PLANT-BASED PHYTOBIOTICS FOR VETERINARY GUT HEALTH: BRIDGING BOTANY AND ANIMAL MICROBIOME SCIENCE

Abstract

This study examines the effectiveness of plant-based phytobiotics to enhance gastrointestinal health in farm animals based on their multimodal approach, which comprises ethnobotanical screening, phytochemical analysis, animal trials and microbiome characterisation.  Initially, a community survey identified five medicinal plants which are commonly utilized in ethnoveterinary medicine. The process of selection of these plants relied on the Use Value Index (UVI).  Lambs were administered by mouth with hydroethanolic extract of these plants in a 30-day controlled trial.  Health outcomes were measured on the basis of weight gain, faeces consistency, inflammatory markers, and composition of microbes.  Their findings demonstrated that the average daily weight gain and feed conversion ratios, as well as the concentration of IL-6 and TNF-alpha in the blood of animals who have been supplemented with phytobiotics showed a much better outcome.  A similar sequencing of the 16s rRNA to examine microbiome revealed a remarkable increase in beneficial taxa such as Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium accompanied by a reduction in Escherichia coli and Clostridium spp.  Measurements of alpha and beta diversity demonstrated that the treated groups had more diverse and stable community microbiomes.  Profiling of extracts via HPLC identified relevant bioactive components like quercetin, tannins, and saponins which have a significant association with modifications in the microbiota.  The research also concludes that plant-derived phytobiotics are an effective, natural substitute to antibiotic growth promoters in the cattle production.  These findings demonstrate that the integration of plant knowledge and microbiome science is essential to the more equitable and sustainable interventions of veterinary health.