The efficiency of grain treatment with natural disinfectants for the prevention of aspergillosis in birds

Abstract

In the structure of mycosis pathologies of birds, the top place is occupied by aspergillosis. The main pathogenicity factor is Aspergillus spp., which quickly penetrates the lungs' alveoli and causes a pathological process. Because the level of the fodder base contamination with fungi of the genus Aspergillus is quite significant, an essential link in the technological process of growing young poultry is to prevent contamination and increase the economic efficiency of production. The paper examines the effectiveness assessment of grain treatment with natural disinfectants in the framework of aspergillosis prevention in poultry farming. Moreover, the advantages of using natural disinfectants for their use in modern eco-production of animal-origin products are described in the paper. Antifungal properties of infusions of medicinal plants are due primarily to the presence of biologically active substances synthesized by the plant. Black walnut and walnut (leaves and fruits of milk-wax and full ripeness), rosehips (dried fruits and roots), carnation (fruits), calendula (flowers), turmeric, chamomile (flowers) were used as the studied plants for the disinfectants production. The shortcomings of the existing synthetic means used in poultry farming are emphasized separately. In particular, phenolic resins have heterogeneous antifungal activity against fungal spores and are incompatible with some detergents. It was found that there is a significant difference in the number of live birds after 30 days of feeding grain treated with various disinfectants and when feeding grain without prior treatment. Thus, for group 1, which was fed grain treated with an infusion of walnut fruits and leaves, the absence of Aspergillus fumigatus fungi was noted even after 30 days of feed treatment. A similar result was obtained after processing grain with an infusion of black walnut fruits or leaves. In group 2, the control group, a significantly higher degree of withdrawal of young birds caused by aspergillosis was observed. The medicinal plants selected also did not demonstrate satisfactory results in all cases because turmeric infusions from the fruits and roots of rosehips and calendula flowers did not demonstrate a sufficient indicator of effectiveness. On the 20th day after grain processing, Aspergillus fungi were recorded in the samples. Further research on the effect of medicinal plant infusions on the fodder base of various types of poultry is promising because the prevention of aspergillosis is more economically feasible than the treatment of sick young animals.