Effect of Lippia origanoides Essential Oil Extract on Salmonella serovar Enteritidis as a Natural Alternative to Antibiotics in the Poultry Industry

Salmonella serotypes Enteritidis (SE) and Typhimurium are thought to be the most significant serovars in terms of human infections, having the most effects on public health. In addition, chicken products continue to be the main source of illness for humans. The global chicken supply is getting increasingly interconnected, and the infection of SE is spreading globally as a result of breeding stocks that are contaminated being traded internationally. In addition to foodborne transmission, cross-contamination in kitchens or food processing areas and intimate contact with animals or habitats that are contaminated can also transmit SE. The poultry industry has been under constant pressure to reduce or stop using antibiotics in production for more than a decade due to concerns about food safety (including antibiotic resistance and consumer expectations) and the actual effects of pathogen contamination on food safety. Essential oils are well-known for being organic, odorous, volatile substances with potential medicinal benefits that have attracted a lot of interest from scientists, particularly in the chicken sector. This chapter explains Salmonella ser. Enteritidis as a unique foodborne pathogen, provides updates on the use of essential oils as natural antibiotic substitutes in the poultry industry, and discusses the use of Lippia origanoides to lessen the effects of SE in broiler chickens. This plant exhibits a wide range of chemotypes, with the majority having distinct essential oil compositions. Furthermore, it produces essential oils with a wide range of chemical compositions, including the so-called chemotypes of thymol and carvacrol. It is an alternate method of controlling SE in poultry production.