Effects of dietary protein and Macleaya cordata alkaloid extract supplementation on growth performance, intestinal morphology, immunological responses, serum biochemical metabolites, and the ileal microbiota in broiler chickens

Subject Areas : Journal of Medicinal Herbs, "J. Med Herb" (Formerly known as Journal of Herbal Drugs or J. Herb Drug)

Amir Alibemani ¹ , Abbasali Gheisari ² , Yahya Ebrahimnezhad ³ , Naser Maheri-Sis ⁴

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Received: 2025-05-04 Accepted : 2025-05-04 Published : 2025-05-04

Keywords: Macleaya cordata extract, Broiler chicken, Low-protein diet, Performance, Intestinal morphology, Immune response.,

Abstract :

This study investigated the effects of feeding a phytogenic chemical, Macleaya cordata alkaloid extract (MCAE), on growth performance, intestinal morphology, immune responses, biochemical metabolites, and ileal microbiota in broiler chickens fed two levels of crude protein (CP). A total of 560 one-day-old male (Ross 308) broilers were randomly assigned in a 2×4 factorial arrangement, with 8 dietary treatments and 5 replicates per treatment. Two concentrations of dietary CP (100 and 95 % of the recommended requirements) and four inclusion levels of MCAE (0, 180, 360, or 540 mg/kg diet) were applied for 5 weeks. At 35 d, the results showed that supplementation with 540 mg/kg of MCAE in both CP levels resulted in greater (P≤0.05) body weight than the control group. Also, increasing the dosage of MCAE improved broiler chickens' average daily weight gain and feed conversion ratio. The albumin to globulin ratio and relative weights of the spleen and bursa were not affected by dietary CP and MCAE supplementation. The results indicated that 360 mg/kg MCAE supplementation significantly (P<0.05) reduced the heterophil-to-lymphocyte ratio compared to the control group. Increasing levels of MCAE supplementation increased blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels linearly (P<0.05). The ileum villus height: crypt depth ratio in chickens fed low-protein diets was greater than the control diet. The coliform bacteria count of ileum on day 15 was not affected by dietary treatments but increasing the MCAE supplementation level from 0 to 540 mg/kg decreased the coliform count of broiler chickens numerically. When the levels of MCAE supplementation were increased on day 28, antibody titers against Newcastle disease increased numerically. Finally, our findings indicated that supplementing broiler chicken diets with 540 mg/kg MCAE can improve performance and immunological responses.

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