Effects of herbal medicinal plants on avian pathogens

One of the most important issues currently in the field of disease treatment is the resistance of microbial pathogens to chemical antibiotics. In order to continue to have the ability to treat infections, many newer antibiotics have entered the market. However, due to the indiscriminate use of antibiotics and their increased resistance, new challenges have been created in the field of finding new ways to treat diseases. One of the newest ways is the use of natural compounds with antimicrobial properties, examples of which include plant extracts and essential oils. Nature is considered as the main source of medicinal plants. The use of medicinal plants instead of chemical antibiotics has several advantages, among which it can be mentioned that there are no side effects similar to those found in chemical drugs, to the extent that sometimes the severity of these side effects is greater than the therapeutic effects of the drug itself. Medicinal plants are said to be plants that have effective medicinal substances in one or more of their organs. So far, only a very small number of about ۲۵۰,۰۰۰ species of medicinal plants in the world are known. Today, more than ۳۰۰۰ types of plant extracts and essential oils are known in the world, among which about ۳۰۰ of them are industrially produced and used as flavouring for food. Plant extracts may have antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal and anti-parasitic properties. The use of plant compounds in the food industry is also another motivation to attract the attention of scientists in this area. Although the therapeutic use of these extracts includes a small percentage of their uses, they play the main role in the fields of giving flavour and aroma to foods. Some of these are used as food additives due to their preservative properties. The effective ingredients in herbal extracts include alkaloids, glycosides, saponins, bitter materials, tannins, flavonoids, mucilages, essential oils and trepens. The therapeutic effects of medicinal plants are determined based on their chemical structure and the effects they have on the body. According to the actions of medicinal plants in the body, they can be classified as follows: bitter plants, bitter plants with mucilage, plants with anti-inflammatory effects, plants with antiflatulent effects, plants that increase sweating, plants that reduce sweating, diuretic plants, expectorant plants with mucilage, expectorant and emetic plants, stimulating expectorant plants, antitussive plants, bile laxative plants, laxative and purgative plants, heart strengthening plants, anti-asthma plants, plants with calming effects, plants with anti-arteriosclerosis effects, plants with anti-hypertensive effects, aromatic plants, plants with anti-parasitic effects, plants with therapeutic effects on women's diseases, plants with anti-vomiting effects and plant toxins. Further investigations are required to shed more light on the exact working mechanisms of medicinal plants in human or animal bodies.

کلیدواژه ها:

Medicinal plants ، Essential oils ، Plant extracts ، Food flavouring