken feed is a potential natural immunomodulator against infection.