Control of fowl typhoid using tissue culture medium waste after harvest of Korean wild ginseng (Panax ginseng)

Fowl typhoid (FT), caused by Salmonella gallinarum (SG), is responsible for heavy economic losses through morbidity, mortality, and reduced egg production to the poultry industry worldwide. The use of alternative medications to control FT is important in light of emergence of multiple drug-resistant strains of SG and the public's desire to have organically grown poultry. We report the efficient utilization of tissue culture medium waste after harvest of Korean wild ginseng (TCM-KWG) (Panax ginseng) as an alternative medicine in the control of FT. In a series of experiments performed in this study, we found that oral administration of TCM-KWG through drinking water significantly reduced the mortality, organ invasiveness, and fecal shedding of SG in 1-d-old chickens experimentally infected with virulent SG. The results were positively correlated with higher dose and longer duration of pretreatment with TCM-KWG in relation to reduction in mortality caused by FT. The results of this work indicate that the TCM-KWG may be used as a cost-effective and environmentally friendly alternative medicine to control and minimize the losses due to FT in chickens.