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Stinging Nettle


Urtica dioica

Stinging nettle

Other Names:

Nettle Leaf, Common Nettle, Gerrais, Isirgan, Kazink, Ortiga, Grande Ortie, Ortie, Urtiga, Chichicaste, Brennessel

Benefits

  • Antiparasitic
  • Antibacterial
  • Antihypertensive
Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) is a perennial herb of the Urticaceae family that is a commonly found weed in temperate and tropical regions of Americas, Asia and Europe. It is known for its stinging trichomes along its stems and leaves. Specific applications studied in poultry include:
  • Antiparasitic: In British Columbia, it is used for endoparasites in poultry. A leaf infusion (2.5 g dry plant leaves infused in 1 L boiled water) protected rats.
  • Deworming: If birds are provided free range access to this plant, they will often nibble on it as a form of self-medication against internal parasites.
  • Antibacterial: It possess antibacterial potency against MRSA isolates and may be used as a natural antiseptics and antimicrobial agents in medicine.

Poultry Specific Studies

TypePlant PartDosageSpecific useResultsRef
Hensegg qualityIncreased shell thickness, yolk n-3 PUFA levels, and yolk color, and reduced cholesterol contents of the yolk and serum without any negative impacts on health or laying performance J Zhang et al., 2020
Broilers4% of dietHeat stressAlleviated the negative effects of heat stress by decreasing cortisol, TC and tissue damage indices. It seems that dietary SN could be used as a feed additive in the poultry diet for improving the health status and defence mechanisms of the birds under stressful conditions.M Farahani et al., 2022

References

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