What is ECHINACEA and how does it work?
Echinacea is a group of flowering plants that belong in the daisy family. There are 9-10 species of Echinacea plant, commonly referred to as coneflowers and they are native to eastern and central North America, growing mainly on prairies and open woodland. Echinacea has reportedly been used to treat insect and snake bites, eczema, and tuberculosis by the early North American Indians. Three species of Echinacea are the most widely used: Echinacea angustifolia, E. pallida while E. purpurea is the most common. Nowadays, Echinacea is probably one of the most popular phytogenics used in herbal medicine due to its range of activities.
Like most plant preparations, the broad activity of Echinacea is not due to a single group of compounds but the complex mixture of different active ingredients that include polyphenols, isobutylamides and alkamides. However, the three most common Echinacea species can also differ in the composition between each other e.g., echinacoside is not found in E. purpurea.
How can Salicyn help hens?
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The main compounds responsible for the activity of Echinacea on the immune system are thought to be the polyphenols chicoric acid and echinacoside , polysaccharides and alkamides. However, it is the ‘teamwork’ of the different compounds in Echinacea that is important; alkamides alone are found to be nowhere as effective as polyphenols and alkamides combined.
Echinacea has been shown to increase populations of white blood cells (cells responsible for combating infections and managing the immune response) in birds. Echinacea also acts directly on the cells of the immune system, activating them so they are ready as the first line of defence. Supporting the hens’ immune system, leads to more robust hens that are better able to fight infections e.g., intestinal upsets from parasites or bacterial infections such as E. coli.
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Chicoric acid from Echinacea is a potent antioxidant. As we have seen elsewhere, managing the oxidative stress in our birds is essential for the health, welfare, egg production and quality. Hens fed Echinacea have demonstrated increased egg production, improved antioxidant status in both bird (important for health) and egg (important for quality and longer shelf life) and lower egg cholesterol.
We also see benefit of Echinacea in breeding birds, where hatchability of fertile eggs can increase, and fertility of cocks is improved.
The immune-stimulating and antioxidant effects of Echinacea are well documented. For our hens, this means we have a robust, natural solution to support their immune system e.g., during periods of challenge and if we breed birds, we see the benefits of Echinacea via improved fertility.
Further reading
How can “complementary feeding stuffs” help my hen? — Happy Healthy Hens
References
Brenes, A., and E. Roura. “Essential Oils in Poultry Nutrition: Main Effects and Modes of Action.” Animal feed science and technology 158.1 (2010): 1–14. Web.
