In recent years, numerous scientific studies have been carried out and it has been discovered that certain plant extracts and essential oils have a great influence on immunity. For example, antibody-antigen binding and excretion have been shown to be much higher in poultry treated with plant extracts. Cytokine production is also higher in these treated animals compared to others in the group. However, there are hundreds of scientific articles that show that plant extracts and essential oils have a positive effect on the immune system. Phytogenic medicine is a rapidly growing branch of science, which already for many people offers an answer to the limitations mentioned above (the development of resistant bacteria) of classical chemical medicine and is a particularly good complement to it.
How do we apply these findings to pigeons?
There are 3 ways we can use plants in pigeon sport. First of all, there are pure plants or herbs that are usually dried and ground, can be used in teas or administered with food and we also have the forms of plant extracts and essential oils. The last two are of particular importance to our pigeons, because the concentration of active molecules in plants and oils is often higher than what we can recover from dry plant material.
The difference between “extracts” and “essential oils” is given by the extraction technique. The oils are extracted by steam distillation and the plant extracts are obtained by boiling, soaking or filtration. However, from certain plants we can only obtain extracts!
To better understand the concentration of ingredients of an essential oil, you should know that it takes 100 – 200 kg of dried plants to extract 1 to 2 kg of essential oil, so it is much better to use essential oils or extracts instead of dried plants.
Essential oils and plant extracts contain hundreds to thousands of organic components, including monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, phenols, aldehydes, ketones, esters, lactones, flavonoids, coumarins, ethers, oxides, etc …
At Cest Pharma, we have chosen to use essential oils in the composition of our products, in optimal doses for pigeons and with easily visible results. Healthy Oil, for example, is a mixture of 9 essential oils with direct and combined action on the respiratory system, the intestinal tract and with benefits on the immune system. This product combines no less than 9 oils, which potentiate each other’s effects thus making Healthy Oil a reliable ally for maintaining the health and shape of pigeons.
Tricogo, is a mixture of plant extracts with the role of immuno-stimulator, which increases appetite and at the same time cleanses the throat area from build up mucus. An exceptional product for pigeons when we want to keep the birds as close to nature as possible and at the same time is a very useful adjuvant in the fight against trichomoniasis. Garlic Oil and Oregano Oil, essential oils extracted from garlic and oregano plants are two other products that bring the benefits of nature in our loft. Natural health, strong immunity, and the creation of strong and healthy specimens must be the primary care of any pigeon fancier!
source: https://www.cest-pharma.com/