Improving Indoor Air Quality in Closed Broiler Houses by Evaporating a Mixture of Some Essential Oils

Abstract

It is scientifically proven that the air in broiler houses is vital, but the bacteria and fungi in the air cause serious health problems. Interestingly, vaporizing a mixture of some essential oils (MEOs) in broiler houses helps reduce air pollution. The main objective was to evaluate the synergistic effect of vaporizing different levels of MEOs at various time intervals and their interaction effect on indoor air quality of broiler houses. 1,080 Ross-308 chicks were randomly distributed in a completely randomized design into 4 groups (N = 270) in three replicates each (n=90). The results of GC/MS showed the presence of 35 chemical components in MEOs, the most important of which are: monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes, with a total percentage of 98.31%. In addition, MEOs exhibited strong synergistic activity against the microbial species tested, although its efficacy varied depending on the type of bacteria. The lowest MIC value was observed against S. aureus (1.875% v/v), indicating high efficacy even at low dilutions, while K. pneumoniae and B. cereus showed intermediate sensitivity (3.75% and 7.5% v/v). The evaporation of MEOs has improved the state of hygiene standards by reducing TBC and TFC in houses air. A significant positive effect of MEOs evaporation on productive and physiological performance measured at 35 d of age (p ≤ 0.05). In conclusion, one of the most important findings of this study is that MEOs evaporation is an effective and safe method for improving air quality in closed broiler houses, where evaporation at a rate of 0.75 ml/L with an exposure period of 2 h was the most effective in terms of its ability to improve productive and physiological performance.