Lemon Grass (Cymbopogon Flexuosus) Oil: As An Alternative To The Antibiotics Growth Promoters For Poultry Production: A Review

The poultry industry contributes significantly to bridging the nutritional gap in many countries because of its meat and eggs products rich in protein and valuable nutrients at a cost less than other animal meat sources. Plants generate a wide spectrum and types of organic compounds which are acquired from their secondary metabolism that are generally classified in three major groups: saponins, tannins, and essential oils. Essential oils are considered to be secondary metabolites of plants and which basically constituents a composite mixture of terpenic hydrocarbons, chiefly monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes, and oxygenated derivatives such as ketones, aldehydes, epoxides, alcohols, and esters. Essential oils are a blend of oily compounds aromatic in nature and which are abstracted from different parts of the plants such as leaves, flowers, buds, seeds, fruits, twigs, bark, wood, and also their roots (Gopi et al., 2014). Besides improving the health and well-being of chicks, feeding of essential oil was also found to improve the product quality of broiler chickens.