Aloe vera has been used in folk and traditional medicine for over 2000 years. It contains several biologically active constituents, including mucopolysaccharides (glucomannans, polymannoses, about 10% of total solids), enzymes, anthranoids, lignin, saponins, vitamins, amino acids (almost 50% of the total amount consisting of 8 of the 10 essential amino acids) and minerals. Specific applications studied in poultry include:
- Anticoccidial: Aloe vera has protective effects against Coccidiosis in chickens. Adding 0.1 to 0.5% aloe vera powder to the feed of broilers resulted in reduced fecal oocyst shedding compared to infected birds who did not receive supplemental aloe in their feed (Yim et al., 2011).
- Intestinal health: Aloe vera can improve the intestinal microflora of chickens. Adding 1.5 to 2.5% in the feed of broilers lead to increased Lactobacillus count and decreased Escherichia coli count.
- Immune enhancement: Adding 2% aloe vera gel to drinking water or feed (at 0.5 to 1%) showed a significant increase in antibody titer against Newcastle Disease Virus in a couple studies done involving broiler chickens.
- Antibacterial: It can assist in inhibiting the growth of Staphylococcus aureus, E. coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Salmonella typhi.
- Wound healing: Aloe vera gel is used topically to promote wound healing. Polysaccharides from aloe vera gel help to promote the proliferation of fibroblasts and production of hyaluronic acid and hydroxyproline, which are important components involved in extracellular matrix remodeling during wound healing.
Poultry Specific Studies
| Type | Plant Part | Dosage | Specific use | Results | Ref |
|---|
| Chickens | leaf extract | 2 % in drinking water | Escherichia coli infection | The results showed improved growth, antioxidant activity, and immune response in A. vera-fed broilers. | M Kumari et al., 2023
|
| Chickens | | 16-30 ml/L drink, QD | | | Clinical Avian Medicine |
| Chickens | powder | 5-7.5 g/kg of diet | overall health | The results suggested that dietary inclusion of 5 and 7.5 g/kg AV, similar with synbiotic supplementation, can be applied as effective alternatives to in-feed antibiotics for broiler diets. | A Shokri et al., 2016 |
| Chickens | extract | 0.4% in drinking water | performance | When combined with licorice extract, helped reduce abdominal fat accumulation and had positive effects on broiler chicken performance. | J Salary et al., 2014 |
| Chickens | ground | | anticoccidial | Fecal oocyst shedding decreased significantly in all of the treatment groups that were supplemented with Aloe vera as compared to the unsupplemented group. Furthermore, the Aloe vera-supplemented group showed significantly fewer intestinal lesions than the unsupplemented group following infection. | D Yim et al., 2011 |
References
- Desalegn, Andualem Yimer, and Mulubrihan Rahimeto Ahmed. "Anticoccidial Activity of Aloe debrana and Aloe pulcherrima Leaf Gel against Eimeria Oocysts" Journal of parasitology research (2020)
- Jamir, Jongpongrenla, N. Savino, and V. K. Vidyarthi. "Effect of Dietary Supplementation of Aloe Vera Powder as a Feed Additive on the Performance of Broiler Chicken" ResearchGate (2019)
- Talukder, M. H.. "Assessment of Efficacy of Aloe vera and Tea Granule Against Experimental Caecal Coccidiosis in Broiler Chickens" BVMR (2016)
- S Sierralupe. "Harvesting Fresh Aloe Vera Gel" The Practical Herbalist (2016)
- Naghi Shokri A, Ghasemi HA, Taherpour K.. "Evaluation of Aloe vera and synbiotic as antibiotic growth promoter substitutions on performance, gut morphology, immune responses and blood constitutes of broiler chickens." Anim Sci J. (2016)
- Nghonjuyi NW, Tiambo CK, Taïwe GS, Toukala JP, Lisita F, Juliano RS, Kimbi HK.. "Acute and sub-chronic toxicity studies of three plants used in Cameroonian ethnoveterinary medicine: Aloe vera (L.) Burm. f. (Xanthorrhoeaceae) leaves, Carica papaya L. (Caricaceae) seeds or leaves, and Mimosa pudica L. (Fabaceae) leaves in Kabir chi" J Ethnopharmacol (2015)
- Arshad H. Rahmani,1 Yousef H. Aldebasi,2 Sauda Srikar,1 Amjad A. Khan,3 and Salah M. Aly1,4. "Aloe vera: Potential candidate in health management via modulation of biological activities" Pharmacognsy Review (2015)
- Akhtar M1, Hai A, Awais MM, Iqbal Z, Muhammad F, ul Haq A, Anwar MI.. "Immunostimulatory and protective effects of Aloe vera against coccidiosis in industrial broiler chickens" Veterinary Parasitology (2012)
- Lans C1, Georges K, Brown G.. "Non-experimental validation of ethnoveterinary plants and indigenous knowledge used for backyard pigs and chickens in Trinidad and Tobago." Tropical Animal Health Production (2007)
- Waihenya RK1, Mtambo MM, Nkwengulila G.. "Evaluation of the efficacy of the crude extract of Aloe secundiflora in chickens experimentally infected with Newcastle disease virus" Journal of Ethnopharmacology (2002)
